When cleaning out your pantry, you find a jar of mayonnaise and a box of pasta that hasn’t been opened yet. The expiration date on the labels passed months ago. Should you throw the food away, or is it still good to eat?
In many cases, unopened food may be perfectly safe to eat for months or even years after the expiration date. It all depends on what kind of food it is and how long after expiration the date you are eating it. Some foods will lose flavor or quality over time, and a few will spoil or become rancid.
Many people are strict about throwing out unopened food if it’s even a day or two older than the label date, but that’s a mistake. You’re just wasting food and throwing your money away.
Most packaged foods will be completely safe and remain tasty and nutritious well after any expiration date or any other dates given on the package.
Dry foods, such as pasta, beans, and rice, can be eaten several years after the expiration date without any problems. Once you cook them, they will taste fine.
Canned foods also have an indefinite shelf life, despite what the date on the label will tell you. As long as the can is free from dents, rust, or bulges, the food inside is safe to eat.
Other packaged foods, such as cookies, cereal, and crackers, are safe to eat but tend to lose flavor quality, and crunch as time goes on.
Packaged foods that need to be refrigerated before opening are a different story. These foods deteriorate quickly and can spoil.
How Long Can You Eat Unopened Expired Food?
If you shouldn’t throw out unopened food after the expiration date has passed, how do know how long you afterward you can eat it? There is no hard-and-set rule, but you should consider what type of food it is.
The length of time you can eat a package of unopened food generally depends on the moisture content. Dry foods will keep for many years, while foods with a higher moisture content tend to have a shorter shelf life.
Here are some typical lengths of how long popular packaged foods will stay viable past the expiration date. Note that these are just estimates, and keep in mind that these times do not apply to food packages that have been opened.
| White rice | Indefinitely |
| Brown rice | 1 year |
| Beans | Indefinitely |
| Pasta | 2–3 years |
| Canned fruit | 1–2 years |
| Canned vegetables | 1–2 years |
| Canned tomatoes | 12–18 months |
| Canned soup | 2–3 years |
| Canned beans | 3 years |
| Canned fish (tuna, sardines, salmon) | 2–5 years |
| Canned meat | 2–5 years |
| Ketchup | 18 months |
| Mustard | 1–2 years |
| Mayonnaise | 3–6 months |
| Salad Dressing | 1 year |
| Oats | 1–2 years |
| Barley | 1–2 years |
| Quinoa | 2–3 years |
| Corn flakes | 6–8 months |
| Saltine crackers | 6–9 months |
| Chocolate chip cookies | 4 months |
| Milk | 5–7 days |
| Butter | 1 month |
| Sour cream | 3 weeks |
| Yogurt | 1–2 weeks |
| Eggs | 3–5 weeks |
| Flour | 6–8 months |
| Pickles | 1–2 years |
| Jam or jelly | 18 months |
And what about the infamous Twinkie snack cakes? It’s a myth that they last forever. After about 25 days, they start to degrade.
The way you store the food will affect the shelf life. Unopened, packaged foods should be stored in a dry, cool place away from temperature extremes, direct sunlight, and any kind of moisture.
Freezing can extend the life of certain foods, such as baked goods and dairy. Bacteria cannot grow in the freezer, so it will be safe from spoiling. However, freezing can also affect the quality and texture.
Do not freeze canned foods. Freezing can compromise the integrity of the can.
The most important method of evaluating whether a packaged food will still be good to eat is by using your own senses of sight and smell. If the package appears damaged in any way, or if the food doesn’t look like it should, then you should throw it away.
The biggest danger in canned foods is botulism, which is a food poisoning that occurs because of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It causes intestinal symptoms which can be severe, and if not treated, can lead to death.
Botulism is very rare in manufactured processed foods, but there are signs that botulism might be present in canned food. You can detect signs of botulism infection by inspecting cans and jars for any leaks, tears, bulges, or dents.
For food in a jar, such as applesauce or pasta sauce, if the lid is loose or bulges, the food could be contaminated.
Other foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria or viruses, or in extremely rare cases parasites, can be introduced at any stage of the food processing system. However, usually, the contaminants are introduced due to cross-contamination, often caused by improper food preparation or storage.
In other words, you are more likely to get food poisoning from food that has been cooked or served than from a freshly-opened package, regardless of whatever date might be on the label.
That said, any food that has turned color or has changed in some way—say, the liquid has thickened or become runny—should be considered suspect. The same should apply if you notice spots, clots, or other abnormal things.
While contamination and spoilage in canned, packaged, or processed foods are relatively uncommon, it is possible that the texture or flavor of food will decline after the expiration date.
For example, prepared foods such as cookies, crackers, and cereal will get stale lose their crunch. Other foods will taste “off,” but they will not harm you if you take a bite to test it out.
What’s the Difference Between Sell-by Date and Expiration Date?
Obviously, food doesn’t automatically turn bad on the expiration date. So what does this date mean? And is there a difference if it says “sell by” or “use by”?
Expiration and sell-by dates are used interchangeably and are meant primarily for retailers to inform them when the products should be removed from the shelves. A third label, the “best if used by” date is used to let consumers know when the quality of the product may start to decline.
Very few items officially “expire” in the sense that they should absolutely not be consumed past a certain date. In the United States, there are no federal laws that required food to be labeled, with the exception of infant formula.
Some state laws regulate certain farm products, such as eggs, but again, either expiration or sell-by labels are used without any difference in meaning. The sell-by date on a carton of eggs is no later than 30 days after they have been packed.
Fresh meat should be used or frozen within 3 or 4 days after the sell-by date. Use ground meat or poultry within 1 or 2 days.
Otherwise, manufacturers are free to develop any system of dating they wish. Some use phrases such as “pack date” or “guaranteed fresh.” Others have developed a complex system of letters and numbers indicating the date when the food was manufactured or packaged.
Both manufacturers and retailers have an interest in selling products at peak quality, so they tend to pull items from the shelves when they reach the date on the label. If you buy the product before that day but keep it in the pantry or cupboard for weeks or even months, there’s no harm done.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which share responsibilities in overseeing food safety, have been attempting to clear up the confusion by encouraging manufacturers to label packed or canned foods with a “best if used by” date, rather than an expiration or sell-by date.
“Best if used by” gives the consumer an estimate of the date when the food will start to lose its best flavor, texture, or other quality. However, even then, food quality may be a matter of personal taste.
The USDA has developed a phone app called FoodKeeper that you can use to search for information about freshness, storage, and labeling about specific food products.