Do Sodas Go Bad
As long as the bottle or a can of soda is sealed, it is well protected from the external environment.This means that it should last for 6 to 9 months past the date labelled on the can.Once you open the soda bottle, it should be kept in the refrigerator. Most soda drinks retain the flavor and some of the carbonation for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Whether you have ever wondered whether or not your favorite soft drink, be it Mountain Dew, Mirinda, Dr. Pepper, or whatever, could turn sour, the answer is that, yes, your favorite soft drink definitely could. Just because your favorite sparkling beverage is past its best-by date does not mean that soda has gone bad, especially if it is not opened. If you drank the soda can and noticed it has been aging for months, you need not worry.
If you have unsold soda and you notice it is over the shelf life, you may want to hold onto it for several months longer. The shelf life for unopened soda is 9-12 months, and it is fine to use it 3-9 months past the expiration date, provided that you keep it properly stored. For best quality, consume unopened diet sodas within 3 months of expiration, and regular sodas within 9 months.
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If you want to consume a beverage while it is still in best condition, consume diet sodas less than 3 months after expiration and regular sodas less than 9. We recommend using your fizzy drinks by the best-by date, not more than three months after expiration, to get the best quality. Soda can be kept long after the sell-by date, but although it may be safe to drink, the quality of the soda deteriorates as long as it is kept beyond its recommended best-before date. Soda is quite a durable beverage, and if kept unopened and in proper conditions, it can stay fresh quite well even beyond the best-by date.
Even if you do end up with expired soda, there is still a good chance that it will still be good to drink as long as it is in an undamaged bottle and stored correctly. There may be cases where you are drinking expired soda that does not taste good, so the shelf life depends on the particular situation. While you can drink expired soda with no health consequences, you will not have an enjoyable drink all the time. First, if you are drinking a really spoiled, nasty-looking soda, you are going to find that drinking it is really uncomfortable, and will throw it out immediately.
| Type of Soda | Shelf Life |
| Soda Can (unopened) | 9-12 months |
| Diet Soda Can (unopened) | 3 months |
| Soda Can (opened) | 3-4 days (In refrigerator) |
| Bottled Soda (unopened) | 3 months |
Because expiration dates are wiped off once the can or bottle of soda is opened, you only have a relatively short time to consume your soda before it goes flat and tastes terrible. After a set time period past the expiration date, sodas start losing their carbonation and becoming flat and taste bad. It is not a harmful thing to drink your soda when the bubbles begin to decrease, and then finally go away (6-9 months after its best-by date), but it will have a flat flavor.
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To keep your soda from losing carbonation and becoming flat, it is best to consume the contents of your can or bottle within a sitting, or as soon as you are able after opening. Once you have opened your soda bottle or can, the remaining contents are best kept refrigerated, but you should aim to consume them within 4 days before the beverage starts losing its distinctive taste. Soda that is opened will remain best for up to 3-4 days in the fridge, though resealed.
As long as a can or bottle is not opened, the soda within is protected, and it may keep longer. This means unsealed cans or bottles will retain soda drinkability up to nine months, whether it is refrigerated or uncold, while beverages from open cans and opened bottles will remain fresher for different amounts of time. Sodas stored in a glass can or bottle will remain fizzy and fresh for a lot longer than those stored in a plastic bottle. Sealed bottles will keep your sodas fresher longer than canned ones, as their plastic caps are designed to maintain the beverages carbonation.
The carbonation levels in the sodas in the plastic bottles drop more quickly compared to sodas in the cans. Because the soda is expired mostly because of the loss of carbonation and artificial sweeteners, the carbonation begins to leak out slowly as soon as you open the beverage. Carbonation and flavors eventually diminish, so throwing away an open soda past its expiration date is likely to be your best idea. A partially-finished, but re-sealed, soda bottle will keep for just over 24 hours at room temperature before you notice the taste and carbonation degrade.
The shelf life of bottled soda is shorter, typically having a best-by date of 3 months, as carbonation is lost rapidly through the plastic seal. Instead, Soda comes with a best-by date, meaning even past the date listed on the package, the beverage is probably still fine.
If you first open your bottle or can of Soda and there is no TSSs sound, your beverage has likely gone flat. Well, if a drink has lost bubbles because you kept it opened, then drinking it is safe, but you are not going to like the taste.
The liquid certainly will not taste like it used to, but it is not like you are going to have a stomachache or something after drinking it. The soda mostly will not taste as good as it used to, but you are not going to run the risk of getting stomach pain or anything else. Soda rarely goes bad enough to spoil, and even when it does, soda cannot cause food poisoning for anyone brave enough to drink it.
The only time that you are advised to stick your soda in a freezer is if you are looking to chill a beverage for a brief time. If you are a slower drinker, and you end up with an open, two-liter bottle of soda, you can preserve your drinks freshness by putting them in smaller bottles, replacing the caps, and storing them refrigerated. Typically, the opened can will keep twelve to twenty-four hours, refrigerated or not, while a beverage in an opened bottle will be good to drink two to five days after refrigeration, and one to three days after being taken out of the refrigerator. Carbonated beverages like soft drinks are non-perishable and are indeed safe to drink, even beyond the date on the bottle that is mentioned.
Is it safe to drink expired soda?
Past the expiration date printed on the bottle, carbonated soft drinks or sodas are safe because they are not perishable. Flavor and carbonation will eventually decline. Diet sodas should be consumed unopened within three months after the date of expiration and ordinary sodas within nine months for optimum quality.
Can soda go bad and make you sick?
The fact of the matter is that drinking outdated soda by itself won’t get you sick. The sell-by or best-before date on the package is only a sign of quality, not of safety. When you drink old soda, the only thing you’ll have to deal with is the flat, horrible flavor.
Does soda go bad if sealed?
The “use through” date on unopened Coke cans is typically 12 months from the manufacturing date. The typically suggested period for soda kept in plastic is three months following packing. Direct carbonation loss via the plastic seal is to blame for this.