What Do Those Numbers On Your Egg Carton Exactly Mean?

Have you been egg shopping lately? If you have, then you have probably already experienced sticker shock. The price of eggs has gone up 60% in the last year, according to CBS News, which is a higher price hike than any other grocery item. The number one reason for the increase in cost, CNBC says, is the avian flu, which led to millions of deaths of egg-laying chicken populations in 2022. It was the deadliest outbreak of the bird disease in U.S. history.

In 2020, Modern Farmer reported that people were buying a lot of eggs because it was a cheap source of protein. That demand has not decreased, even as prices have risen. If you are one of those people who depend on eggs for adding protein to your meals, or if you want to find a way to stretch your egg supply as the price remains high, learning the meaning behind the various numbers on your egg carton can really help.

On egg cartons, like all foods, you will find an expiration date, but you will also see a three-digit code, which is called the "Julian date." According to Egg Safety, this number represents the consecutive days of the year, ranging from 001 to 365. This coding system helps to identify the age of the eggs and when they were packaged. For example, if the code is "123," it means the eggs were packaged on the 123rd day of the year. This information helps to determine the freshness of the eggs and is useful for both consumers and egg producers to ensure that they are buying and selling fresh eggs. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that eggs can be sold for up to a month after they were packaged. This means that your eggs may be a few weeks old, even if they have not expired, yet.

While you may think that's not safe, eggs can actually last quite a while if they are stored properly. According to the USDA, eggs can stay good in a refrigerator for three to five weeks, even if their "sell-by" date has come and gone. The "sell-by" date or expiration date on the carton is a good indication of when you should buy eggs, though. This will help you buy eggs when they are still fresh enough to keep in your fridge for a few weeks.

According to Egg Safety, eggs can be consumed for four to five weeks beyond the Julian date, as long as they have been properly refrigerated. So, while your expiration date may have arrived, your eggs could still be good as long as they still fall within five weeks of the Julian date. If you have been throwing out your eggs based on the expiration date, you may have been tossing away good eggs.