Orange asks: did my orange juice, mixed in my smoothie, contaminate it?
April 30, 2019 7:41 PM Subscribe
Orange may you be of help? :) Joking aside, my expired-by-one-day, but opened-more-than-7-days ago orange juice was mixed into a spinachy goodness smoothie I made. Is it OK and safe to drink the smoothie?
The orange juice (Tropicana, a lot of pulp) was first opened about a month ago and used occasionally; the bottle said it was best used by yesterday. Tonight, I wanted to use it up for my smoothie, and it looked and smelled ok, not rancid at all, and when I tasted it, tasted normal and not bad at all.
However, I read online a few examples of OJ going bad, having small micro-orgasisms that would develop into mold, which would sicken me. That made me hesitate. The sites also said you should drink OJ within 7 days, and that past-dated OJ is only safe is unopened (which is not in my case).
I've mixed it in the smoothie already (which, for the curious, consisted of ripe bananas, plain greek yogurt, flax seeds, plenty of spinach, frozen berries, and OJ) and don't want to waste it. The empty OJ bottle has a lot of pulp on it, but no mold, as far as I can see.
Anyone have experience with this kind of thing and can give insights on if the smoothie's safe to drink? I hope it is, because it's quite green like this site. :)
Thanks!
The orange juice (Tropicana, a lot of pulp) was first opened about a month ago and used occasionally; the bottle said it was best used by yesterday. Tonight, I wanted to use it up for my smoothie, and it looked and smelled ok, not rancid at all, and when I tasted it, tasted normal and not bad at all.
However, I read online a few examples of OJ going bad, having small micro-orgasisms that would develop into mold, which would sicken me. That made me hesitate. The sites also said you should drink OJ within 7 days, and that past-dated OJ is only safe is unopened (which is not in my case).
I've mixed it in the smoothie already (which, for the curious, consisted of ripe bananas, plain greek yogurt, flax seeds, plenty of spinach, frozen berries, and OJ) and don't want to waste it. The empty OJ bottle has a lot of pulp on it, but no mold, as far as I can see.
Anyone have experience with this kind of thing and can give insights on if the smoothie's safe to drink? I hope it is, because it's quite green like this site. :)
Thanks!
It's almost certainly fine. A couple of things to consider:
1. "Best by" dates aren't necessarily the same as expiration dates; often manufacturers put them on to note, "Hey, don't judge the quality of our product by the way it tastes if you consume it after X date." This also lets them put an earlier date, to make it more likely someone will toss a half-finished container and get a new one.
2. Even an expiration date isn't magic: microbes do not suddenly appear, or hit a certain critical mass right on the date. And manufacturers and regulators will err on the side of caution both for liability and consumer satisfaction reasons.
3. your mileage may vary, but I've had OJ well past its sell-by date, and the first thing I noticed was that it tasted slightly fizzy and less sweet--like it had fermented. It didn't make me sick, though I didn't have much of it after that first taste.
posted by pykrete jungle at 8:14 PM on April 30, 2019 [10 favorites]
1. "Best by" dates aren't necessarily the same as expiration dates; often manufacturers put them on to note, "Hey, don't judge the quality of our product by the way it tastes if you consume it after X date." This also lets them put an earlier date, to make it more likely someone will toss a half-finished container and get a new one.
2. Even an expiration date isn't magic: microbes do not suddenly appear, or hit a certain critical mass right on the date. And manufacturers and regulators will err on the side of caution both for liability and consumer satisfaction reasons.
3. your mileage may vary, but I've had OJ well past its sell-by date, and the first thing I noticed was that it tasted slightly fizzy and less sweet--like it had fermented. It didn't make me sick, though I didn't have much of it after that first taste.
posted by pykrete jungle at 8:14 PM on April 30, 2019 [10 favorites]
A month? The pulp could be masking clumping (a sign of mold), so I vote ditch it.
(I never consider getting rid of questionable food a "waste" when doing so saves me grief, either digestive or mental, so I tend to err on the side of safety.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:20 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
(I never consider getting rid of questionable food a "waste" when doing so saves me grief, either digestive or mental, so I tend to err on the side of safety.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:20 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: The pulp "stuck" on the sides of the bottle looks clear and orange-y to me.
See two photos of the bottle... it may look a bit disgusting, haha, as a small disclaimer. It's showing pulp stuck to the bottle, but no signs of green mold (to me, anyway). The small remaining orange juice looks fully orange and no sign of mold. Photo 1, Photo 2.
Ultimately, if it comes down to the well-being and need of my health, I'd toss the smoothies (two big jars of them). But what's giving me pause is that if the OJ is ok, it'd be a big waste of perfectly good food (and healthy food, which is expensive to boot).
posted by dubious_dude at 8:39 PM on April 30, 2019
See two photos of the bottle... it may look a bit disgusting, haha, as a small disclaimer. It's showing pulp stuck to the bottle, but no signs of green mold (to me, anyway). The small remaining orange juice looks fully orange and no sign of mold. Photo 1, Photo 2.
