meansoybean

Fruit to Go Strips are basically dehydrated fruit purée. I find that they make a good addition to a car emergency kit, you know, just in case you’re stuck without food for a short while. I had a stack leftover from last winter and started to wonder about its shelf-life. The packaging only had a code, and what seemed like a 24 hour time stamp. I promptly shot off an email and got this explanation:

[...] Sun-Rype Fruit to Go Strips have approximately a one-year shelf-life from the date of production. They do not expire; however, we suggest enjoying within 1 year from the date of production for optimum quality.

Complete production coding information is printed on Sun-Rype “Fruit to Go Strips” and can be found on the back flap of the packaging. Your example: 7143 #3 13:20. This ink-stamped information is translated as follows:

- first digit indicates the year the product was manufactured; “7″ indicates the product was produced in 2007
- next three digits indicate the day of the year out of 365 days (Julian Calendar); the “143rd” day of the year = May 23
- #3 is an internal reference code
- last four digits denote time the product was produced using a 24 hr. clock; 13:20 indicates the product was produced at 1:20 p.m.

Therefore, this product would have been produced on May 23, 2007 at 1:20 p.m. [...]

So there you go.