Indiana Milk Jugs Have a Secret Code—Here’s What It Means

There's a good chance that you were today years old when you discovered the meaning behind the secret code on the milk jug in your fridge.

Milk. It's something that we all have inside our refrigerators. Whether you are making a bowl of cereal, splashing some milk into a delicious meal, or perhaps you are just going to indulge in a glass of milk to drink, there are several uses for that milk jug. Whatever you are using it for, you're most likely checking the sell-by date every time you are about to use some milk. But have you noticed there’s another number printed near the expiration date? You most likely have, but you might be surprised by what that number reveals about your milk.

What Do The Numbers on Your Milk Jug Mean?

Let's take a look at some milk I recently purchased from Walmart, which is about to expire soon.

See that number-and-dash combo that says 18-1951? It’s not some random number. That code actually tells you exactly where your milk came from. Let's break this example down for you. The first two numbers, which range from 01 to 56, indicate the state where your milk came from.  In this case, the first two digits are 18, which represent Indiana. Cornell University has a handy cheat sheet to show you which state is affiliated with each number.

Okay, so now that we know which state this jug of milk came from, let's take a look at the numbers on the other side of that dash mark. The next numbers, which can be up to five characters long, tell you exactly which dairy your milk came from. Now, there's no way the general public will be able to know which dairy farm is associated with the numbers. However, there is a website called “Where is My Milk From?” where you can type in your code and find out which dairy your milk is from. In the case of my milk, that set of numbers is 1951. When typed into Where is My Milk From, I discovered that this jug came from Blue Kingfisher LLC, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Here's a video that explains the codes further:

I thought this information was pretty cool because I've always noticed those numbers on milk cartons, but never really knew what they meant. I just thought they were all random, but they're not random at all.  It's entirely likely that you never knew what they meant either.

READ MORE: This Is Why Your Milk Jug Has a Circle On Its Side

In summary, some dairy is produced and processed locally, while other dairy products travel long distances, even crossing state lines. The cool thing is that these codes don't just apply to milk. You'll actually spot these codes on other dairy products, too. The numbers are printed on containers of chocolate milk, coffee creamer, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and more. So try it out yourself. Visit “Where is My Milk From?” to enter your milk jug's code to see where it came from. You might be surprised.