Ultimately, if it comes down to the well-being and need of my health, I'd toss the smoothies (two big jars of them). But what's giving me pause is that if the OJ is ok, it'd be a big waste of perfectly good food (and healthy food, which is expensive to boot).
posted by dubious_dude at 8:39 PM on April 30, 2019
My bottle of tropicana in the fridge says to use within 7-10 days of opening.
posted by mochapickle at 8:53 PM on April 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 8:53 PM on April 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'd pass. Usually packaged drinks, like juice and non-dairy milks, list a timeframe in which to use them. I'd say that it's generally fine to add a couple of days to that time, but a month is definitely too far. Sorry :(
posted by kinddieserzeit at 9:09 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by kinddieserzeit at 9:09 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'd drink with zero second thoughts.
posted by booooooze at 9:31 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by booooooze at 9:31 PM on April 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
The sell-by date isn't what matters here, it's how long it's been open. I believe this is the first time I've ever said "I wouldn't eat/drink that" to one of these questions.
posted by she's not there at 9:33 PM on April 30, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by she's not there at 9:33 PM on April 30, 2019 [9 favorites]
Orange juice that's been open a month is way too old. Don't drink it.
If it was not opened and expired yesterday, I would drink it. Unfortunately that's not the case.
posted by mundo at 9:39 PM on April 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
If it was not opened and expired yesterday, I would drink it. Unfortunately that's not the case.
posted by mundo at 9:39 PM on April 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
I’d be careful about fresh squeezed, but commercially prepared juices are super patsteurized and don’t spoil in the same ways that truly fresh foods do. If it passed a visual, smell, and taste test, I think you’re fine.
posted by quince at 10:20 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by quince at 10:20 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Personally, given that it smells and tastes fine, I'd drink it without hesitation. We always have orange juice in the fridge, and drink it infrequently enough that it's often in there for a month or more. I've never noticed anything weird about it, and have certainly never gotten sick as a result. Obviously, anecdata≠data, but I guess it's something.
As for microorganism growth, I'd suggest that the relatively strong acidity of orange juice would make it a poor habitat for the growth of such mini-critters.
posted by EKStickland at 12:03 AM on May 1, 2019
As for microorganism growth, I'd suggest that the relatively strong acidity of orange juice would make it a poor habitat for the growth of such mini-critters.
posted by EKStickland at 12:03 AM on May 1, 2019
It partly depends on how cold your fridge is and how likely it is that anything else got into the bottle, but it is possible for the OJ to have gone off and developed something that would make you sick.
I personally would be comfortable evaluating it by taste - one of the first signs of decaying juice should be fermentation, which will definitely change the flavor. If you have some of the plain juice to try and it still tastes good, I'd keep the smoothies.
However, if you know that the idea that maybe it's gone bad will have you second guessing whether you feel poisoned every time you drink it, just chuck it. I'm pretty casual about most food but have a horror of spoiled milk, and once it's past the use by date I just start worrying about it too much to make myself drink it anyway, so now I just know that about myself and throw it out.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:51 AM on May 1, 2019
I personally would be comfortable evaluating it by taste - one of the first signs of decaying juice should be fermentation, which will definitely change the flavor. If you have some of the plain juice to try and it still tastes good, I'd keep the smoothies.
However, if you know that the idea that maybe it's gone bad will have you second guessing whether you feel poisoned every time you drink it, just chuck it. I'm pretty casual about most food but have a horror of spoiled milk, and once it's past the use by date I just start worrying about it too much to make myself drink it anyway, so now I just know that about myself and throw it out.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:51 AM on May 1, 2019
It's not the use by date you need to worry about; it's how long it's been open. In this case, for long past the 7 days recommended. A month is definitely too long. Please throw it out!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:05 AM on May 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:05 AM on May 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
Looks bad. No.
posted by agregoli at 5:27 AM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by agregoli at 5:27 AM on May 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
As long as it's not fizzy (fermented), moldy, or discolored, and passes the taste test, I'd drink that OJ without hesitation. We routinely take more than a month to get through a container of juice -- just checked the carton in our fridge, it's dated Feb 4 and still tastes fine. Which, ok, is kind of unreasonably long. But it's pretty obvious when juice has started to spontaneously mimosa itself.
posted by ook at 9:06 AM on May 1, 2019
posted by ook at 9:06 AM on May 1, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for your insight.
For safety and peace of mind, I decided to toss the smoothie. Wasted ingredients suck, but I'd much rather be healthy and well and lose maybe $5 in terms of waste.
posted by dubious_dude at 11:07 AM on May 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
For safety and peace of mind, I decided to toss the smoothie. Wasted ingredients suck, but I'd much rather be healthy and well and lose maybe $5 in terms of waste.
posted by dubious_dude at 11:07 AM on May 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:10 PM on April 30, 2019 [7 favorites]