Taiwan Food and Medicine Expiry Dates in ROC Format

A Taiwan-made product printed with 115.09.22 is dated 22 September 2026, not 2015. Food and medicine packaging in Taiwan commonly prints dates in ROC years: add 1911 to the printed year.

The conversion at the shelf

Packaged food, drinks, cosmetics and medicine made in Taiwan frequently print their expiry or best-before date in the same ROC year format used on official documents, usually with dots or without separators.

Formula	Western year = ROC year + 1911
Example	115.09.22 → 115 + 1911 = 2026 → 22 September 2026
Year/month only	115.09 → September 2026 (no specific day given)

If you want to double-check a date fast in the shop, the ROC year converter works on your phone in a few seconds.

The labels to look for

Packaging in Taiwan uses specific Chinese terms next to the date, and the label tells you what kind of date you're reading:

製造日期	Manufacture date
有效日期 / 有效期限	Expiry date / valid-until date
最佳食用日期	Best-before date (quality, not necessarily safety)
保存期限	Shelf life / storage period, sometimes given as a duration rather than a fixed date

A product showing 保存期限 as a duration (e.g. "12 months") rather than a fixed date means you calculate the expiry yourself from the manufacture date — convert the manufacture date to Western format first, then add the stated duration.

The 2015 misreading, at the worst possible moment

This is the same trap as on ID cards and permits, but with a different consequence: reading 115 as "2015" on a product you're about to eat suggests it's badly expired, when it is in fact dated over a decade into the future. Conversely, misreading a genuinely old date the other way could mean consuming something that actually has expired. Always run the arithmetic — add 1911 — rather than pattern-matching on how the digits look.

Imported products

Imported packaged goods sold in Taiwan don't always get their dates converted to ROC format. Many keep the manufacturer's original Western date, sometimes with a Chinese-language sticker added by the Taiwanese importer or distributor repeating the same date, occasionally converted to ROC format on the sticker. If a product carries both an original date and a sticker, they should describe the same expiry — treat any mismatch as a reason to ask the retailer rather than assume which one is correct.

Rules for what must appear on food and drug labelling, and how expiry dates should be set and displayed, are set by Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

This page explains the date format only. It is not food safety or medical advice and is not affiliated with any government agency or manufacturer. If in doubt about a product's safety, do not consume it.

Frequently asked questions

A snack bag says 115.09.22 — is that already expired?

No. 115 is a ROC year: 115 + 1911 = 2026, so the date is 22 September 2026. Read it as an upcoming date, not a past one — the common mistake is seeing "115" and assuming it means 2015.

How do I tell if the printed date is manufacture date or expiry date?

Look for the label next to the number: 製造日期 means manufacture date, 有效日期 or 有效期限 means expiry/valid-until date, and 最佳食用日期 means best-before date. Packaging can show one, two, or all three of these.

Do imported products sold in Taiwan also use ROC dates?

Not always. Imported packaged goods often keep their original Western-format date printed by the manufacturer, sometimes with a Taiwan-format sticker added by the importer or distributor. Check both if a sticker is present, since they should describe the same date.

What format do medicine expiry dates use in Taiwan?

Taiwan-manufactured medicines typically print the expiry date in ROC year format on the box or blister strip, often as YY MM or YYY/MM without a day. Imported medicines may retain the manufacturer's original Western date.

Is there a day-of-month on food expiry dates, or just year and month?

It depends on the product and its shelf life. Fresh or short-shelf-life items usually print a full year/month/day date; longer-shelf-life packaged goods sometimes print only year and month. Check the specific format on the package rather than assuming.