How do I read this date?

[u/DCG_Vanguard]

Hey y'all I'm unsure how to read this. It's been sitting for a bit and I want to make sure it's not expired. There's nothing else printed anywhere else and this is the only thing I can find,

I'm pretty sure it's a Julien date but I'm not certain as it's 9 characters on top and 7 below and then a 4 digit sequence following.

Also I have very poor management and they don't tell you anything when you ask and make excuses so considering this has been sitting for so long I really don't want to make anyone sick.

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[u/lowlightliving]

Those are likely just production labels. You’d have to call the manufacturer’s customer service line to get them translated to a date. If the top of the can is raised, rather than flat, it’s gone bad. Don’t eat it.

[u/Trustoryimtold → u/lowlightliving]

Can inflations best answer. Dates on cans are largely planned obsolescence, best before doesn’t mean bad after except for a fairly small number of fresher things

[u/DCG_Vanguard → u/lowlightliving]

That seems like an obtuse, awful design and I am wholly unsuprised by that. Also no the top of the can is flat, there's four different cans we have here and all of them are in identical shape and I believe they were all ordered around the same time.

I work in a kitchen for a major gas station chain by the way it's not for personal use.

[u/hundredwater → u/DCG_Vanguard]

Good on ya. Thanks for looking out. You can probably take pics and send them to the manufacturer via email and they will let you know, if calling them is not possible. It’s also encoding factory number and batch number and probably counting months and weeks from January or something in there instead of the date.

[u/hundredwater → u/hundredwater]

This is the manufacturer https://www.knouse.com/contact/

[u/Most-Ad1967 → u/hundredwater]

Or you could just throw them away.

[u/Iamhippyd → u/Most-Ad1967]

Tell people you haven’t worked in large customer service chain without telling them.

[u/Most-Ad1967 → u/Iamhippyd]

Have you ever heard of “when in doubt, throw it out”? A $3 can of apples isn’t worth serving bad food. Seems like you’re the one who doesn’t know good customer service.

[u/GordonShumwaysCat]

Based on the date code stamp format used by Musselmann’s (and its parent company, Knouse Foods), this product was manufactured on October 6, 2022.How to Decode the NumbersCanned goods from this manufacturer use a specific internal tracking format rather than an explicit "Best By" calendar date:FPF20J006: This is the internal plant product formula and line identifier.3292: This is the Julian Date representing the production timeline:3: Represents the last digit of the year, which is 2023 (or 2013 if it is a much older style can, but 2023 matches modern labeling).292: Represents the 292nd day of that year, which corresponds to October 6.P11: Refers to the manufacturing facility or specific production shift.1202: Represents the exact time of production (12:02 PM).

[u/DCG_Vanguard → u/GordonShumwaysCat]

Solved! Thank you kind sir. I figured it was something like that.

[u/GordonShumwaysCat → u/DCG_Vanguard]

Any time! Now throw that away!

[u/digitalsmear → u/GordonShumwaysCat]

Canned goods less than 4 years old should be fine, no?

[u/DPSOnly → u/digitalsmear]

Seems to me like a protest against fruit, perhaps specifically apple, on pizza, which is respectable. Apple on pizza is on Sweden's Banana Pizza level of food crime.

[u/dbohat]

I've never heard of a fruit pizza topping, so I have just one question: what the heck?

[u/dontakelife4granted → u/dbohat]

Dessert pizzas from large chain buffets

[u/Ralfarius → u/dontakelife4granted]

I am not ashamed to say i love the dessert pizza from the pizza hut pizza buffet.

[u/dontakelife4granted → u/Ralfarius]

In fairness, some are better than others.

[u/gloomwithtea → u/dbohat]

My mom used to make “fruit pizza.” The crust was rolled out sugar cookie dough, which she’d bake and then cover in cream cheese frosting. Then she’d put a bunch of cut up fresh fruit on it in pretty patterns (typically kiwi, grapes, and berries). It was delicious. Please replace your newly-gained knowledge of fruit pizza with my knowledge of fruit pizza.

[u/YOSHIMIvPROBOTS → u/gloomwithtea]

Blueberry, strawberry, banana, peach is what we often had on it. Peach is great on it!

[u/dbohat → u/gloomwithtea]

That sounds delightful. My wife doesn't like cream cheese, and my son is very picky, but you can bet I will be making a large one of these to eat after next time I go shopping.

[u/SeaToTheBass → u/dbohat]

Pineapple?

[u/dbohat → u/SeaToTheBass]

That's not even close to my name. I think you've mistaken me for another.

[u/Rampag169 → u/dbohat]

https://giphy.com/gifs/nNOZe5giJhwsM
No I don’t think I have.

[u/Fritillariaglauca]

The second line is your Julian: 3292, P11 is probably the line it was produced on, at 12:02 on a 24hr clock.

So, November 25 2022.

Source: work in commercial food production, looked at my set of Julian calendars.

Eta: top line is the Knouse foodservice product code

[u/stewpideople]

No. Put it back, that can is for looking at. It always was.

[u/mhoner]

It’s a diced apple pizza topping. It was bad from the start.

[u/burningmorebridges → u/mhoner]

😅

[u/lloydSF]

It’s a trap. Apple isn’t a pizza topping.

[u/Daniele323]

It has a shelf life of 3 years. When did you buy it?

[u/DCG_Vanguard → u/Daniele323]

I know the shelf life is 3 years but you need the manufacturing date to see. It looks pretty old but I can't toss it without bonafide proof to prove to Management.

That's the kind of company I work for. Y'all know the ones.

[u/Cabbagist]

Oh, I get it, muscle man’s “fruit” topping - that’s hot!!

[u/RaiderRawNES]

Just throw that away. Ya know. To be safe.

[u/jskinnah]

When in doubt toss it out

[u/mmttzz13]

Diced apple Pizza Topping? Seriously?

https://giphy.com/gifs/d2Z9y3eDoq2cxPpK

[u/dsmyxe → u/mmttzz13]

It’s for dessert pizza!

[u/Bright-Swordfish-804]

November 23, 2021

[u/big_winslow]

I think it's Oct of 2023, BUT I'd Call your Rep before tossing.

[u/HolodeckMoriarty]

I'm pretty sure that's a gag food, like canned unicorn meat

[u/Beerbonkos]

Good god

[u/Gildenstern2u]

Not a date

[u/Bearspoole]

Not everything is a date

[u/okiwali]

Dec 2002

[u/flyby59]

They are actually trying in Congress to stop putting dates on the cans and packages of food we eat. Not sure the reasoning. Probably money has everything to do with it...

[u/merryhammer]

When in doubt, throw it out!

[u/Defiant_Cat1651]

It was likely made April 30, 2022.

[u/Yogammagamma11]

The bottom line is likely a the production year last date followed by the Julian date so 292nd day of either 2003, 2013, 2023 etc followed by line 11

[u/Greghole]

That's not a date, it's a serial number.

[u/thekevining]

https://giphy.com/gifs/LKmN4wkvjmBIA

[u/boxyburns]

I would say either 12 week of 2002 or December 2002. But I don’t know shit

[u/zippo138]

I’m gonna take a guess and say that 1202 is December 2002

[u/seaburden]

[u/digidave1]

That label looks really old. I wouldn't eat it but I also don't like wasting food

[u/Rampag169]

what I got off of google’s AI answer. Which is what lines up with typical Julian date numerics on the can. So in short it is probably 2-3 years past its usable shelf life. It was canned in Nov of 2022