Breaking the Udi’s Bag Tag Code

Did you ever pick up a package of Udi’s Gluten-Free Bread and look all over the package for a “good until” date only to never find one? This recently happened to me at the discount store Grocery Outlet in Santa Cruz. I found an EXCELLENT deal on the large loaves of Udi’s bread but had no clue if it was still good or not. That is until I called Udi’s/Boulder Brands customer service and was told how to “break the code”!

This was one of the first times that I ever took my phone out and called a manufacturer right from the store. I know other people with celiac disease who eat gluten-free do this all the time, but not me. I just couldn’t let the deal pass me by so I was eager to get some information on the fly.

According to Udi’s:

“We use a Julian Calendar to reflect our production date. It will be a five to six digit number on the bread clip for bagged goods and on the packaging for our other products. The first two digits are the year (15 for 2015 or 16 for 2016) and the next three digits reflect the day’s number in the year (ex 015 will be January 15th since it is the 15th day of the year). The last digit is simply for production and doesn’t mean anything regarding the date.

Our products, unlike our competitors, can be left at room temperature so it can be eaten soft without being toasted. Some of our vendors now sell our bread and baked goods in the bakery rather than in the frozen section. The bakery department should re-date the product to reflect the 7 day use-by-date (just like gluten-filled breads).

Here is the recommended shelf life for our products:
• At room temperature: 5-7 days
• In refrigerator: 21 days (the refrigerator will prolong the life of the product,but since it’s a baked good, it may dry out)
• In freezer: 6 months

Please note our breads do not spoil, as with any other bread products, it will mold. So as long as it’s not moldy, you can refreeze or refrigerate the product.

Based on the Udi’s tag code and the information from customer service, my bread was baked on September 28, 2015. I bought it in the beginning February 2016 so the loaf was about 4 1/2 months old. It was frozen and appeared to be in good condition, so I decided to buy it. I was not disappointed, the bread was totally fine and I had more money in my wallet from the money I saved. Now that I understand the codes on the bag tags, I will use this information for future shopping trips!