You open the refrigerator, reach for a carton of eggs, and notice a string of numbers printed along the side. One might say “Best By,” another may begin with the letter “P,” and somewhere nearby you may spot a mysterious three-digit number. If those codes have ever left you wondering whether your eggs are still good to eat, you’re not alone.
The good news is that these markings don’t all mean the same thing. In the United States, that three-digit number may actually be a pack date, indicating the day of the year the eggs were processed and placed into the carton. The numbers run from 001 through 365: 001 represents January 1, while higher numbers correspond to later dates. Understanding this little code can help you determine which carton is older—but there’s something important it cannot tell you about your eggs.
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