Eggs are a staple in many households. They are versatile sources of protein suited for any meal. They could be scrambled, fried, poached, baked, etc. and paired with an assortment of other foods. However, the expiration date on egg cartons isn’t as clear-cut as the dates on other items. There’s an additional code on an egg carton called the Julian date. Once you decode it, you can ensure you are purchasing fresh eggs.

You can find this code on the side of the egg carton, near the sell by date. It looks like a three digit serial number but it’s actually a date. If you are unfamiliar, Julian dates range from 001 to 365, counting every day of the year, one at a time. For example, 001 is January 1st and 365 is December 31.

This code refers to the day the eggs were washed, graded, and loaded into their cartons. Eggs are freshest four to five weeks after being packaged so keep that in mind while shopping. Because the United States Department of Agriculture allows eggs to be sold for up to 30 days after their packaging, you may find cartons that are weeks old on store shelves.