How to read a batch number and expiry date

What a batch or lot number is

A batch number, also called a lot number, identifies one production run. The Codex Alimentarius, the joint FAO and WHO food standards body, defines a lot as a definite quantity of a product made under essentially the same conditions.

The Codex labelling standard says each container should be permanently marked, in code or in plain text, to identify the factory and the lot. National rules build on this. In Nigeria, for example, NAFDAC's labelling rules for pre-packaged food require the batch number on the label.

You will usually see it after "Batch", "Batch No.", "Lot" or "LOT". The format is the company's own. It can be letters, numbers or both, and some companies build the production date, the factory or the production line into it.

For example, a line reading "LOT A2309 BBE 03/2027" gives the lot as A2309 and tells you the product is best before the end of March 2027.

The batch number lets the company trace a problem back to one production run. Write it down if you ever need to report a product.

Where to find the code

The batch number and dates are usually printed together, often in a blank box or strip left for them. Look in these places:

• Cans and tins: the base or the lid.
• Sachets: the sealed edge or the back.
• Cartons and boxes: an end flap or the side panel.
• Bottles: the label, the shoulder or the neck.
• Tubes and jars: the crimped end of a tube, or the base of a jar.
• Medicines: the end of the box and the back of each blister strip.

Manufacturing date, best before, use by and expiry

• Date of manufacture: the date the product was made. In Nigeria, NAFDAC's rules for processed and pre-packaged food say it must be introduced with the words "Date of Manufacture".
• Best before: a date about quality. UK government guidance says food is usually safe to eat after its best before date but may not be of the same quality.
• Use by: a date about safety. The same guidance says it tells you when food is no longer safe to eat, and it appears on foods that go off quickly, such as meat products and ready-to-eat salads.
• Expiry date: on food, it plays the same role as use by. On medicines, it is the last date you should use the medicine.

When several items are sold in one outer wrapper, NAFDAC's rules say the expiry or best before date must appear on the wrapper and on each item inside it.

Storage conditions are part of the date. A product kept in heat or sunlight can spoil before its date. Codex says a label must state any storage conditions the date depends on, such as "Store in a cool, dry place".

Never use a medicine, baby food or a use by product after its date, whatever it looks like.

Date formats you will see

• DD/MM/YYYY: 05/03/2027 means 5 March 2027. NAFDAC asks for this format for the manufacturing and best before dates on food sold in Nigeria.
• Month and year only: "Best before end 03/2027" means until the end of March 2027. Codex allows month and year for products that keep for more than three months.
• Day and month only: Codex uses this for products that keep for three months or less.
• Month as letters: "05 MAR 2027". Codex allows letters for the month where they will not confuse people.
• Month first: some imported products put the month before the day. If the first number is higher than 12, it is the day. If you cannot tell which is which, ask the seller or the brand.

Short forms are common. MFD or MFG means the manufacturing date, EXP means expiry, and BB or BBE means best before or best before end.

Signs a date was changed or a label replaced

Putting new dates on expired stock is not limited to one country. Regulators and police have found it in at least six countries:

• Nigeria, November 2025: NAFDAC seized expired drinks worth ₦30 million in Jos. The sellers had used a chemical to erase the original manufacturing and expiry dates and printed new ones on the bottle necks.
• Nigeria, January 2025: NAFDAC found three warehouses in Aba stockpiling expired Hollandia Yoghurt for revalidation, meaning new dates.
• Ghana, September 2019: the Food and Drugs Authority detained canned Lucozade at a warehouse in Accra. The FDA said the expiry dates had been changed from September 2019 to September 2020, and two people were arrested.
• Kenya, May 2023: detectives found 1,511 bags of milk powder in a Nairobi godown with the expiry dates removed, ready for repackaging. KEBS officials had declared the milk powder unfit for human consumption.
• South Africa, November 2024: police raided a facility in Daleside, Gauteng, and seized expired Lucky Star pilchards, first dated 2021 and 2022, that had been relabelled with 2026 dates. Officers also seized the printing equipment.
• Tanzania, November 2021: the Tanzania Bureau of Standards warned traders in Dodoma, Singida and Tabora against changing the expiry dates of products past their shelf life.
• Uganda, August 2017: UNBS seized foods whose original dates had been removed with liquid erasers and covered with locally printed stickers.

Fake batch details can also look different from the real ones. In August 2025, NAFDAC's alert on fake Cowbell Our Milk sachets noted that the batch details were printed in ink instead of by laser, and outside the coding area.

Look for these signs on any product:

• The date or batch number is in a different place from usual, or outside the box printed for it.
• The ink smudges or rubs off with a damp finger, or the font and colour differ from the rest of the code.
• A sticker covers the date, or there are two labels on top of each other.
• Scratch marks, a faded patch, a shiny patch or a chemical smell where a date could have been.
• Dates that do not make sense: an expiry date before the manufacturing date, or a shelf life far longer than other items of the same product.
• The date or batch number on the carton is different from the one on the sachet, bottle or blister inside.
• The dates appear only on a bottle neck or a sticker. After the Jos case, NAFDAC urged the public to make sure dates are clearly printed on the label.

A changed date often comes with other signs of a fake. Our guides on fake food and drinks, fake skincare and how to identify fake drugs cover the rest of the label and the container.

Some companies protect their products with anti-counterfeiting methods. You can verify a product protected with Batach with your phone at batach.io/scan.

What to do with an expired or altered product

1. Do not use it. Keep the product and your receipt.
2. Write down the batch number, both dates, where you got it and the price.
3. Take a clear photo of the code area and any sticker.
4. Report it to the regulator in your country.

In some countries one agency covers food, medicines and cosmetics. In others, a bureau of standards handles food and cosmetics and a separate authority handles medicines:

• Nigeria: NAFDAC covers food, medicines and cosmetics. Call 0800-162-3322 or visit nafdac.gov.ng. See what NAFDAC is.
• Ghana: the Food and Drugs Authority covers food, medicines and cosmetics. Use the complaint form on fdaghana.gov.gh. See our guide to the FDA in Ghana.
• Kenya: report food and cosmetics to KEBS on its toll-free line, 1545, and see the KEBS Standardization Mark. Report medicines to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board at pharmacyboardkenya.org and counterfeits to the Anti-Counterfeit Authority.
• Tanzania: report food and cosmetics to the Tanzania Bureau of Standards on 0800 110 827 or at tbs.go.tz. Report medicines to TMDA on 0800 110 084 or at tmda.go.tz. See our guide to TMDA.
• Uganda: report food and cosmetics to UNBS on its toll-free lines, 0800 133 133 and 0800 233 233. Medicines are regulated by the National Drug Authority.
• South Africa: report food to your nearest municipality, whose environmental health practitioners inspect food businesses. For cosmetics, ask the health department at your local municipality where to report. Report medicines to SAHPRA. See our guide to SAHPRA.

Our guide on how to report fake products in Nigeria explains each Nigerian channel in detail.