How Long Can You Drink Milk After The Sell By Date?
It is generally not recommended to drink milk after the sell-by date, as it may contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The sell-by date is the date by which a product should be sold or consumed in order to ensure the best quality and safety. While milk may still be safe to drink after the sell-by date, it is likely to have a shorter shelf life and may not be at its best quality.
If not opened, whole milk will last for five to seven days, reduced-fat and skimmed milk will last for seven days, and fat-free and lactose-free milk will last seven to 10 days beyond its printed date, when refrigerated. Open milk lasts a week after the date it was sold, and non-opened milk may last longer than one week, depending on the milk type. Typically, unopened milk lasts 5-7 days past its use-by date, whereas opened milk lasts for at least 2-3 days after that date. There is no way to know exactly how long milk lasts after the use-by date, although unopened milk is thought to typically stay good for 5-7 days1.
This kind of milk may typically remain good for 2-4 weeks after its labeled date when stored in a cool, dry location, like a pantry, and for up to 1-2 months when kept refrigerated. As long as your milk has been refrigerated correctly, it should still be usable for a week after its labeled date — maybe even two weeks, depending on your fridges temperature. If opened, unopened evaporated milk may keep for 3 weeks, or longer, in your fridge, depending on when you use it or how often you remove it. Milk can last up to one solid week longer if stored well; however, storing milk improperly will make it spoil sooner.
| Types | Shelf Life |
| Unopened Milk | 7-10 days |
| Skim Milk | 7 days |
| Evaporated Milk | 3 weeks |
If you are not able to use the milk before its expiration date, you can safely freeze it up to 6 months. Unless refrigerated, you must consume milk right away, as it lasts for just a couple hours at room temperature. Because of this, you will want to be sure to put the milk back in the fridge once you have actually used it.
While pasteurization makes the milk safer for consumption, that does not mean that you can safely leave the milk outside the fridge for long periods, especially once it is opened. How to keep your milk fresh longer Milk treatment has a substantial impact on the amount of time that milk stays fresh and is safe to consume. It is a not-very-popular, but effective, way to ensure that your milk has as much as seven extra days of freshness after you open it.
Milk often keeps for several days longer than the traditional best-by dates, and it is easy to tell whether or not it is still fresh by taking a quick glance and smelling. Filtered milks such as Arla Cravendale and Arla Big Milk can often last longer, provided they are refrigerated and stored correctly.
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The shelf life or best-by date on your milk is mainly a guideline for how long your milk will be optimally fresh if handled and stored correctly. In this article, we will discuss how long the milk will remain safe beyond its expiration date, and we will explain what different dates on food and beverage labels mean. It is important to note that the expiration dates differ depending on the type of milk you buy, the way that milk is stored, and the way it is packaged. While it is recommended that you always adhere to the expiration dates printed on whatever kind of milk you are purchasing, this is not always as easy as it seems.
Since dates are enforced to guarantee quality, milk is most likely safe to drink past the date printed on the packaging. When buying milk, check the shelf life date to ensure that it has not passed (most grocery stores ensure that they keep the supply current).
Some sources say that your milk is fine beyond its shelf life, while others say to throw it away just days after opening. To set things straight before we get started, the answer to the question above is YES — you can drink your milk past the expiration date, and it is just as delicious, and it is just as safe, to do so. I have even experienced times where the milk has been fine for days beyond its shelf life.
This is because sometimes milk goes bad after only one to two days, because it is contaminated in some way after it is opened. Sniffing the milk before you drink is always a good idea, especially if it is been opened for several days. It is best to store your milk toward the back of your fridge, where it is more likely to remain cold, even if the fridge door is left open. Milk should be stored between 38degF and 40degF, according to Jen Giambroni, communications director for Real California Milk, in the same container that it came in, far from your door.
Freezing stored milk can prolong shelf life up to 6 months, but is recommended for consumption within one month. Some data suggests that pasteurized milk needs to stay fresh 2-5 days past the shelf-life and a total of 10-21 days. Eat By Date, an organization that educates consumers about the shelf life of foods, says milk stays fresh five to seven days beyond the “use-by” date. While there is no set hard-and-fast rule on when you should throw out your dairy, researchers have found that unopened milk typically can last between five to seven days past its listed shelf life.
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According to dairy packing supplier Stanpac, unopened whole milk typically will be fine five to seven days after the date printed on the carton or jug, and 2 percent and skim milks will be fine for seven days. The major problem this raises is there may be situations in which you open your milk, seven days go by, and yet the expiration date printed on the carton has not passed. When you drank the milk several days later, it tastes mellower than it did, and there is still a day left until it turns sour. Unopened, shelf-stable milk typically can last between two to four weeks beyond thebest-by date, according to Healthline, when kept in a cool, dry place.
What happens if I drink expired milk?
Beyond an unpleasant taste, a small sip of spoilt milk is unlikely to produce any symptoms. Larger quantities of spoilt milk might upset your stomach and result in nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (like a food-borne illness). The majority of the time, ingesting spoilt milk-related symptoms go away within 12 to 24 hours.
How long is milk good after sell-by date if opened?
The sell by dates on milk packs have to do with quality, not safety. After the expiration date, milk is often acceptable to drink for at least a few days. Most of the time, people can tell when milk is spoiled because of the smell and look which might be lumpy.
Can you drink milk 2 days after expiration date?
While this isn’t a strict guideline, but the majority of data indicates that, when stored properly. Unopened milk typically lasts for 5-7 days past its stated expiration date and opened milk lasts at least 2-3 days past this date. Therefore, you can still consume milk for up to 2 days after its listed expiration date.