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I will check with our consumer foods team and let you know as soon as I can...thanks!

 i was shopping at a tops located near my town and bought a bag of peanut lovers chex mix. after opening it i found melted plastic on several pieces in the bag

Below is the lengthy response from our consumer foods team about how to decipher the "Better if Used By" dates on products...

GENERAL MILLS, INC.

CODE DATING INFORMATION SHEET

Determining how long to save products is often confusing to consumers. The following overview, of the four methods of coding we use on our products, will help you make these determinations:

Big G cereal, Bisquick and many of the Dessert and Main Meal products use this style coding on the packages. These products are guaranteed to be fresh through this date.

For example: 28DEC01 T08105

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Date product should be used by for best quality Manufacturing plant information

Ready-to-spread Frosting and Pouch mix products use this style coding on their packages. These products are guaranteed to be fresh through this date.

For example: EXP23DEC01 M 0157B

Please note if the products have the above two codings it is a fairly old product as General Mills stopped using that coding around 2000.

Thanks, this is very helpful!

I did think that your original response was helpful.  However, I just pulled a can of Green Giant corn from my home shelf.  This is the product code on the top of the can:  H5BE211C.1352    This does not correspond to the A429W example that you cite in your response.  So how do I interpret H5BE211C.1352?

I will send that to our consumer foods team and ask them about that code. Thank you for your patience!! :)

I am trying to decipher the code number on a can of Asparagus Spears to determine the "best if used by" date.  It shows:  ESFN172 and on a second line: 100462315.  How is this number read?

Our Consumer Foods team has sent me a the official format on reading expiration dates from canned goods.

GREEN GIANT AND LE SUEUR Canned and Frozen Vegetables

Code Date Format and Shelf Life

Manufacturing codes are used internally as a way of tracking production. Our manufacturing codes are composed of a series of letters and numbers, such as G1BE12.

G This is a letter from A to L. It stands for the MONTH the product was produced. "A" stands for January, "B" for February, and so on through "L" for December.

1 The second symbol is always a number. It is the last digit of the YEAR the product was packaged.

BE These two letters represent the PLANT the product was produced.

12 The last two numbers indicate the DAY of the month the product was packaged.

To maintain the high quality of the product's taste, texture, and appearance, we recommend the following canned products to be used by:

Mushrooms 4 Years Green Beans 2 Years

Super Sweet Corn 2 Years Legumes 2 Years

All Other Corn/Peas 3 Years Three Bean Salad 2 Years

Asparagus 2-1/2 Years Mixed Veg/Carrots 2 1/2-3 Years

I just purchased a carton of corn with the following codes:

J6CK022D    2233   1052 WKC

Does this mean that they were packaged on October of 2006 (J6)? If so, why would they still be sold in 2008?

Thanks!
 

I will double check with our consumer foods department on that code. I will let you know as soon as I hear from them. Thanks!

Why don't they put real dates next to the manufacturing plant info?  The reason we have dates is to identify those that are no longer viable food products.  Do you want people to purchase, prepare and eat out of date products from your firm?

Bad customer service decision. 

Trying to decipher your product codes is extremely frustrating. I have just taken over care for my parents and have been going through their cupboards to make sure their food is okay to eat. I am at the point that I am throwing out anything without a "Best if Used By Date". I will not buy any more products from you if you continue to use your "SECRET CODE".

I agree, poor customer service!!

I am also having a hard time trying to figure out the dates. I agree Why can't you put the Normal date on the products?  I am sure I speak for the biggest majority of us. I have 2 cans of green beans with these numbers on them I6ck282e 2002 1055 wkc and the other one is h5bei52e 2227 1055 wkc  I think they are old as I don't cook much. I usually throw it out but being on limited income makes it rough Thank you

Hi Jessica!  Thank you for ALL of the research you've done on this particular issue.  I must admit, trying decipher those is nearly impossible.  I don't want you to have to go back and research this question, but offhand, why the different date codes for different products?  I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, but it sure seems like it would be easier for everyone, if the expiratin date codes were uniform.  Again, if you don't know offhand, please DON'T bother to research it.  It's not like I'll never buy Betty Crocker products or I'll quit this site.  When it comes down to it,  Betty Crocker is still the most trusted cooking and baking products and cookbooks in the world.  I think BC's been around forever!  This is also the best website out there in this big wide world.  And it's free, how lucky am I ?  I've done alot of growing and learning here in the short time I've been a member.  As for you and the rest of the staff, jessica,  you all put alot of time and trouble to keep this site as great as it is!  So, thank you.  Like I said if you know the answer to my question, GREAT !  If not, please don't worry about it.  Call it idle curiosity.   Thanks again!

chicagosinger

Thank you for your nice comments Chicagosinger. We really appreciate all your feedback and input into our community! You are a valuable asset! I will ask around and see if I can get an answer to your question. I think it has to do with how each product is produced but I am not sure.

Jessica, thank you for the above info.  I just spent way too much time reading through all the possible codes to find this one which tells me my Progresso Soup expired in 2005, three years ago.  This info should be ORGANIZED on the B. Crocker website to quickly help your customers find the codes until all your products are using real dates.  I hate throwing away food, especially when it came from a food pantry in the first place.  Please pass this along to your webmaster.

This information was quite helpful for most of my products, but the cans of Great Northern Beans don't follow the same pattern.  The code is:  05FF11  226A1  1427    Can you help decode this one, please?