# Is this safe to eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585 "2018-10-27T11:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/1 "2018-10-27T11:37:24Z")
I started a diet 3 years ago. Since I’m a chocoholic :eek: , I bought a huge bar of chocolate and put it in the fridge. The idea was that if I have constant easy access to chocolate, I won’t actually eat any. (Whereas if there’s no chocolate in the house, I’ll obsessively go out, buy some and devour it in a sitting.) Well that worked pretty well and I’ve achieved my desired weight. 🆒 Now the chocolate bar has sat in its wrapper in the fridge for over 3 years. Is it safe to eat? (To be honest, I might just buy a replacement bar anyway - but I would be interested to hear what Dopers think…) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/2 "2018-10-27T12:47:15Z")
> [@glee](#): > > … if I have constant easy access to chocolate, I won’t actually eat any. I’d guess this doesn’t work for many people. > [@](#): > > … the chocolate bar has sat in its wrapper in the fridge for over 3 years. Is it safe to eat? Googling suggests the answer is “Almost certainly”. If there’s no evidence of bacterial growth or mold - both very unlikely in a fridge - you’ll be fine. It will probably be past its peak of flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/3 "2018-10-27T12:54:50Z")
Chocolate, sitting out, opened, and unrefrigerated, has an extremely long shelf life. The worst that could happen to it would be going rancid, and chocolate goes rancid much more slowly than most fats, and rancid fat isn’t actually even harmful, just foul-tasting. In a refrigerator, sealed in its original wrapping? It could last centuries, easily. The worst that could happen is that it could separate slightly, and that has almost no effect even on the flavor (it’ll just look a little funny, with white splotches). ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/4 "2018-10-27T12:55:13Z")
You may find that the bar’s surface has become somewhat whitish looking and think it’s mold. But it’s most likely coco butter that has migrated to the surface of the bar. Of course if it’s “white chocolate” it should look whitish. Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/5 "2018-10-27T13:30:22Z")
Thanks for those replies - so why does the manufacturer give such a short ‘use by’ date?! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/6 "2018-10-27T13:47:55Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Thanks for those replies - so why does the manufacturer give such a short ‘use by’ date?! They want their product purchased and consumed when it tastes its best. A little old lady I used to know would go shopping every February 15th for Valentines Day chocolate marked down for quick sale. She would then give it out the following February. It always tasted a bit chalky/off. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/7 "2018-10-27T13:50:40Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Thanks for those replies - so why does the manufacturer give such a short ‘use by’ date?! Most people don’t hold on to chocolate for years. What is the benefit to the manufacturers to test their product out that far? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/8 "2018-10-27T14:31:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > They want their product purchased and consumed when it tastes its best. > > A little old lady I used to know would go shopping every February 15th for Valentines Day chocolate marked down for quick sale. She would then give it out the following February. It always tasted a bit chalky/off. More likely, they want you to eat it sooner and go buy more. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/9 "2018-10-27T16:27:20Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A little old lady I used to know would go shopping every February 15th for Valentines Day chocolate marked down for quick sale. She would then give it out the following February. It always tasted a bit chalky/off. Just wondering, did you mean Halloween? I don’t think of people as handing out lots of candy on Valentine’s Day ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/10 "2018-10-27T17:15:15Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Just wondering, did you mean Halloween? I don’t think of people as handing out lots of candy on Valentine’s Day Chocolates - and flowers - are basic, core, minimum-effort Valentine’s Day gifts, surely? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/11 "2018-10-27T18:11:03Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Thanks for those replies - so why does the manufacturer give such a short ‘use by’ date?! As has been pointed out in other threads of this kind, the “Use by” date has little to do with product safety. Products may be safe to eat for years past this date if the packaging is intact. On the other hand, they can be a risk if say a can has been damaged. “Use by” is a conservative estimate by manufacturers of how long the product will be of good taste quality, not safety. Bacteria can’t grow unless they have an adequate amount of water. The concentration of sugar in a chocolate bar is so high (as in table sugar, honey, and other very sweet products) that bacteria can’t grow. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/12 "2018-10-27T18:50:14Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Chocolates - and flowers - are basic, core, minimum-effort Valentine’s Day gifts, surely? I realize this, but the post said “give it out”. I certainly don’t think of “giving out” Valentine’s Day candy. I present it to someone special. I “give out” Halloween candy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/13 "2018-10-27T19:01:29Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Just wondering, did you mean Halloween? I don’t think of people as handing out lots of candy on Valentine’s Day She was a crazy little old lady. She gave heart shaped boxes of chocolate to her dry cleaner, grocer, receptionists at her doctor’s office, etc. ETA: she once went to the “old bread store” and bought cases of expired Ho-hos, ding-dongs, etc and put them in the car of a woman I knew. The woman was “big” and the old lady thought she’d appreciate the anonymous gesture. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/14 "2018-10-27T19:08:08Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I realize this, but the post said “give it out”. I certainly don’t think of “giving out” Valentine’s Day candy. I present it to someone special. I “give out” Halloween candy. > [@kayaker](#): > > She was a crazy little old lady. She gave heart shaped boxes of chocolate to her dry cleaner, grocer, receptionists at her doctor’s office, etc. Ah, gotcha both. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/15 "2018-10-27T20:17:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “Use by” is a conservative estimate by manufacturers of how long the product will be of good taste quality, not safety. Yeah: If you eat old chocolate, and it tastes off or not-so-good, they want you to think “This tastes bad; it must be too old,” not “This tastes bad; (manufacturer) must make crappy chocolate.” ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/16 "2018-10-27T21:23:05Z")
Try it and report. And if you don’t report back, we’ll consider that a definitive report. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2018, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/17 "2018-10-27T23:00:39Z")
The cocoa butter coming out is called ‘bloom’. It won’t hurt you, but it looks bad and tastes off. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/18 "2018-10-28T01:12:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > The cocoa butter coming out is called ‘bloom’. > It won’t hurt you, but it looks bad and tastes off. Sounds fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/19 "2018-10-28T06:00:39Z")
They want you to hurry and eat it and buy more! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585/20 "2018-10-28T15:00:26Z")
[Here’s a link](https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-surprisingly-inexact-science-of-food-expiration-dat-1629542744) to one article I found about food expiration and “use by” or “best by” dates. I’m sure there are others out there. > [@](#): > > This has led to a spate of labelling systems, and not all of them mean the same thing. Nor are they necessarily directed at the consumer. What’s more, they’re not centrally regulated or coordinated in any coherent way. For example, products can have “Best Before” dates, “Sell By” dates, and “Use By” dates — and it’s not always clear who these dates are being directed to, or what information is being conveyed. > [@](#): > > Last year, a scathing report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Harvard Law showed that more than 90% of Americans may be prematurely throwing away food because they misinterpret food labels as indicators of food safety. > [@](#): > > In order to determine when a product is no longer up to snuff, manufacturers recruit experts to tell them. One such expert firm is the National Food Lab located in Livermore, California. > > This company takes food and leaves it on shelves for days, weeks, and even years to see how it holds up. Then, at controlled intervals, the food is presented to a highly trained panel of experts who assess the food for taste, smell, and texture. They then assign a food grade in numbers; the lower the number, the poorer the quality. Needless to say, the numbers go down as the food gets older. > > Food manufacturers consider these numbers when determining best-before dates. So, if a product was designed to be a 7 when it was fresh, but gets a 6.2 after a certain length of time, the manufacturer can draw the line at that point. Interestingly, many foods that are assessed at lower values still taste good — and are safe to eat — it’s just that the manufacturer is no longer satisfied with the level of quality. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585.md?page=2)