# Canned Food expiration dates, Help please



## Eli-2

I buy a lot of my canned food and fruits at a local chain grocer called Piggly Wiggly.Some may be familiar with them.I'm having trouble decifering their expiration/sell by dates they print on their cans. For example a can of Green Beans read "Y913A".Is that Sept 2013 or something totally different.I have tried to access their website for help and their distribution center @ C&S Foods,but to no avail.Maybe someone else here has already solved this particular problem,if so would you please enlighten me.Thanks so much and God Bless!


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## lotsoflead

keep the canned food cool,dark and dry for at least 10 yrs


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## ZoomZoom

Below is a sampling.

A google search for something like "decoding canned good expiration dates" will give you several sites that provide the information.

_Note: For month coding, if a number is used, numbers 1 through 9 represent January through September, and letters O for October, N for November and D for December. If letters are used, A=Jan. and L=Dec., unless otherwise noted.

For year coding, 8=1998; 9=1999; 0=2000; 1=2001; 2=2002, etc._

*Bush Brothers & Company* (voice: 865/509-2361)
Four digits
Position 1: Month
Position 2 and 3: Day
Position 4: Year
Example: 2061 (February 6, 2001)

*Chiquita Processed Foods* (voice: 800/872-1110)
Ten digits (only 6-8 are pertinent to consumers)
Position 6: Year (A=1999, B=2000, C=2001, etc.)
Position 7 and 8: Julian Date
Example: A195 (July 14, 1999-July 14 is the 195th day of the year)

*Del Monte Foods* (voice: 800/543-3090)
First line, four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9045 (February 14, 1999)

*Faribault Foods*
_Consumers can send inquiries and product coding numbers via an online contact form, and a company representative will help them understand the coding. __http://www.faribaultfoods.com/_

*Furman Foods* (voice: 877/877-6032)
Second line, first four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9045 (February 14, 1999)

*Hirzel Canning* (voice: 800/837-1631)
First line, four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3 and 4: Julian Date
Example: 0195 (July 14, 2000- July 14th is the 195th day of the year)

*Hormel Foods Corporation* (voice: 800/523-4635)
Five digits on the top line
Position 1-4: Information about plant and manufacturing
Position 5: Year
Example: XXXX0 (2000)

*Lakeside Foods* (voice: 920/684-3356)
Second line, second through fifth digits
Position 2: Month (Jan=1, Sept.=9, Oct.=A, Nov.=B, Dec.=C)
Position 3 and 4: Date
Position 5: Year
Example: 4A198 (October 19, 1998)

*Maple Leaf Consumer Foods* (voice: 800/268-3708)
Top of can, grouping of last four digits
Position 1: Year
Position 2, 3, and 4: Julian Date
Example: 9130 (May 9, 1999)

*Mid-Atlantic Foods* (voice: 410/957-4100)
Second through fourth digits
Position 2: Month (letter)
Position 3: Date (A=1, Z=26)
Position 4: Year
Example: MDE0 (April 5, 2000)

*Pillsbury/Green Giant and Progresso* (voice: 800/998-9996)
Five digits
Position 1: Month (letter)
Position 2: Year
Position 3: Plant information
Position 4 and 5: Date
Example: G8A08 (July 8, 1998)

*Seneca Foods* (voice: 315/926-6710)
Two digits on the first line
Position 1: Month (letter)
Position 2: Year
Example: L1 (December 2001)

*Stagg Chili* (voice: 800/611-9778)
Second through sixth digits
Position 2 and 3: Month
Position 4 and 5: Day
Position 6: Year
Example: S02050 (February 5, 2000)

Information provided by the Canned Food Alliance.


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## Ponce

The food in cans are good just about for ever but for the nutritious value in the food, that's why you should have vitamins as a suplement.


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## Clarice

The expiration date is put on the can to get you to discard it if date has past and buy more. A friend of mine worked for a canning company that had expired goods in their warehouse, they simply relabled. May shock you but you'd be amazed at what goes on in these canning factories. That's why we have a garden and can everything ourselves.


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## Eli-2

*Thanks*

Thanks for all the great info,I knew I could get an answer here!:2thumb:


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## neil-v1

I just use a sharpie and write my own dates nice and bold when i stock them away. that way, i can see the date without picking up each can and holding it up to my face.


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## worldengineer

Wouldn't it make sense to just post in big bold letters the expiration date? Although I figure their are no sensible people left....


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## The_Blob

Clarice said:


> The expiration date is put on the can to get you to discard it if date has past and buy more. A friend of mine worked for a canning company that had expired goods in their warehouse, they simply relabled. May shock you but you'd be amazed at what goes on in these canning factories. That's why we have a garden and can everything ourselves.


:gaah: :gaah: :gaah: doesn't surprise me at all :gaah: :gaah: :gaah:


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## Eli-2

After a day of back and forth with the distributor of the canned goods whose expiration dates were in question,I was told either throw the cans out or open them and give them the taste test to determine quality.The customer rep could not determine the dates because the codes stamped on all the cans were incomplete and made no sense to her.


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## sailaway

The manager of our local food bank and soup kitchen said most of thier food is 1-3 years beyond experiation date and they still serve it. I do agree that if you are subsisting on canned food you should take a good mulit vitamin. I think hydroginated means they took the vitamins out.:scratch


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## gypsysue

I've always heard that if you store them right (cool and dry) that they last well beyond the date, and to watch for cans that are bulging or leaking. Next thing to watch for is off-odors or colors. 

Hydrogenated has to do with injecting extra hydrogen molecules into fats or oils to make them more solid at room temperatures. I'm not scientific so I don't understand a lot of that! 

My brother was working with a charity that was going to send food overseas, and they were told they couldn't send any out-dated food. They sorted through all the donated food and gave the out-dated stuff to the food bank, which then distributed it to Americans, who were happy to get it.


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