Drinking expired milk

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rosebette
rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I had a gallon of whole milk in the refrigerator before we went on vacation. It's expiration date was the day we returned. It was unopened and I've been using it for the past week. It hasn't turned sour yet or started to separate, at which point I'll use it for baking. I'm starting to wonder if sell by dates are just to get consumers to throw stuff out and buy more. Anyway how dangerous is spoiled milk, since yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. are made from sour milk?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    A "sell by" date is designed to give people a window of opportunity to use it after they purchase it, an expiration date is the date on which a product commonly would not be good. Both, I believe, have a fair amount of caution built into them.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Of course it is to sell more. And to avoid lawsuits :s

    Food spoils more quickly as soon as the package is opened and air is let in. It can often be kept far beyond expiration date if left unopened. Use your head, eyes, nose and tongue to determine if a food is safe ;)

    The bacteria that make food spoil, are not quite the same bacteria that are used in cultured, controlled fermentation. (In some cases, yes, but it's still under some kind of control and you need to know what you are doing.)
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    The 'Sell by Date' is to force stores to police their displays and not keep stuff around forever (I have also heard that the sell by date is the window for optimum freshness/taste/etc, but I don't know if that is really true or not).

    The expiration date has a built-in window of 7-10 days before the item should start turning into a science project.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    A "sell by" date is designed to give people a window of opportunity to use it after they purchase it, an expiration date is the date on which a product commonly would not be good. Both, I believe, have a fair amount of caution built into them.

    This^

    I've eaten yogurt 10 days after the date on the package. Interestingly enough, this brand of yogurt doesn't say sell by or use by, nothing. You're just supposed to guess what the date means.

    I think there are some dates that are designed to sell more product .......soda. Sugar (or artificial sweetener) and carbonated water.......I can't see that going "bad" a month after purchase.

    Spoiled milk would likely make you sick. If it doesn't smell bad or change texture you should be okay. Otherwise just pitch it.

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/58358/when-actual-expiration-date-your-milk
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,041 Member
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    I personally wouldn't but I have a lot of food neuroses.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    You mean cheese?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,934 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Of course it is to sell more. And to avoid lawsuits :s

    Food spoils more quickly as soon as the package is opened and air is let in. It can often be kept far beyond expiration date if left unopened. Use your head, eyes, nose and tongue to determine if a food is safe ;)

    The bacteria that make food spoil, are not quite the same bacteria that are used in cultured, controlled fermentation. (In some cases, yes, but it's still under some kind of control and you need to know what you are doing.)

    There's actually a lot of analysis that goes into determining those dates. My brother-in-law worked for a meat factory and he will not touch the stuff once it's reached expiry. There are calculations companies do to calculate dangerous bacteria growth.
  • hlltwin
    hlltwin Posts: 55 Member
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    ccrdragon wrote: »
    The 'Sell by Date' is to force stores to police their displays and not keep stuff around forever (I have also heard that the sell by date is the window for optimum freshness/taste/etc, but I don't know if that is really true or not).

    The expiration date has a built-in window of 7-10 days before the item should start turning into a science project.

    This^^^ I've worked in retail, trust me, some folks need a nudge to do their jobs and a customer holding up a pizza and saying "Hey this says it's expired. Do you have fresh ones?" is vital.

    But yes, if milk smells bad or tastes off, toss it. Milk is often set off by light (that's why the ones in cartons and opaque bottles last longer.) It was sealed and sitting in the dark while you were on vacation so it didn't go when it would have under normal user conditions.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    There are several things to take into account, including the temperature it's been stored at, if it's been opened, how long it's been opened and used, if anyone drank straight out of the jug, milkfat percentage, etc. Best case scenario is a jug of milk that's a lower percentage of milk fat, carried home either on a short trip or in a cooler, only poured out (no bacterial backwash!), and was never opened on its expiration date. If it's whole milk, I won't touch it after the expiration date. 1% gets a week after expiration.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    Why Food Date Labels Don't Mean What You Think
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    The bacteria that make food spoil, are not quite the same bacteria that are used in cultured, controlled fermentation. (In some cases, yes, but it's still under some kind of control and you need to know what you are doing.)

    I make cultured dairy items and yeah, you have to set up everything that ONLY the strains of bacteria you want are growing. If something else gets in there and outcompetes the useful bacteria...OMG it is disgusting. I have only had one bad batch of yogurt in the hundreds by now I have probably made and it stank up the whole kitchen like rotting vomit left in the sun in only 11 hours of incubation time. That happened because I got lazy about a step. Never again.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    "Backwash"? Does that mean some people drink from the bottle. Eww! Anyway today it started to turn sour so I used it up in pancakes instead of buttermilk.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    A "sell by" date is designed to give people a window of opportunity to use it after they purchase it, an expiration date is the date on which a product commonly would not be good. Both, I believe, have a fair amount of caution built into them.

    This^

    I've eaten yogurt 10 days after the date on the package. Interestingly enough, this brand of yogurt doesn't say sell by or use by, nothing. You're just supposed to guess what the date means.

    I've eaten yogurt 6 months past the date on the package and lived to tell the tale. If it doesn't reek, it's fine in my book.
  • OhJazmine
    OhJazmine Posts: 6 Member
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    The sell by date is only on the package because that's how long the store can guarantee the foods freshness and sometimes stores will even lie about it. So smell your milk or whatever it is and go based on your instincts. If it smells funny, don't drink/eat it.

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