How to Read Lot Codes on Food, and Where to Find Them

A lot code on food is the maker's name for the batch a package came from: a short string of letters and numbers, printed, stamped or embossed on the package, often close to the best-by or use-by date. Look there first: on the back or bottom of a bag near the seal, the top or bottom of a can, the neck or cap of a bottle, the lid or shoulder of a jar, or an end flap of a box. There's no single format, because each maker writes its own, but the same parts turn up again and again: a product or plant letter, a date, often as a Julian day number, and sometimes a line or a time. In the example below, the code "L6283 2 1432" reads as made in 2026, on day 283, October 10, on line 2 at 2:32 in the afternoon, and a taro chip bag's "TC-1016" reads as taro chips made October 16. Below is where to look, how to read the common parts, how to check a recall, and how a maker writes a code people can read.

The short version

• Look next to the best-by or use-by date first; the lot code is often printed with it.
• Cans: top or bottom. Bottles: neck, shoulder or cap. Jars: lid. Bags: near the seal. Boxes: an end flap.
• It may start with "LOT", "L" or "Batch", or have no label at all.
• A Julian date is the day of the year: 283 is October 10 in 2026.
• To check a recall, match the product, size, lot code and date to the notice.
• Makers: print "LOT" before the code, next to the date, in the same place on every pack.
• TaroStack gives every batch a lot code and prints it on lot labels with its date. More below.

Where to find it

If you can't find it, look for the date: on a lot of packs the two are printed in one pass by the same printer.

How to read the common parts

So "L6283 2 1432" reads as lot, 2026, day 283, line 2, 14:32. And "TC-1016" on a taro chip bag reads as taro chips, October 16. Codes that only the maker can decode are normal; the maker's records turn the code back into the batch. How Julian dates work, with a table of day numbers, is in Julian date code format.

Lot code or best-by date?

They're different things that often sit side by side. The best-by or use-by date tells the customer how long the product is good for. The lot code tells the maker which batch it came from, what went into it, and who else got it. Two packs can share a best-by date and come from different lots, or share a lot and carry one date. Which date phrases mean what is in best by date format.

Checking a recall

A recall notice names the product, the size or weight, and the lot codes or dates affected, sometimes with a photo of where they're printed. To check a pack:

1. Match the product name and size first.
2. Find the lot code and date on the pack.
3. Compare them character by character with the notice; a code one digit off is a different lot.
4. If it matches, follow the notice: return it, or throw it away, as it says.

For a maker, the other side of that notice is a list of which stores got which lot; how it's found is in one up one back traceability.

For makers: a code people can read

Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, prints its lot codes like this:

Three habits make a code easy to find and read: print "LOT" in front of it, put it beside the date in the same place on every pack, and keep the format the same across products. How to build a code, and where it goes on the label, are in how to create lot numbers and lot number on food packaging.

Where this stops working

A code on a pack is only useful if it leads back to the batch. Codes written by hand, a date stamp that slipped a day, two batches given the same code, or a batch sheet that never recorded which code went on the bags, and on the day a customer reads a code off a bag, nobody can say what was in it.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack gives every batch its code and keeps the record behind it.

A code for every batch. Every batch goes into a lot with its code and its best-by or use-by date, and lot labels print with both. When the item has a 14-digit GTIN, the label also carries a GS1-128 barcode with the GTIN, the use-by date and the lot.

The code leads back to the batch. The batch record shows the ingredient lots used, recorded automatically, and the checks on it. Receiving records each supplier's lot and dates, so a supplier's code leads forward too.

And forward to every customer. Shipping records which lots went where, delivery notes print each line's lot and best-before date, and one report shows every customer who got a lot and what's still on your own shelves.

Lots, lot labels, batch records and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

Where is the lot code on food?

Look next to the best-by or use-by date first: on the back of a bag near the seal, the top or bottom of a can, the neck or cap of a bottle, the lid of a jar, or a box's end flap.

What is a lot code on food?

The maker's code for the batch a package came from, so the batch can be traced to its ingredients and to everyone who received it.

How do you read a lot code?

Look for a date inside it, often a Julian day number such as 283 for October 10, plus letters for the product or plant and numbers for a line or time. Each maker uses its own format, so some codes can only be decoded by the maker.

Is the lot code the same as the expiration date?

No. The date tells you how long the product is good for; the lot code tells the maker which batch it came from. They're often printed together.