# Safe to eat yoghurt past 'use by date'? Prompt answer appreciated! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2019, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545 "2019-09-20T08:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/21 "2019-09-20T15:46:26Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > @Beck, it’s also safe to eat cheese after its “sell by” date. 😃 And sour cream, by several weeks in my experience. Do not try this at home. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/22 "2019-09-20T15:50:55Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > No, he’s in the UK. That’s why I used that site. Spelling “yogurt” as “yoghurt” is a clue, although the Sept. 16 date is a USA-ism. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/23 "2019-09-20T16:26:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’d eat it. > > [10 Foods You Can Eat Past The Expiration Date, So Don't Clean Out The Fridge Just Yet](https://www.bustle.com/articles/106555-10-foods-you-can-eat-past-the-expiration-date-so-dont-clean-out-the-fridge-just) > > @Beck, it’s also safe to eat cheese after its “sell by” date. 😃 You so funny!!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/24 "2019-09-20T16:29:55Z")
We use unopened yogurt months after the use by date. So long as there is no visible mold or off-odor. It just gets tangier. Cheese keeps for years. It has already kept for years. Our milk is called ultra-filtered and is still good up to a month after its date. On the other hand that milk is no good for making mozzarella cheese. Its protein has been denatured. It does not claim ultra-pasteurized but the effect is the same. Last spring we cooked and ate a turkey that had spent three years in the freezer. It was fine and didn’t even seem to have lost flavor. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/25 "2019-09-20T16:41:29Z")
Yeah, I routinely eat yogurt after it’s use-by date. Sometimes it gets sour enough that i don’t enjoy it, but usually it’s fine. If it looked or smelled spoiled, I wouldn’t eat it, of course. But yogurt keeps very well, and I’ve never had a problem, or heard of anyone else having a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/26 "2019-09-20T16:42:07Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > the Sept. 16 date is a USA-ism. No, that’s perfectly standard UK usage. Writing it as 9-16-19 would be a USA-ism. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/27 "2019-09-20T18:55:34Z")
I recently found a stash behind a six pack (I don’t drink very often) that was about four months old. I tried one and it was fine. Wolfed down two more and still ok. Finally my wife had one and we were both fine. Fire way I say! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/28 "2019-09-20T20:59:55Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > No, he’s in the UK. That’s why I used that site. The UK is “Obama Country”? OK. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/29 "2019-09-21T13:06:27Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > When Mom was still alive and my nephew was living with her, it used to drive her crazy that he absolutely refused to use milk that was even one day past the use-by date… as if it had magically gone bad overnight or something. I saw a ink-jet printed Use By label of _14:22 19 APR 2020_ which I thought was overly precise. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/30 "2019-09-21T13:43:52Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > No, that’s perfectly standard UK usage. > > Writing it as 9-16-19 would be a USA-ism. Nah, we’d write 9/16/19. 🙂 I am slightly notorious in this house for consuming perfectly good food that has been in the fridge for longer than Mrs. J. is comfortable with.\* I rarely eat yogurt, but would note that kefir (which to me is essentially runny yogurt and contains ‘‘active cultures’’) is supposed to keep an amazingly long time under refrigerated conditions. For the past few weeks I have been working my way through a bottle that has a “use by” date of December 1st. \*“That chicken is four days old. Are you _insane?_”. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/31 "2019-09-21T14:02:05Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > “Use by” dates are like oil change intervals on cars, in that the manufacturer builds in a fat margin of safety to insulate themselves against any liability. The OP is wondering just how fat that margin is. This: The manufacturer can pretty much control storage conditions (likely \<4c) right up to the point of sale. Once you have it in your cart, you may well go straight home and put it in the fridge, or you might leave it in the boot of your car, out in the Texas midday sun, fo a couple of hours while you have lunch with some friends. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/32 "2019-09-21T15:22:24Z")
I just had some yogurt that was 11 months past its “best by” date. Sealed container, back of the fridge the whole time. Nothing wrong with it at all, it was just a bit extra tangy, which worked fine for me. I’d wager that 99% of the food tossed away due merely to concerns about the date printed on it is actually perfectly safe and still just as tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/33 "2019-09-21T17:51:16Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I just had some yogurt that was 11 months past its “best by” date. Sealed container, back of the fridge the whole time. Nothing wrong with it at all, it was just a bit extra tangy, which worked fine for me. > > I’d wager that 99% of the food tossed away due merely to concerns about the date printed on it is actually perfectly safe and still just as tasty. You would enjoy Andrew Tobias’ [online column](https://andrewtobias.com/) - he’s a big fan of expired food. Note that the current column doesn’t talk about food, and that he is very liberal (former treasurer of the DNC). Here is a [WaPo article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/06/17/this-man-ate-expired-food-year-heres-why-expiration-dates-are-practically-meaningless/) he linked to about a man who ate “expired” food for a year and lived. The article also notes the global warming impact of throwing out all of that food: > [@](#): > > That food waste in landfills generates carbon dioxide and methane, a greenhouse gas 28 to 36 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. And you are not just wasting calories and money. You are wasting all the resources that went into growing, packaging and transporting that food. