# Settle a bet--Milk Expiration Date **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [June 10, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037 "2016-06-10T18:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [June 11, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/21 "2016-06-11T13:58:07Z")
> [@](#): > > We both agree that the date is meaningless if the milk is lumpy or smells bad. And it’s also meaningless if the milk isn’t lumpy and doesn’t smell bad. There is no way in which milk can go unwholesome or unpalatable without it being obvious. So the only check you ever need is the look-and-smell check. Ignore the date (however it’s phrased) entirely. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/22 "2016-06-11T13:59:49Z")
D. A general guideline for when it will probably go bad. I always am surprised at people saying it lasts long after the expiration date. It still must be sold by that date, but it better be sold a lot sooner or people will be upset. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/23 "2016-06-11T14:34:36Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > In the U.S., it depends on what state you’re in. From [here](http://mentalfloss.com/article/58358/when-actual-expiration-date-your-milk): > > And from the same article, they say the rule of thumb is that milk is good for 5 days past the sell-by date. I don’t know whose thumb they used for that. I chose option 2 but I was going to post this same info. So Fenris will have to look up his State’s rules to settle this bet. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/24 "2016-06-11T15:02:16Z")
None of the above. 1 is probably the closest of the options. My parents had always told us that it was good for a week after the date. I heard [a podcast about this recently](http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/best-enjoyed-by/) that confirmed that the “Sell by” date didn’t really say anything about the quality of the milk. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/25 "2016-06-11T15:03:52Z")
If you are worried about your milk hanging around too long, buy almond milk. That stuff lasts practically _forever_. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/26 "2016-06-11T15:12:48Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > If you are worried about your milk hanging around too long, buy almond milk. That stuff lasts practically _forever_. [Even after it’s been opened?](http://www.doesitgobad.com/does-almond-milk-go-bad/) You can buy shelf-stable cow’s milk that lasts for a long time if you haven’t opened it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/27 "2016-06-11T17:24:04Z")
I recently read somewhere that milk is good for about a week after the date so I’ve put that in to practice with my last several jugs. It has been fine every time. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/28 "2016-06-11T17:40:27Z")
My otherwise-frugal Vermont-born wife will dump milk just a day or two past the sell-by date, but I have been known to go even a full week past that date IF the bottle is unopened and passes the smell test. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/29 "2016-06-11T23:28:47Z")
It’s probably more a matter of the sellers covering their asses than it is an accurate prediction of how long the milk will stay good. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/30 "2016-06-12T00:38:15Z")
The sell by/best by distinction doesn’t matter to me. A gallon lasts me, at most, two days. My son was home from college, and we were going through a gallon a day. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/31 "2016-06-12T00:44:02Z")
I picked the first option, because I believe that is the intent. However, when I was working in a convenience store way back in West Texas, our milk deliveryman told me five days after the date was considered fine. Said the date was just to be on the safe side, but really, five days on was safe. I believe him, but I still won’t drink milk if it’s even a day past the expiration date myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/32 "2016-06-12T02:41:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > [Even after it’s been opened?](http://www.doesitgobad.com/does-almond-milk-go-bad/) > > You can buy shelf-stable cow’s milk that lasts for a long time if you haven’t opened it. I was going to mention that for normal carton/jug milk it doesn’t make any difference as to when you open it, the timer is ticking constantly from the moment it’s bottled, not from when it’s opened (assuming constant refrigeration of course). I guess in Europe UHT milk sold in vacuum-sealed ‘juice box’-like containers are pretty popular. They last for months (unopened) and don’t even require refrigeration. I encountered this product _ **once** _ here in America a couple decades ago and have never seen it since. I guess there’s just isn’t a demand for it here, fresh milk flows like water… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/33 "2016-06-12T02:46:28Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I was going to mention that for normal carton/jug milk it doesn’t make any difference as to when you open it, the timer is ticking constantly from the moment it’s bottled, not from when it’s opened (assuming constant refrigeration of course). > > I guess in Europe UHT milk sold in vacuum-sealed ‘juice box’-like containers are pretty popular. They last for months (unopened) and don’t even require refrigeration. I encountered this product _ **once** _ here in America a couple decades ago and have never seen it since. I guess there’s just isn’t a demand for it here, fresh milk flows like water… Those boxes are popular in Asia too. We do buy regular milk in cartons and jugs, but we also drink soy milk in boxes, and it’s good for 10 months from manufacture. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/34 "2016-06-12T03:35:06Z")
It is a use by date here and because I detest the taste and smell of spoiled milk I will throw it out once it us past the date without checking if it spoiled or not. This is a rare occurrence though as our household goes through a lot of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037/35 "2016-06-12T04:55:55Z")
The intent be what it may, milk does start to go bad within a day or two of the “best by” date. It might not be bad for you at that point, but it does start to pick up the sour smell and a few small swirlies of yoghurt, so I’m a definite no-go past that point. If you’re still drinking it a week or two later, you might not be at risk of food poisoning, but don’t exhale air anywhere near me until you’ve brushed your mouth (and esophagus) out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/settle-a-bet-milk-expiration-date/757037.md?page=1)