What the code on your egg carton actually means

Virgin Radio

22 Mar 2022, 10:37

For most of us, the most important thing to look out for on a carton of eggs is the expiration date.

All the other numbers and symbols don’t often get a look in, but there are some benefits to understanding those codes on your food packaging.

As Taste of Home reports, being able to read that three-digit code printed on every egg carton will help you to choose a fresher batch.

This mystery code, known as the Julian date, shows exactly when the eggs were placed in their package, and can be found just near the Sell By date on the side of the carton.

The number correlates with which day of the year it is out of 365. So, if the eggs were packaged on the first day of January it would read 001. Likewise, if they were packaged on 31 December, it would read 365.

As useful as the Sell By date is, the Julian date could actually reveal more information about the product and whether you want to eat it.

Expiration dates and Sell By dates are more arbitrary than some may think, but sometimes food can go bad before that. The Julian date can often be the best way to ensure your groceries are safe to consume and as fresh as possible when you pick them up in the store.

It may seem like a bit of a headache trying to calculate what day of the year it is out of 365 every time you want to buy something. But, generally the rule is the higher the number on the carton, the closer it will be to the current date.

Although, if you’re shopping at the beginning of the year, eggs may have been packaged in the previous December, and in that case, lower Julian dates will be the best option.