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Expiration CodesFriday, March 8, 2013
Easter Candy Spotting 2013Easter is that special time when seasonal favorites return to the shelves. It’s our last candy holiday before the long hot summer, so stock up while you can. I’ve been visiting the stores to look at what’s returned on stores shelves and of course seeking out new items. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve spotted or heard that other readers have seen again at stores this year. Let me know if there’s something I missed, or something you’re looking for. Hershey’s Nestle Wonka (part of Nestle) Mars Wrigley’s (part of Mars) Ghirardelli Cadbury Adams (part of Kraft) Ferrara Candy (now includes Brach’s, Trolli & Ferrara Pan) Russell Stover Individually Wrapped in Bags: Caramel Eggs, Marshmallow Eggs, Coconut Cream Eggs Tootsie Just Born Also: You can prowl back into the review archive of Easter candy by viewing all the candies tagged for Easter. Related CandiesWednesday, February 13, 2008
Cinnamon Imperial HeartsOne of the few candies that seemed to be in our house regularly when I was a kid were Cinnamon Imperials. Perhaps it was because they were considered “baking products.” Around Valentine’s Day each year they’re available in little heart shapes. (Actually, lately this is the only way I can find them unless I’m willing to buy the stupidly expensive packages from the cake decorating companies, teensy boxes of Ferrara Pan Red Hots or in huge quantities via the web.) They’re the perfect little candy and a rather simple construction. The center is a tiny pressed hard candy in the shape of a heart. They’re then tumbled in a panning machine and given several coats of red flavored sugar syrup and then shined up with a little edible wax. They’re not super hot, just a pleasant spicy cinnamon. These feature the devilish Red #40, but for some reason the cinnamon flavor masks it well enough for me to keep eating these. Of course everyone knows I’ve been eating them because my tongue has been red for the past week. They’re a fun candy to share and great for putting in a covered jar for everyone to enjoy. Definitely something to put on your list of items to pick up when they’re wildly on sale after Valentines. I’ve never noticed much difference between the brands. I’ve had Ferrara Pan & Necco and probably a bunch of other brands that I never managed to figure out. The Food Network’s Unwrapped show did an episode on Valentines candy last weekend and showed a company named Primrose in Chicago also making them. I’m fairly certain these were produced after Brach’s was taken over by Farley’s & Sathers last fall. The coding on it is the Farley’s & Sathers style. This particular bag has a code of 7332CYP5, using a Julian date system for the first four characters which means that it was produced on the 332rd day of 2007. That’d be November 27th, 2007. I’m guessing that a panned hard candy like this is good for at least 12 months. Tasted pretty fresh to me. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:00 am Monday, October 2, 2006
What does that Hershey’s code mean?Here’s how to decode the code on a Hershey’s wrapper. Hershey uses a two digit alpha-numeric code to denote the month and year of the expiration date. Here’s what the Hershey’s site says:
My Hershey’s Twosomes Almond Joy (Limited Edition) bar has a code that’s on two lines: I’m guessing the 7C is the one I want, so that means that the bar is considered fresh until March 2007. My York Peppermint Patties: This would expire in November 2006, so I got in just under the wire. A Heath bar: This one would expire in December 2006. Just remember, L is the LAST month! Related CandiesPOSTED BY Cybele AT 10:20 am Candy • Expiration Codes • Hershey's • News • Sunday, October 1, 2006
What does that Nestle code mean?Following up on decoding the Mars code, here’s the Nestle code, thanks to Reader Dave. Nestle uses something called the Julian code. The first four digits of the code on the wrapper will give you the date the product was manufactured. Julian code is rather difficult to read on the fly, but here goes: the first digit represents the last digit of the year. The next three numbers represent the day of the year. My Baby Ruth bar says: That means that it was made on the January 25, 2006. (That was an easy one.) My Nestle Crunch bar says: Hmm, anything that begins with a 5 sounds kind of bad in October. This one was made on October 21, 2005. Almost a year old. My 100 Grand bar says: Again with the 2005 ... but at least the second number “334” is pretty large. That’d be November 30, 2005. A quick way to calculate the month is to divide the three digit number by 30. If you can’t do that in your head, try dividing by 10 (moving the decimal place once slot) and then by 3. For the last one it gives you the approximation of November ... which is probably all you really wanted to know anyway. For the record, the true Julian day number is a lot more complex and tracks the number of days since 4713 ... kinda like stardates! Related CandiesPOSTED BY Cybele AT 3:07 pm Candy • Expiration Codes • Nestle • News • Friday, September 29, 2006
What does that Mars code mean?As I’m often found eating expired (or at least past prime) candy, it was a wonderful comment on the Skittles Fresh Mint post that breaks the code on the package of Mars products. Reader Dave posted the code in the comments and I’m putting it here for everyone to use. Here’s how do figure out when that candy was made: The date of packaging is within the first three digits of the code - the first digit is the last number of the year and the next two are the week of the year. So, the Milky Way bar I have in front of me says: That means it was made in the 20th week of 2006 - or sometime between May 14th to the 21st. Pretty fresh. The Milky Way Dark I have says: That means it was made in the 14th week of 2006 - or sometime between April 2nd to the 9th. Not bad. This seems to work with Canadian Mars products too, as this is what the Mars Dark says: That means it was made the 35th week of 2005 ... hmm, sometime between August 26th and September 2nd. That’s a little old. But I it must have been stored properly as it was still fresh and tasty. The week of the year thing is a little tricky unless you have a payroll calendar nearby, so a quick and easy way to approximate the month is to divide the week by four (it gets less reliable the higher the number because there’s usually a fraction of a week left in the month). The UK Mars bar I have simply has an expiration date on it (12-11-06). I’m not sure if that’s the European date style (November 12th, 2006) or the American (December 11, 2006) but at least neither of them have passed yet. Related CandiesPOSTED BY Cybele AT 10:50 am Candy • Expiration Codes • Mars • News • |
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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