You’re getting ready to go on your first vacation in over a year. You take your carry-on bag out of the closet, open it up, and at the bottom of the bag are a chocolate bar and a small bag of peppermints. You can’t find an expiration date—is this candy still safe to eat?
It’s safe to eat old candy, though the taste or texture may not be as good as it once was. Most kinds of candy don’t have expiration dates, but they may have sell-by or best-by dates indicating when they will be the freshest. Most candy will stay fresh for months after those dates.
The term “candy” may refer to chocolate, hard candy, marshmallows, gummies, soft jellies, and other types of sweets, so there isn’t any one-size-fits-all for how long the products will stay fresh and tasty.
Some candy manufacturers will put sell-by or best-by dates on their products to inform retailers when they should be removed from the shelves if not sold and to advise consumers when the product is at maximum freshness.
However, sometimes the dates don’t look like typical “day, month, year” dates. They may be coded and look like a string of numbers and letters. Unless you know the code, you won’t be able to figure it out.
Don’t worry. Eating the candy after the sell-by date on the package won’t hurt you.
However, old candy may not look or taste the best. Over time, temperature and humidity changes may cause the candy to change color, get sticky, or become hard.
Chances are, if the candy is too old, it will no longer look good or smell good, and you won’t feel like eating it anyway.
How Long Can You Keep Candy?
The time candy stays fresh depends on the ingredients. In general, hard candies tend to stay fresher longer than soft candies. Even so, you can keep candy a long time before consuming it.
Some candy manufacturers will recommend a maximum time of freshness, either on the packaging or on their website. Usually, the candy will stay delicious-tasting several months past that date.
Here are some guidelines for how long unopened candy will typically stay at its peak quality when stored properly.
| Kind of Candy | Peak Quality |
| Milk chocolate | 10 months–1 year |
| Dark chocolate | Up to 2 years |
| White chocolate | 10 months–1 year |
| Chocolate with fruits or nuts | 8–10 months |
| Chocolate with caramel | 6–8 months |
| Chocolate creams or truffles | 3–4 months |
| Hard candy and lollipops | 1 year |
| Marshmallows | 6–8 months |
| Jelly beans | 1 year |
| Jelly candies (like Chuckles) | 1 year |
| Gummy bears, worms, etc. | 12–18 months |
| Candy corn | 9 months |
| Saltwater taffy | 4–6 months |
| Chewy candy (Skittles, Starburst, etc.) | 1 year |
| Gum | 6–9 months |
| Caramel | 6–9 months |
| Peanut butter cups | 6–9 months |
How Can You Tell if Old Candy Will Still Taste Good?
Many types of candy don’t have sell-by or use-by dates, and you may not remember when you purchased it. How can you tell if the candy will still taste good?
The best way to tell if old candy will still taste good is by looking at it and smelling it. When candy gets old, or if it’s exposed to heat or humidity, the sugar or fat it’s made from may tend to break down, crystalize, or change. If that happens, you should be able to detect the changes by examining them.
The appearance of candy that is past peak quality varies depending on the type of candy. Old candy may lose its original shape, color, or texture. Nevertheless, even candy that doesn’t look its best is still safe to eat.
The only time you should definitely not eat the candy is if you notice mold anywhere on the candy or the package. Throw it out.
Here are some general guidelines for examining old candy.
Chocolate
Old chocolate may also not look appetizing, but it is still safe to eat. Chocolate is prone to something called sugar and fat bloom. These cause spots and discoloration to appear on the chocolate, but these are perfectly harmless.
Sugar bloom occurs when the sugar crystallizes after being exposed to conditions too cold, too hot, or too humid. Fat bloom happens when the cocoa butter separates due to changes in temperature.
Chocolate with ingredients such as nuts, fruit, or caramel may be at peak quality for a shorter amount of time. The fillings or add-ins will tend to go stale or hard sooner than the chocolate.
If your chocolate seems dry and crumbly, it has probably been subjected to high heat. It is still safe to eat, though it may not taste satisfying. You can revive it by melting it in the microwave.
Hard Candy
Hard candies cover a wide range, including peppermints, butterscotch, lemon drops, root beer barrels Jolly Ranchers, Lifesavers, and old-fashioned ribbon candy. These are made almost entirely of sugar, sugary syrups, and flavorings.
If hard candy is exposed to heat and humidity, the sugar may crystalize and it may get sticky on the outside. It’s still safe to eat, if you don’t mind the stickiness.
Jellies and Gummies
When jelly beans, jelly candies, and gummies go bad, they may crack, discolor, change shape, or get sticky. You may also notice the color is “off.” These problems can all occur due to excess heat and humidity.
If gummy bears get hard, you can soften them by soaking them in warm water. This rehydrates them.
If you notice sugar crystals on the surface of gummies or jelly beans, they’re probably past their prime but you can still eat them safely.
How To Store Candy Long-Term
Candy stays fresher longer if you store it properly. In its original package, candy stay be at peak quality the longest. However, if you open the package, eat part of the candy, and want to store the rest, what do you do?
You should store candy in an airtight container or securely closed zipper bag in a cool, dry place. You can also refrigerate or freeze any kind of candy, though some types will experience changes in texture or color due to being exposed to moisture.
Avoid storing your candy in any place close to a source of heat, such as near a stove or next to a radiator or heat register. If you live in a hot, humid climate, and your house is not air-conditioned, you should consider storing candy in the refrigerator rather than in a cupboard or pantry.
Storing candy in the refrigerator or freezer will extend the freshness for several months, on average.
Place candy in zipper bags or airtight containers so it doesn’t pick up any odors or flavors from other foods in your fridge. Be careful not to mix soft candies and hard candies together.
Any kind of chocolate, from plain chocolate bars to premium truffles, will do very well when stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Chocolate will look and taste the same after it thaws or warms to room temperature.
That said, the Hershey’s company cautions that chocolate kept in the refrigerator may develop “sweat” (condensation) as it warms up to room temperature. If so, this is completely harmless, though it may make the surface of the chocolate a bit sticky.
Some people enjoy the taste of frozen chocolate, especially in the summer, but most people will thaw the chocolate before eating.
Jelly beans and similar candies can be refrigerated without problems, and they also turn out well after they are frozen. To thaw them, just place them on the counter and let them warm up to room temperature.
Gummy bears (worms, sharks, or whatever other shape they’re in) are made mostly of gelatin, fruit juices, flavorings. You can freeze gummies, but freezing may cause them to acquire a firmer texture.
When you freeze marshmallows, they don’t get completely hard. They get only slightly firmer than when they are fresh, but they are still squishable. Thawed marshmallows taste the same as fresh ones.