Egg Carton Trivia | Decoding Egg Freshness

Pictured is a Weis Quality Egg Carton.  The 356 means the eggs were packed on the 356th day of the year! You can store eggs in their cartons in the refrigerator four to five weeks beyond this date.

Egg cartons from plants producing U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA)-graded eggs must display a Julian date – the date the eggs were packed.  Starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365, these numbers represent the consecutive days of the year.   This number system is sometimes used on egg cartons to denote the day the eggs are packed.

On USDA grade-shielded egg cartons, if an expiration (sell-by) date appears, it can be no more than 30 days after the pack date. If a best-by (use-by) date appears, it can be no more than 45 days after the pack date.

Source:  Incredible Edible Egg