No doubt, you’ve noticed that some food products come with dates and codes printed on them. And who isn’t noticing this more now as food costs are skyrocketing? Do those codes and dates mean the item must be consumed by that date or just sold by that date? What about canned or packaged goods that show only a date like “2.01.21”? Does that mean you could end up in the emergency room if you consume it a month later in March? And then there are other food products that don’t seem to have any date at all—at least we sure can’t find any reference to one. Confusing, isn’t it? While most food processors date and code their products and decide what their codes mean, it is the Food and Drug Administration that mandates dating, which is surprisingly limited. Under federal law, only infant formula and baby food are required to …