Pet food
Purina Batch Code Decoder
Nestlé Purina stamps every bag, can, and pouch of pet food with a YJJJ production date and a two-letter plant identifier so any lot can be pulled during a recall.
Decode your Purina code
Format: YJJJ + plant + line. Example:
Enter a code above to decode the production date.
Format
YJJJ + plant + line
Example
6099KV
Year digit 6 + DOY 099 + plant KV.
Typical freshness
1 year
from production date
About Purina batch codes
Pet food has been subject to more high-profile recalls in the last two decades than almost any other consumer category, and the Julian production code on the back of every Purina bag is the anchor of each of those recalls. The format is YJJJ + two-letter plant: a bag of Purina Pro Plan marked 6099KV was manufactured on day 099 (April 9) of year 2026 at the KV plant. Dry kibble has a best-by window of approximately twelve months from production (545 days for the "made with real meat" formulas that have slightly more fat) and canned pet food is shelf-stable for about two years. Nestlé Purina operates factories in Clinton (Iowa), Crete (Nebraska), Flagstaff (Arizona), King William (Virginia) and several others, each with a distinct plant code so that when a recall is announced — most commonly for aflatoxin or salmonella — the affected lots can be identified down to a specific day at a specific plant and every other bag can stay on the shelf.
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 Purina's publicly documented code format. Manufacturers can change codes without notice — treat the result as an estimate and check any printed best-by date.