Shelf Life of Milk

How long does this last? 

Do we need to throw it out? 

Is that a ‘Sell by’ date or an ‘Expiration’ date?

Laurie and I ask ourselves those questions about once each quarter for food stuff that may be in our fridge a little too long.  I’m compiling some cheat sheets on various foods to help us remember.  This first one covers the shelf life of milk.

First.  Dates stamped on milk cartons are ‘Sell by’ dates, not expiration dates.  ‘Sell By’ dates tell a grocer to remove and dispose of products on that date.  The number of days in this chart indicate the average lifespan of milk beyond the ‘Sell By’ date.  

*Important Note: Remember, to arrive at an average range on any subset, there will always be outliers in the sampled data.  What does this mean to you?  This means a certain percentage of milk will expire before the average range of days listed here.  Always use caution.  Serve and consume all dairy products responsibly!

All milk should be stored in the refrigerator at or below 40° and should not be left at out of the refrigerator for long periods of time.  If the milk you are about to use or consume has an unclean sour smell, looks lumpy or has a slight discoloration, then it should be considered spoiled and disposed of.

Above all, use common sense when determining if something like milk is questionable and should be thrown out.  In our kitchen, our motto is…

When in doubt, be safe and throw it out!