Have you ever felt unsure about the safety of a product you were about to purchase concerning its shelf-life? With the information you can get from manufacturing date codes, you do not have to worry about the product's quality.
When you look at a product with a shelf life, there is bound to be some type of date or alphabetical or numerical code written on a label or on its packaging, This is what is called a manufacturing date code, which serves to show information about the date of manufacture and its expiration date.
In general, there are only two types of date codes: open date codes and closed date codes. However, the first type can still be divided into different kinds with various characteristics.
You can find open date codes on the packaging of consumable goods like food and drinks. Consumers' quality and safety have become a priority as they put these products inside their bodies. That is where these codes have a role in showing whether the products are in the best condition or not.
There are at least five kinds of open date codes commonly available, and each shows information based on different aspects. Those five kinds are manufacturing dates, packaging dates, expiration dates, best before dates, and use-by dates.
Both manufacturing dates and packaging dates are similar in the way that they show dates that had already passed before the products were distributed. The first date gives information about the production time, while the packaging date shows the time when the products are packed.
Moreover, the other three show a product's limitations- as kind of warning sign. The expiration date shows the time when the products can not be consumed anymore while the best before date and use-by date are a bit less daunting as the products can still be consumed after the dates, albeit not in the best condition nor with guaranteed safety.
Consumers are not the only ones who need to see some these type of codes; the others such as manufacturers require information from closed gate codes as well. These codes differ from open date codes in that they do not tell about the products' quality or safety; instead, with their unique combinations of letters and numbers, closed date codes give manufacturers information about when the products are manufactured. The information can then be used for purposes such as tracking and inventory.
How a manufacturing date is determined is related to the manufacturing process itself. The manufacturing process is what manufacturers use to transform raw materials into finished products that are ready to sell to consumers.
To create such finished products, manufacturers rely on tools, machinery, and human labor as part of the production process, with each process differing based on the procedures or products and raw materials used.
Careful research needs to be done before deciding the date when a product is not of its best quality or even harmful to be consumed. If the date is not accurate, it can be a catastrophe for consumers whose health is threatened and can impact the reputation of the company or manufacturers as consumers would lose trust.
Some examples of these manufacturing date codes are "Mfg. 2-2022" which means the product was manufactured in February 2022, "Exp. 3-2025" which means it is going to be expired in March 2025, and "Best Before 5-2024" which means it is in its best quality until May 2024.
Without a manufacturing date code, consumers would not know the safety or quality of a product, and misinformation regarding these dates can be detrimental to your business. Ensure your manufacturing processes are conducted correctly and efficiently and effectively by digitalizing your SOPs, allowing you to verify on-site assessments and access real-time insights from this data. Want to learn more about how you can achieve this using Nimbly’s solution? Request a free consultation to find out more.
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