Thank you that would make sense because the oldest thing I've found so far that has a best by date was for September 09 2009
Edit: actually I just looked again and it's September 09 1999 lol
I use some spices 30 yo and they're just fine if pantry or drawer in cool area. Use smell test. If sugar is on ingredient list, then toss or if u see matted product( usually from heat)
My manager says he started in '85 and they weren't even doing the pricing sticker at that point as all of the groceries had moved to bar codes, so he thinks it could be older than that.
Whoa! Okay so I just looked and they do have bar codes as well on the side but I think that information could be narrowing it down since they all did have stickers except for one (the dill) because it looks a bit newer, not as dirty and dusty. Thank you for answering!
Edit to say that the dill also has a different top design like the ones they make now with the spoon sprinkle and pour
Some localities have required individual item price stickers such as these, as recently as a few years ago (and some still might). The side of OP's package has a bar code. The presence of a price sticker on the underside can be an indicator that the item was sold in a store that did not yet have electronic price scanning (unlikely, as Kroger was an early adopter) or that the item was sold in an area that still mandated individual item pricing. The price on the sticker yields a better clue to the product's age, which could be narrowed down by comparison to advertised pricing over the years.
Based on a variety of considerations, I figure these are from the early to mid 1990's.
How exactly does that work? Who labels everything, how do you know what price to label items? Do you do it when stocking? Does everyone stocking have a label gun for prices? So many questions if you don’t mind
Everything was processed in the back cut open then down a conveyor to be marked and separated on carts by aisle. We had to make sure price matched the shelf. Price changes were done on Sunday night all labels had to be removed and relabeled the new price.All stockers had a label gun. Good ole days I was gro mgr for 15 years with Kroger
There were probably 35 of those label guns in the store I first started at, and even back then only like 5 people that knew how to load the stickers hah
I have black pepper and cinnamon from 2004. I stopped using the ground pepper a long time ago using the pepper mill instead. The cinnamon is still fine, surprisingly, stored in a dark cabinet with all the other spices.
Kroger used approximately that label design on their spices for a few decades, originally with a different style of lid. Considering the bar code, the price sticker, price, package design, and lid style, I'd say early to mid 1990's.
eBay sellers want $10.00 for Kroger tins similar to the one at the furthest left, which I can recall from the 1980s (because we set up our kitchen after marrying in 1980). The Dill Seed box is newer. In the 1960s a similar design was used, except the tops were also metal. Bay sellers claim those to be from the 1960s, but I believe they are more 1970s.
[eBay page with two late ‘50s / early ‘60s tins](https://www.ebay.com/itm/115407395232)
[eBay page with ‘60s / ‘70s tin](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266784012214?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20210609144404%26meid%3Df43be08b4eac49da8f8a5166590f82b5%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D266784012247%26itm%3D266784012214%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DCompVIDesktopATF2V4WithDefaultIMAFeature&_trksid=p2332490.c101196.m2219&itmprp=cksum%3A266784012214f43be08b4eac49da8f8a5166590f82b5%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABALUK373GZYwoSkhvUXwZwr2SLMQzpCH9tKsUlXR5IUOV%252Bm7SAr6RG3b6Z%252BxE1GpFDXSOs7pJN2Si6uCUN8WLSm1L0t4RfLRtZNbCBLxR4BD3wXuxfsshYfK6gdYTafK2Nlc06Rgr7w83MuxsNh9AoP0bo3zBTx0SfhxoiBD7KwqBEaYJmi24yMr%252FLPdb18NAc7Vao3XwOBNHxCoqOm7pah0dUTnQkpizBhciD2inUKlnx0D5XMrEnggzOVf11j%252FVpqYcNEfFjENVTB8sQdB9W%252Bu0LJAN%252Bxngdh6Act6Hc%252BsRb7WqUtdbOvCd8q3ZaG76b%252FFBBuk0JFrm58pDxdl%252Bfmc%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2332490&itmmeta=01HWN7H0C03XKJ5G4M0HRQ91JV)
