Canned meat
Hormel / Spam Batch Code Decoder
Hormel Foods stamps every can of Spam, canned chili, chicken breast, and corned beef hash with a Julian production date plus plant and shift identifiers for traceability and recall management.
Decode your Hormel / Spam code
Format: YJJJ + plant + shift. Example:
Enter a code above to decode the production date.
Format
YJJJ + plant + shift
Example
6099A2
Year digit 6 + DOY 099 + plant A + shift 2.
Typical freshness
3 years
from production date
About Hormel / Spam batch codes
Hormel Foods prints a Julian production date on the bottom of every can of Spam, canned chili, chicken breast, corned beef hash, and related shelf-stable products. The format is the same YJJJ + plant + shift structure most of the canned-foods industry uses: a can marked 6099A2 was produced on April 9, 2026 at plant A during the second shift. Properly stored canned meat has a best-quality window of about three years (1,095 days) from production and will remain food-safe for considerably longer provided the can is intact — the U.S. Army has successfully eaten Spam cans from the 1970s in controlled taste tests, though Hormel does not recommend this in the general case. The Julian production date is the one that matters for warehouse rotation and recall management; the separate "best by" calendar date on modern cans is derived from the Julian by adding 1,095 days.
Need the general technique for any package? See how to read a Julian date code. For the regulatory background on lot traceability, read the manufacturing guide, or convert any date on the converter.
This decoder is based on Hormel / Spam's publicly documented code format. Manufacturers can change codes without notice — treat the result as an estimate and check any printed best-by date.