Can I drink this? Liquid fish oil edition.

September 17, 2022 5:52 AM

Can I still consume Nordic Naturals fish oil that I left out for a day? (Maybe 16 hours?)

Due to a recent pill phobia (sigh), I started taking liquid fish oil. I accidentally left it out from early morning to late evening yesterday. Since it already smells and tastes rancid to me:) I can't tell if I can still use it. It's very expensive but of course I don't want to get sick. Thank you.

posted by bquarters to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

Animal oils shouldn't go rancid in that time. Are you sure it's not just more aromatic at room temp than when you've had it refrigerated? Or it could have been rancid when you got it…

I personally would try it, you're talking about a few ml right? Even if it had gone rancid, that won't really harm me beyond a bit of upset tummy, ymmv.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:10 AM on September 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

The website says to refrigerate "for best results", so I think you're fine. The supplement business I worked for kept their liquid fish oil at room temperature (sealed) for months at a time.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:12 AM on September 17, 2022

Response by poster: Ok thanks- it doesn't smell any worse than usual so it is probably ok! Thanks again. (Of course I googled it first and it said it could go bad "very fast" so I wasn't sure how to interpret that:)).
posted by bquarters at 6:18 AM on September 17, 2022

I think fish oil typically has a shelf life of a couple months after being opened, if refrigerated - which is a short shelf life compared to more stable oils, like olive oil or “vegetable oil”. So I think it would last at least a few weeks on the counter, depending on temperature. Oils spoil by going rancid - heat speeds it up and cold slows it down - so unless it got really hot, leaving it out on the counter for a day just shortens the time it stays good.
posted by maleficent at 11:26 AM on September 17, 2022 [1 favorite]