Have you ever looked at all the numbers and letters on an egg carton and wondered what they all mean?  I found this outline from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) very helpful.  It explains the egg’s grade, expiration date, packaging date, and plant code found on egg cartons sold in grocery stores.

Each carton of USDA graded eggs must show two things:

The date of packaging.

The date of packaging is in the format of a Julian date.  The three digit code follows the format of January 1 as 001 and goes to December 31 showing the code 365.  The numbers represent the consecutive days of the year.

You can store the eggs in their cartons in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 weeks beyond this date.  An expiration or best by date may be included on the carton, but is not mandatory.

The processing plant code.

This code identifies where the eggs were packaged.  This code is useful for knowing if the eggs are included in a food safety recall.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Also interesting to know:

USDA grading of shell eggs is a voluntary service paid for by shell egg producers.  Eggs sold to consumers may be labeled with a grade (Grade A, Grade AA), but if they are not labeled with a USDA Grade Shield they have not been officially graded by USDA standards.