How Long Is Yogurt Good After Expiration Date?

Yogurt is a food present in the refrigerators of many homes and is notable for its long shelf life and high nutritional value. It can be consumed for breakfast, between meals, as a dessert at lunch or dinner… Recommended for children, adults and seniors, it is rich in protein, which provides satiety and can be part of a healthy diet to control weight.

How Long Is Yogurt Good After Expiration Date?

One of the most common doubts consumers have regarding food safety is what happens if we eat yogurt that has expired. Will eating yogurt after the packaging says it has expired do anything to our body?

Some foods or drinks can be eaten a little past the expiration date listed. Yogurt is one of them. Yogurt can still be eaten up to 1-2 weeks past the expiration date listed on the packaging as long as it is stored in the refrigerator properly. However, if you see mold growing in the yogurt packaging, the yogurt has been opened, or if the packaging is damaged, it is best to throw the yogurt away.

Pay attention to the expiration date on the yogurt packaging that you eat, if it is still past 1-2 weeks, then most likely the yogurt is still good for you to consume. If it has been more than 2 weeks, it is better not to consume the yogurt anymore. If after consuming yogurt you experience symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, or stomach pain, see a doctor.

The expiration date on food packaging indicates that the food is good and safe to consume before the date stated. The nutritional content of the food is also the best and is still guaranteed before the expiration date. Food storage must be in accordance with the instructions on the packaging in order to reach the expiration date.

If it is past the expiration date, there is no guarantee that the food you eat will not cause problems for your body. The most common thing that occurs after consuming expired food is digestive problems such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bloating, stomach ache, and dizziness. These symptoms generally appear not long (usually a few hours) after you consume the expired food. These symptoms can usually improve spontaneously if you no longer consume the food.

If severe symptoms such as diarrhea for >3 days, continuous vomiting, severe abdominal pain, or bloody stools appear, you should immediately see a doctor.

For yogurt itself, because it has gone through a sterilization process, generally as long as the packaging is not opened and stored properly there will be no bacteria growing in the packaging, so if you consume yogurt that is past its expiration date it will not cause any symptoms. However, we must pay attention to the color of the yogurt (changes or not), whether there is a pungent odor, whether there are lumps – mucus in the yogurt. If there are any of these signs, it is better to throw it away and not consume it.

For yogurt that has been opened, the expiration date is no longer a reference because yogurt must be used up immediately if the packaging has been opened. Yogurt must be placed in the refrigerator all the time. If it has been removed from the refrigerator – until it reaches normal temperature and returned to the refrigerator, its shelf time can be reduced by half.

Expiration date and best before date

First, it should be clarified that expiration date and best-before date do not mean the same thing.

The expiration date is used to establish the shelf life of a food, from when that product may pose an immediate danger to human health if eaten, such as meat or fish

On the other hand, the best before date of a food indicates that “once the time has passed and if the packaging has been properly preserved and is intact, it may lose some of its organoleptic properties, but without biological risk”

In short, it is important to use common sense and evaluate the product by its smell, taste and appearance before consuming it after the date indicated on the package.