# Just drank expired pop. Should I worry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814 "2005-01-26T20:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/1 "2005-01-26T20:18:48Z")
I was out for lunch and got a bottle of my favorite pop, Tahiti Treat. I’ve finished off half the bottle and I just noticed printing on the cap that indicates that it expired in August 2004. It seems to taste and smell ok. Should I be worried about changes in whatever chemicals/preservatives that are in it? Is it safe to keep drinking it or should I dump it down the drain? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/2 "2005-01-26T20:34:04Z")
Not an answer but I once drank rancid milk. Lived to tell the tale. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/3 "2005-01-26T20:52:52Z")
You said it smelled and tasted OK. One thing I’m pretty sure of – whatever was in the bottle, it wasn’t Tahiti Treat.😃 I won’t drink the rest or dump it out just yet. It could come in handy the next time your drain is clogged. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/4 "2005-01-26T20:54:25Z")
I wouldn’t worry about it. Most of the “Use by” dates on that kind of foodstuff are fairly conservative. If I’m wrong…can I have your stereo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/5 "2005-01-26T20:58:20Z")
FWIW, I’ve drunk canned Coke that was years past its best-by date and suffered no ill effects. (Shows you how often I drink Coke.) ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/6 "2005-01-26T21:23:34Z")
If it didn’t look or smell like a science experiment gone bad, you should be fine. Think of all the stuff we ate and drank before those dates started showing up, and we’re not dead yet. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/7 "2005-01-26T21:42:53Z")
I believe it’s the chemical processes of aspartame specifically that are worrisome over the long term, which I don’t think Tahitian Treat has any of. That’s just what I’ve heard, so I’m willing to be corrected. –Cliffy ---
**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:** [January 26, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/8 "2005-01-26T21:46:20Z")
I seem to recall (sorry, no cites—feel free to back up or refute) that (1) “use by” dates on soda are a fairly recent thing; they didn’t use to put them on, and (2) the major worry with drinking old (but unopened) soda is that it won’t taste as good, not that it’s dangerous in any way. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-drank-expired-pop-should-i-worry/286814/9 "2005-01-26T22:31:43Z")
Back in the day, Cecil addressed the (somewhat dubious) concerns that the breakdown products of aspartame could be the cause of Gulf War Syndrome. [Here’s the column.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961129.html) I don’t think that anyone ascribes any adverse health effects to drinking sugar-based sodas that have been around for a while, though. (Other than the usual “pop will rot your teeth and make you fat” stuff, that it.)