Easter is that special time when seasonal favorites return to the shelves. It’s our last candy holiday before the long hot summer, so stock up while you can.
I’ve been visiting the stores to look at what’s returned on stores shelves and of course seeking out new items.
Candy Expiration Date Decoder 2017
Expiration dates can be hard to locate on a product and even more challenging to decipher. Currently, the United States does not have a regulated or standard system for coding expiration dates on food, except for those on baby food and infant formula. All other dates and codes are added voluntarily by manufacturers.
Here’s a rundown of what I’ve spotted or heard that other readers have seen again at stores this year. Let me know if there’s something I missed, or something you’re looking for.
Hershey’s
Hershey’s Candy Coated White Chocolate Flavored Eggs Hershey’s Candy Coated Milk Chocolate Eggs Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs (foil wrapped) Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs (single serving) Reese’s Pieces Pastel Eggs (candy coated) Cadbury Creme Eggs - Caramel, Classic & Chocolate. Both regular size and the small “cartons” of a dozen. Cadbury Mini Eggs - Milk Chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs - Dark Chocolate Cadbury 3.5 ounce White Foil Hollow Rabbit (New!) Whoppers Robin Eggs Hershey’s Kisses Coconut Creme Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans Jolly Rancher Wild Berry Jelly Beans
Nestle
Nestle Crunch NestEggs Nestle Butterfinger NestEggs Nestle Creamy Caramel NestEggs
Wonka (part of Nestle)
Hoppin’ Nerds Laffy Taffy Jelly Beans Spring Chewy Spree SweeTarts Ducks, Chicks & Bunnies (2012 version) SweeTarts Bunnies Gummies Gobstoppers Egg Breakers
Mars
White Chocolate M&Ms (Target Only) Carrot Cake flavored White Chocolate M&Ms (Walmart Only) Snickers Eggs Milky Way Caramel Eggs Twix Eggs (new!) Pastel M&Ms - Milk Chocolate, Peanut, Peanut Butter, Almond & Pretzel Dove Coconut Eggs Dove White Chocolate Eggs 3 Musketeers Marshmallow (minis only)
Wrigley’s (part of Mars)
Life Savers Spring Mix Life Savers Jelly Beans Life Savers Pastel Jelly Beans Life Savers Gummi Bunnies & Eggs Pastel Skittles (still has Lime not Green Apple) Starburst Jelly Beans Starburst Sour Jelly Beans Starburst Crazy Beans Starburst FaveReds Jelly Beans
Ghirardelli
Milk Chocolate Foil Eggs Milk Chocolate Crisp Foil Eggs Ghirardelli Easter Chocolate Squares
Cadbury Adams (part of Kraft)
Sour Patch Bunnies Swedish Fish & Eggs Swedish Fish Jelly Beans (New!) Sour Patch Jelly Beans Candy Expiration Date Decoder
Ferrara Candy (now includes Brach’s, Trolli & Ferrara Pan)
Trolli Gummi Bunnies Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs (large & small) - made in Mexico Brach’s Classic Spice Jelly Beans - Made in Mexico Brach’s Jelly Chicks & Rabbits Brach’s Marshmallow Chicks & Rabbits Brach’s Pastel Fiesta Malted Milk Eggs (real milk chocolate) Brach’s Bunny Basket Eggs (marshmallow)
Russell Stover
Maple Cream Egg Strawberry Cream Egg Caramel Egg Big Bite Pecan Egg Caramel Creme Egg (like Cadbury) Vanilla Creme Egg (like Cadbury) Chocolate Creme Egg (egg shaped) Peanut Butter Egg (egg shaped) Red Velvet Egg Cookie Dough Egg (new!) Brownie Egg Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter Egg Vanilla Creme Egg Cookies ‘n Cream Nest Coconut Nest (jelly beans have returned)
Individually Wrapped in Bags: Caramel Eggs, Marshmallow Eggs, Coconut Cream Eggs
How To Read Food Expiration Date Codes | Livestrong.com
Tootsie
Easter Dots Pastel Egg Tootsie Pops Spring Color Sugar Babies Junior Mint Pastels
Just Born
Peeps Peepsters Peeps of all colors Peeps XL Peeps Milk Chocolate Egg (pictured) Mike and Ike Jelly Beans Hot Tamale Beans
Also:
R.M. Palmer Quax R.M. Palmer My Little Bunny Dum Dums with Jelly Bean Centers Haribo Gummi Bunnies (of special note because they’re made in Germany, not Turkey or Spain) Real Eggshell Filled with Hazelnut Truffle See’s Orange Cream Lollipops Milka Lil Scoops
You can prowl back into the review archive of Easter candy by viewing all the candies tagged for Easter.
Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:14 pm Candy • Expiration Codes • Easter • Highlight • Shopping •
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
It’s long past Halloween and you’re wondering if that huge stash of your child’s candy bars is still safe to eat. Or it’s the next Halloween and you’re wondering if you can give out last year’s candy. Wonder no more. Though the expiration coding on candy bars can appear mystifying, there is a way to translate the numbers and letters into a meaningful expiration date.
Look at the Candy Bar
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
Candy bars will either have a comprehensible “Best By” date or a numbered code on their package. Look at the candy bar first. If you see a date, such as “August 2010” or “10 Aug” then that’s the “Best By” date, not the date when it was produced.
If there is nothing that resembles a date, but instead a string of characters, some detective work will be in order.
M&Ms and MarsCandy Expiration Date Decoder Download
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
On the candy bars of these companies, you’ll find a 10-digit line of numbers and letters that looks like it doesn’t mean anything. It does, but you only need to worry about the first three numbers. To read it, look at the first number. This stands for the last number in a year. A “9” means 2009; a “zero” means 2010; a “1” means 2011.
Look at the two numbers following. These stand for which week of the year it was manufactured. If the first three numbers are 106, this means it expires in the sixth week of the year, or in the middle of February 2011. The candy has a shelf life of approximately one year.
Hershey's
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
Again, there is a code stamped somewhere on the candy bar. Hershey’s usually places this at the end. The code consists of a number and a letter.
The number corresponds to the year. Thus a 1 represents 2011. The letter corresponds to the month. “A” is January, “B” is February, “C” is March, and so on until December. A code of 1L means that the product is good until December 2011.
Chocolate Blooms
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
Sometimes, dark or milk chocolate will turn white or tan. There is no cause for alarm, says Hershey’s. This occurs when the temperature rises above 75 degrees F, causing the melting. Then the cocoa butter may appear on the chocolate top, causing “cocoa bloom.” If there is moisture in the air and condensation on the chocolate, the sugars may go to the surface, causing “sugar bloom.” This won’t hurt the eater, but the taste may be off because it won’t be mixed well anymore.
![]() Storing Candy Bars
Laura Vryhof/Demand Media
Hershey’s says that chocolate is best eaten within a year of its production, which is the expiration date. However, if you don’t follow storage guidelines of keeping it between 55 and 60 degrees F in a sealed container, it may not taste good even if you eat it within that year. Nuts or other ingredients shorten the shelf life as well.
Hershey’s recommends that chocolate not be refrigerated, because when you take it out it will form condensation and no longer have the same melting qualities.
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