What is the Purpose of Date Codes?

All food items are perishable – even honey crystallizes and loses some of its flavor. As perished food items can be deleterious to our health, food standards dictate that all food items should contain a date code somewhere on the packaging. Even non-food items, like cleaning products or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, are required to contain a date code, as their safety and effectiveness decline with time. Without these codes, consumer health and safety are at risk.  

In addition to date codes, packaging often includes other identifiers: barcodes, serial numbers, lot codes, and more are all part of modern traceability best practices. 

Companies add such information to ensure a product can be located throughout the supply chain and to communicate important safety information to customers, distributors and retailers, as is the case with date codes. 

Below we’ll explain what a date code is, why they’re necessary, and how to read expiration date codes to ensure perishable items are safe for consumption.

What is a date code?

Date codes refer to any numerical identifier denoting a specific date relevant to a product. While the format remains the same, the purpose of the date codes differs. Examples of date codes include:

• Expiration date codes
• Packed-by date codes
• Best-by date codes
• Use-by date codes
• Sell-by date codes

The date in question is normally determined by set guidelines laid out by the federal and state authorities (see below). Manufacturers use laser coders or inkjet printers to mark the date codes on the packaging – be it metal, paper, plastic, or another material. 

For small-scale producers, date codes can be marked with a handheld printer. However, automated marking machinery adds the expiration date codes and other identifiers for large-scale industrial production. 

Federal date code requirements

State governments determine the majority of date code legislation, covering perishable food products, beverages, cleaning products, pharmaceuticals, and more. Nevertheless, government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), all published label guidelines where date codes (including expiration date codes) are noticeably absent. 

According to the 1967 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), the packaging of all consumer commodities must bear the following information:

1. A statement identifying the commodity.
2. The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
3. The net quantity of contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count is displayed in metric units or US customary units. 

Where safety concerns are most prominent, there are exceptions to the general absence of date codes from federal legislation. The following consumer products are required to display either packed-by, best-by, or expiration date codes in some form:

• Poultry products. Because of the risk of salmonella and other diseases, the USDA’s 9 CFR § 381.126 regulation states that “Either the immediate container or the shipping container of all poultry food products shall be plainly and permanently marked by code or otherwise with the date of packing. If calendar dating is used, it must be accompanied by an explanatory statement, as provided in § 381.129(c)(2).”
• Prescription medicines. Under the FDA’s 21 CFR 211.137, the absence of an expiration date is a cause to initiate regulatory action against the product and/or the responsible firm.” Expiration dates are therefore compulsory to avoid litigation.
• Baby food or infant formula. The Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 states that all infant formula products must have expiration dates on the packaging. If absent, manufacturers can face recalls, fines, and other pecuniary consequences. 

Despite the stringency of federal requirements, most date code rules for perishable consumer commodities are determined according to state standards.

State date code requirements

State date code requirements are far more comprehensive than those for the federal governments, covering a wide variety of food items and other perishable products. Between states, these standards are highly variable.

For example, for generic perishable foods, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Washington DC necessitate some form of date labeling. In contrast, meat products labeling with the date code is only necessary in Alabama, Michigan, and Washington DC. 

In addition, date codes are also extended to industries like cosmetics, chemicals, beverages, and more. Regardless, date codes across all states and consumer products need to be easily printable and legible to consumers, thereby avoiding lengthy legal battles and ensuring product traceability.

How to read expiration date codes

Contrary to popular opinion, expiration date codes do not refer to the date after which eating the food is unsafe. Expiration date codes instead indicate the point at which the flavor and quality are no longer optimal – most foods are safe to consume after the expiration date. It is the manufacturer’s decision when to set the date, accounting for factors such as the length of time and the temperature the food is held prior to sale, the food’s characteristics, and the type of packaging. 

Reading an expiration date is simple – they are read according to the US date format mm/dd/yy – for example, the date 11/09/22 should be read as November 9th, 2022. This is known as the open dating expiration code. 

Closed coded expiration date codes, on the other hand, are alphanumeric – being used for inventory tracking and other procedures. Most commonly, letters are used to signify months, e.g., A corresponds to January, B to February, C to March, and so on. For instance, the code D0322 would read April 3rd, 2022. Other closed coding systems use a number for every day of the year (B4022 reads February 9th, 2022). 

Choose inkjet printing to apply your date codes

Using an inkjet printer is essential if you need to apply date codes to your products to comply with federal or state legislation. For large industrial operations, date codes must be applied efficiently, cost-effectively, and legibly. 

Speak to the Automated Marking team for more information about your options for printing date codes on products, no matter the packaging material. With decades of experience, we can answer all your questions about printer types, ink formulas, packaging, and more.