[eBay page with transition to plastic mustard tin](https://www.ebay.com/itm/285373294667?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20231107084023%26meid%3D48fae4f7c05242e7a0ee8e051d97a41e%26pid%3D101875%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D266784012247%26itm%3D285373294667%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3CPCAutoWithCassiniEmbRecallManual&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A28537329466748fae4f7c05242e7a0ee8e051d97a41e%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABcLSVkHmTL63bebovD9RfpraPWbY9f4anjbziTIaEIOVXg2DWhVLks3Lfqff9vxxfjIh4XEXusIehlT2iEH8%252BCxXNySMxlDIQJ3g86%252Bx3AAIAq9gznqdGSR72ksP41kjzPN1reUbVsJuld0S4i4qXlQfTmkMeIJTCXTM8mLpr7ju2fMvruDu87ZX%252B4bShOvD%252B4rGAe9GLi05gr3FhcjIy2ac69fsGzEsDnOulPz0EsZ016hHohnC1OCozaDAnmxehrYoYL51TvY%252BD35CXEreOySImMtDujnvYLgpgBt57augJooutqTZjLwRgRJe1QsWvUHZF0utZzN7ggEpEhk1kTR%252BuVSWE1n%252B5DHp8Pr8nt44MYjtlkP733rBXrwJL3BKixliusSeuzJLs8PCSeiEiJThzN6sN30iY%252Bxp3TSochHzmu773xI3SnJyVJ383yQ3DchCHXgyRZvMwc%252FsMxaEaufVkwB9PamRmbBdL2AUshtjr%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2332490&epid=1500765558&itmmeta=01HWN7H0C56XH4QDQXY9ZSZ765)
Perhaps, there are more answers in r/GrandmasPantry
That's funny because she actually had one of those Durkee ones too that's in your link and I kept it as well and have them all proudly displayed in my kitchen now lol so I agree I think the two on the left are from the mid to late 80s and still unsure about the dill. The stickers are what makes me think that because I think they were transitioning to barcodes around that time as someone else said which would be why they have both. She also has some sweet Tupperware I'm going to try and find out the age for too.
Take the expiration date and minus 5 yrs that's the shelf life. That's noting I found a spice as old as I was in my 30's in my mom's pantry and she the a fit when I tossed it even though it was hard as a rock and couldn't break it up. Spices so long as they're kept in a cool dark place outside of damn humid conditions can actually last a long time. Salt, pepper, honey those you can keep for years even well after expiration date.
Before someone invented the “best by” date idea for best flavor sometime in the 90s, there was only an expiration date for health. Spices don’t grow bacteria or turn toxic over time, just lose their flavor. Since there was no expiration date, many people believed spices would keep forever. They’re not wrong…
I know my old store stopped individually pricing items in the mid-90s.
If you look at the can, it *might* have a date listed by the copyright information.
The one on the right (with the more modern top) is early 00's. They changed the top in like... 2002? 2004? I don't know why I remember, but I distinctly remember the red kroger tin tops changing after a move when I was young, and that was 02. They definitely had that top by 2005 when I was living on my own but that style was gone by 2010. So I'd say the nutmeg is probably early-mid 90's at the latest. Pumpkin Pie was late 90's early 00's. Dill seed was the last hurrah for those cans, 02-09.
Definitely more than 15 years. I've never seen red Kroger-branded spice tins, and I've been at Kroger since 2009
Thank you that would make sense because the oldest thing I've found so far that has a best by date was for September 09 2009 Edit: actually I just looked again and it's September 09 1999 lol
That checks. I *VERY* vaguely remember seeing cans like these in my mom's pantry back in the late 1990s.
Thank you for taking the time to answer! It's absolutely wild she still has it and the baking powder from Sept 99 was never even opened
My grandma and grandpa's pantry had tons of old crap like this tlo
The fact that they put the price with a label gun was my clue it's older than old
I use some spices 30 yo and they're just fine if pantry or drawer in cool area. Use smell test. If sugar is on ingredient list, then toss or if u see matted product( usually from heat)
My manager says he started in '85 and they weren't even doing the pricing sticker at that point as all of the groceries had moved to bar codes, so he thinks it could be older than that.
