Almond milk past best before date - drink or toss?

January 18, 2021 8:05 PM

I have several packages of shelf stable Almond Milk (some are Almond Breeze and some are Kirkland Brand) that have a best before date of June 2019. I thought I remembered reading that some foods can be consumed long after their best before date, but I'm not sure if that mean 18 months after. Are these safe to drink? Or should I toss them? In case it matters, most of the cartons were in my basement but I think a few were in the garage.
posted by NoneOfTheAbove to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Best before dates tell you when the product is at its optimum (taste etc). Use by dates tell you when a product is not safe.

There doesn't seem like there is anything overly scary in almond milk.

I'd personally smell and taste test and use.
posted by freethefeet at 9:33 PM on January 18, 2021

Yeah I would drink these without a second thought provided they looked and smelled normal when poured into a glass.

Almond milk separates very easily so shake first before pouring!
posted by jesourie at 9:35 PM on January 18, 2021

Still Tasty says go for it (proceed with caution):

"Storage times shown are for best quality only - after that, the unopened shelf-stable almond milk's color or taste may change, but in most cases, it will still be safe to consume if it has been stored properly, the package is undamaged, and there are no signs of spoilage (see below).

How to tell if shelf-stable almond milk is bad? If shelf-stable almond milk develops an off odor, flavor or appearance, it should be discarded."

posted by aniola at 11:08 PM on January 18, 2021

Generally I find that non-dairy milks are pretty resistant to spoiling, especially the shelf stable kinds. As others have mentioned, shake well first (personally I would probably discard the milk if it was still partly separated after a lot of shaking) and pour it out into a transparent container for smell & visual inspection.

If there are no visible clots of mould (and there shouldn't be unless the packaging has been damaged in some way) and the milk smells okay, I'd proceed to a small-quantity taste test. If it passes the visual, smell & taste tests I'd use the rest of it without hesitation. I'd probably also try to use it up quickly and not leave already-opened containers of it in the fridge for too long, as that's the main way non-dairy milk goes mouldy in my experience.
posted by terretu at 2:56 AM on January 19, 2021

If they are unopened, shake well and pour. If it looks fine and smells fine, I think you're fine.

Almond milk will usually separate and/or coagulate if it has gone bad.
posted by dazedandconfused at 6:29 AM on January 19, 2021

Shake well, pour all of the contents into a separate jug/pitcher - and then cut-open the container/tetra - if their is no evidence of mould/fungus, you should be fine.
posted by rozcakj at 9:56 AM on January 19, 2021