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/34 "2019-09-21T18:24:07Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Here is a [WaPo article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/06/17/this-man-ate-expired-food-year-heres-why-expiration-dates-are-practically-meaningless/) he linked to about a man who ate “expired” food for a year and lived. The article also notes the global warming impact of throwing out all of that food: thanks, that’s interesting. And it’s a horror how much food gets wasted. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/35 "2019-09-21T19:00:50Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I saw a ink-jet printed Use By label of _14:22 19 APR 2020_ which I thought was overly precise. Such a print cartridge quite likely has a chip with an out date inside. If the printer sees that the date has expired, it will refuse to print. Trying to print with a old, semi-dried out print cartridge can be bad for a printer. So they are trying to prevent that. The fact that this requires you to buy new cartridges more often than you might otherwise is merely a coincidence. 😉 As to precision. There is going to be a point where it will transition from printable to not. If it just had a date you might not be sure if you’ll be able to print or not during that day due to time zones and what not. A precise time gets rid of that. A properly run IT department (okay, getting into mythology here), will have entered the out date in a DB which sends an email to a tech telling them to replace the cartridge just before it expires. And, speaking of times zones, if you are on the west coast vs. the east coast of the US you get 3 more hours of print time! ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/36 "2019-09-21T19:02:23Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’d wager that 99% of the food tossed away due merely to concerns about the date printed on it is actually perfectly safe and still just as tasty. Yeah, I’d make that same wager. For most foods, under the conditions of the OP, it’s not that hard to tell whether it’s safe or not, especially non-meat products. People obsess about the dates stamped on products, when those mostly are just cover-your-ass tactics of manufacturers, who are the only ones to benefit when you throw out good food and have to buy more. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/37 "2019-09-21T20:07:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > @Beck, it’s also safe to eat cheese after its “sell by” date. 😃 As **Qadgop** mentions, I can imagine some people buying this cheese (“[6 Year Aged Cheddar](http://www.carrvalleycheese.com/6-Year-Aged-Cheddar/productinfo/3091/)”), and then freaking out because it’s one week past the date stamped. _“Aged six years is fine, but six years and one week? No way, that’s too dangerous to eat!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/38 "2019-09-21T21:21:12Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > As **Qadgop** mentions, I can imagine some people buying this cheese (“[6 Year Aged Cheddar](http://www.carrvalleycheese.com/6-Year-Aged-Cheddar/productinfo/3091/)”), and then freaking out because it’s one week past the date stamped. _“Aged six years is fine, but six years and one week? No way, that’s too dangerous to eat!”_ IIRC, there was actually an SDMB poster here some time ago who insisted, in a thread on this very topic using an old cheddar as an example, that they would not eat cheese past the expiration date, as they considered it too risky, and they thought it was better to be safe than sorry. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/39 "2019-09-21T23:36:30Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I just had some yogurt that was 11 months past its “best by” date. Sealed container, back of the fridge the whole time. Nothing wrong with it at all, it was just a bit extra tangy, which worked fine for me. > > I’d wager that 99% of the food tossed away due merely to concerns about the date printed on it is actually perfectly safe and still just as tasty. My wife will throw away anything that is past it’s sell-by date. I try to explain that that’s just there to cover the store’s ass, but she won’t buy it. I’ll use food (things like ketchup or mustard) that are _years_ past their expiration date. At least I’ve trained her to give it to me to eat, instead of just tossing it. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545/40 "2019-09-22T00:01:10Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Nah, we’d write 9/16/19. 🙂 > > I am slightly notorious in this house for consuming perfectly good food that has been in the fridge for longer than Mrs. J. is comfortable with.\* I rarely eat yogurt, but would note that kefir (which to me is essentially runny yogurt and contains ‘‘active cultures’’) is supposed to keep an amazingly long time under refrigerated conditions. For the past few weeks I have been working my way through a bottle that has a “use by” date of December 1st. > > \*“That chicken is four days old. Are you _insane?_”. Just curious: was the December 1st use-by date December 1, 2019 or 2018 or 2017? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-eat-yoghurt-past-use-by-date-prompt-answer-appreciated/840545.md?page=3)