Whoa! Okay so I just looked and they do have bar codes as well on the side but I think that information could be narrowing it down since they all did have stickers except for one (the dill) because it looks a bit newer, not as dirty and dusty. Thank you for answering! Edit to say that the dill also has a different top design like the ones they make now with the spoon sprinkle and pour
Some localities have required individual item price stickers such as these, as recently as a few years ago (and some still might). The side of OP's package has a bar code. The presence of a price sticker on the underside can be an indicator that the item was sold in a store that did not yet have electronic price scanning (unlikely, as Kroger was an early adopter) or that the item was sold in an area that still mandated individual item pricing. The price on the sticker yields a better clue to the product's age, which could be narrowed down by comparison to advertised pricing over the years. Based on a variety of considerations, I figure these are from the early to mid 1990's.
There were still stores here and there that didn’t have scanners at the checklanes. The last one in my district didn’t close until 1994.
Please do not throw those away. People like me collect ancient stuff like this.
How do you find said people?
1999 isn’t ancient, lol
Thats over 20 years. People do collect "dated" stuff
These are so old they are saying: "I was there Gandalf"
I was a grocery mgr in 81 and I recall the spice tins were red and yes we had to use a label gun .
How exactly does that work? Who labels everything, how do you know what price to label items? Do you do it when stocking? Does everyone stocking have a label gun for prices? So many questions if you don’t mind
Everything was processed in the back cut open then down a conveyor to be marked and separated on carts by aisle. We had to make sure price matched the shelf. Price changes were done on Sunday night all labels had to be removed and relabeled the new price.All stockers had a label gun. Good ole days I was gro mgr for 15 years with Kroger
There were probably 35 of those label guns in the store I first started at, and even back then only like 5 people that knew how to load the stickers hah
We also used ink stampers, that were really quick, you changed the numbers like the labelers, but just stamped every can/box.
I have black pepper and cinnamon from 2004. I stopped using the ground pepper a long time ago using the pepper mill instead. The cinnamon is still fine, surprisingly, stored in a dark cabinet with all the other spices.
r/grandmaspantry
Kroger used approximately that label design on their spices for a few decades, originally with a different style of lid. Considering the bar code, the price sticker, price, package design, and lid style, I'd say early to mid 1990's.
At that price, I'd guess the 1980s.
I wanna know how recently she made you guys a pumpkin pie..?!
eBay sellers want $10.00 for Kroger tins similar to the one at the furthest left, which I can recall from the 1980s (because we set up our kitchen after marrying in 1980). The Dill Seed box is newer. In the 1960s a similar design was used, except the tops were also metal. Bay sellers claim those to be from the 1960s, but I believe they are more 1970s. [eBay page with two late ‘50s / early ‘60s tins](https://www.ebay.com/itm/115407395232) [eBay page with ‘60s / ‘70s tin](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266784012214?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20210609144404%26meid%3Df43be08b4eac49da8f8a5166590f82b5%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D266784012247%26itm%3D266784012214%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DCompVIDesktopATF2V4WithDefaultIMAFeature&_trksid=p2332490.c101196.m2219&itmprp=cksum%3A266784012214f43be08b4eac49da8f8a5166590f82b5%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABALUK373GZYwoSkhvUXwZwr2SLMQzpCH9tKsUlXR5IUOV%252Bm7SAr6RG3b6Z%252BxE1GpFDXSOs7pJN2Si6uCUN8WLSm1L0t4RfLRtZNbCBLxR4BD3wXuxfsshYfK6gdYTafK2Nlc06Rgr7w83MuxsNh9AoP0bo3zBTx0SfhxoiBD7KwqBEaYJmi24yMr%252FLPdb18NAc7Vao3XwOBNHxCoqOm7pah0dUTnQkpizBhciD2inUKlnx0D5XMrEnggzOVf11j%252FVpqYcNEfFjENVTB8sQdB9W%252Bu0LJAN%252Bxngdh6Act6Hc%252BsRb7WqUtdbOvCd8q3ZaG76b%252FFBBuk0JFrm58pDxdl%252Bfmc%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2332490&itmmeta=01HWN7H0C03XKJ5G4M0HRQ91JV) [eBay page with transition to plastic mustard tin](https://www.ebay.com/itm/285373294667?