What is this best before date?!

[WhatICallMyUsername]

Anyone any ideas on what this best before date is?! I only bought it on Wednesday so if it’s 23 March 2025 there’s a serious complaint going in!! That’s the only date I can come up with!

It’s a coconut. Whatever the date is, it’s not going to kill you.

End of October

It's a Julian Code. The 233rd day of the year 2025.

October 10th

Different supermarkets use different ways of displaying BBE dates to help with stock rotation but avoid wastage.

It's a BBE so best condition before that date but safe to eat after that.

Fruit and veg don’t have a specific date, you cannot with certainty say this plant will die on the 1st of March on the dot. In general, they give you the best estimation, sometimes not a date at all. This gives you a rough estimate of October. You have a whole month

Example from a different shop with a different system. Same code.

It's taken off sale at the end of 10th October but likely good to eat for another couple of weeks

First World Problems 😂

It says O 10. That corresponds with what @Serencwtch says. 10th October.

Anyway, it is a coconut. Designed by nature to last for some time. As long as it is totally unblemished and has no cracks, then it will be fine.

Thanks all, I am obviously still going to eat it, I was just wondering as never seen it like that before!

I didn’t say it was going to kill me. I asked a question in chat as I was intrigued what it meant as I had never seen it before.

I did not post AIBU not to eat this coconut as it’s going to kill me.

It was just a question in chat as I was interested in the answer. Isn’t that what chat is for 🙄

It’s a new initiative run by the interns at Mumsnet HQ.

If someone writes a rude reply they get points.

And what do points mean? Prizes. Fuck knows, but it doesn’t stop people trying.

Haha @NoCommentingFromNowOn I am off back to the games chats 🤣

I'm glad you posted this because of @Serencwtch fascinating explanation. I had never heard of this and will be on the lookout now - thank you

It’s a best before date so it’ll probably be alright for the next decade at least

It came about as there was loads of food waste from people sticking rigidly to date codes on fruit & veg when the dates were irrelevant & freshness/ripeness are easy to check.

Many supermarkets removed BBE dates on fresh produce. However there still needed to be a way of identifying & rotating stock.

The Julian code identifies the stock so the supermarket code checkers can rotate & remove from sale by a certain date - the product will be safe to eat beyond this date. The code is meaningless to most people & so people who would normally obsess over dates & throw away good food or avoid fruit & veg with a 'shorter date' don't get put off.

Produce can be on the shelf in a supermarket with a BBE date that are several weeks apart but are actually picked/harvested on the same day.

It has reduced waste in warehouses & supermarkets but the biggest decrease is in people's homes.

Supermarkets and suppliers all use slightly different code systems. Some use a letter & number for month & date for example.

Some of them use a letter of the alphabet e.g. A for January, B for February, etc
I bought apples the other day and they say 'I 09' which means 9th September (I is the 9th month)

Well I am glad I asked as I did wonder how supermarkets managed the stock when they got rid of BB dates and now I know! Thanks to the helpful posters!

I'm surprised at all that packaging for a food that literally comes in its own natural packaging