A: It means different things to different packers. That is why it is good to try to locate the "pack date" on the carton. It is a universal number. It is a number between 1 to 365 representing the day of the year starting with January 1 as 001 and ending with December 31 as 365. It will be 013 for January 13, 1999, 044 for February 13, 1999 and so on. The best way to follow this would be to find a calendar that tells what day in the year each day is.

Q: Is the pack date the same as the expiration date?
A: No. The expiration date will say exp and a date. The "pack date" means what it says....the pack date. January 13 would be the numbers 013 somewhere on the carton representing the 13th day of the year. The American Egg Board recommends refrigerator storage of up to 4-5 weeks beyond the pack date. In other words up to 28-35 days beyond the pack date is recommended. Throw the eggs out after February 10-17.