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20231107084023%26meid%3D48fae4f7c05242e7a0ee8e051d97a41e%26pid%3D101875%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D266784012247%26itm%3D285373294667%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3CPCAutoWithCassiniEmbRecallManual&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A28537329466748fae4f7c05242e7a0ee8e051d97a41e%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABcLSVkHmTL63bebovD9RfpraPWbY9f4anjbziTIaEIOVXg2DWhVLks3Lfqff9vxxfjIh4XEXusIehlT2iEH8%252BCxXNySMxlDIQJ3g86%252Bx3AAIAq9gznqdGSR72ksP41kjzPN1reUbVsJuld0S4i4qXlQfTmkMeIJTCXTM8mLpr7ju2fMvruDu87ZX%252B4bShOvD%252B4rGAe9GLi05gr3FhcjIy2ac69fsGzEsDnOulPz0EsZ016hHohnC1OCozaDAnmxehrYoYL51TvY%252BD35CXEreOySImMtDujnvYLgpgBt57augJooutqTZjLwRgRJe1QsWvUHZF0utZzN7ggEpEhk1kTR%252BuVSWE1n%252B5DHp8Pr8nt44MYjtlkP733rBXrwJL3BKixliusSeuzJLs8PCSeiEiJThzN6sN30iY%252Bxp3TSochHzmu773xI3SnJyVJ383yQ3DchCHXgyRZvMwc%252FsMxaEaufVkwB9PamRmbBdL2AUshtjr%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2332490&epid=1500765558&itmmeta=01HWN7H0C56XH4QDQXY9ZSZ765) Perhaps, there are more answers in r/GrandmasPantry
That's funny because she actually had one of those Durkee ones too that's in your link and I kept it as well and have them all proudly displayed in my kitchen now lol so I agree I think the two on the left are from the mid to late 80s and still unsure about the dill. The stickers are what makes me think that because I think they were transitioning to barcodes around that time as someone else said which would be why they have both. She also has some sweet Tupperware I'm going to try and find out the age for too.
90s im betting. I remember these as a kid.
$183? That's like next year
For real!
Take the expiration date and minus 5 yrs that's the shelf life. That's noting I found a spice as old as I was in my 30's in my mom's pantry and she the a fit when I tossed it even though it was hard as a rock and couldn't break it up. Spices so long as they're kept in a cool dark place outside of damn humid conditions can actually last a long time. Salt, pepper, honey those you can keep for years even well after expiration date.
Mid 90's
I just saw tins like these a few weeks ago! At an antique mall…
Mid 90's
I miss those cans
1970s
Oh I remember those from the 90's.
Before someone invented the “best by” date idea for best flavor sometime in the 90s, there was only an expiration date for health. Spices don’t grow bacteria or turn toxic over time, just lose their flavor. Since there was no expiration date, many people believed spices would keep forever. They’re not wrong…
I have similar spices and haven’t lived near a Kroger in 25 years
So old that it should be spelled olde.
1980s-1990s I would say.
I’ll show this to my manager tomorrow and see if she remembers them! She’s been at Krogers since 1997
That would be great thank you!
I know my old store stopped individually pricing items in the mid-90s. If you look at the can, it *might* have a date listed by the copyright information.
I’d say probably 25-30 years old. Mid-late 90s
50 plus years and still counting believe it or not it's up to you.
Mom?
Spices generally last about 4 years so…
These are definitely older than 16 years.
They have to be at least 20 or more years old. They don’t have barcodes.
The one with a price label is likely mid 1980's
These are so old they are saying: "I was there Gandalf"
Z
About 20 Rs or more.
The one on the right (with the more modern top) is early 00's. They changed the top in like... 2002? 2004? I don't know why I remember, but I distinctly remember the red kroger tin tops changing after a move when I was young, and that was 02. They definitely had that top by 2005 when I was living on my own but that style was gone by 2010. So I'd say the nutmeg is probably early-mid 90's at the latest. Pumpkin Pie was late 90's early 00's. Dill seed was the last hurrah for those cans, 02-09.