Questions

Random questions:

• Why do companies put cryptic codes on food products, instead of a user-friendly Use/Eat/Sell by date?
  
• Why do said companies a) not answer their toll-free number and b) want everything short of a Social Security number before they'll let you send them an email?

I've been cleaning out corners here and there, and came across three cake mixes that didn't have either a Use By date or a Sharpie'd "we bought this on" date. They do have a fairly useless code printed on the box, but it's nothing we can decipher, and the Pillsbury website doesn't have a decoder ring. I took a shot and cooked one of the mixes last week. Yeah, it's a little past it's prime. After it was done (passed the toothpick test), it was maybe 1.5 inches deep. And it shrank around the edges. A lot. It smelled okay, so we tried a slice. Edible, but not so great. We tossed most of it.

Today I tried again, this time with a box that was only best by February 2007. I took the precaution of adding a touch of fresh baking powder. This one came out much better. It's not a pancake.

Tried calling Pillsbury this morning, listened to the recording, and attempted to talk to a live person. The phone rang at least a dozen times before I gave up. I just sent them an email via their webform, asking how to translate their codes.