topic Re: Organic milk expiration date? in Kitchen

Organic milk expiration date?

gardenman — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:38:22 GMT

I went to Walmart yesterday and bought some milk. I typically just buy their Great Value milk, but they were out and the only whole milk they had was Stonyfield Organic Milk so I bought that. The expiration date on my normal milk is typically about two weeks from the time of purchase. The Stonyfield milk expiration date is September 27, 2020. That seems kind of crazy to me. That's seven-ish weeks away. For milk? How the heck do they have that long of an expiration date for milk with no preservatives?

There's nothing on the labeling or their website that explains the longer shelf life. It does say it's best if consumed seven to ten days after opening. I would assume it wasn't irradiated after packaging, but that's about the only way that expiration date makes sense. It's pricey milk, but if it stays fresh for seven weeks it might be worth the extra money.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

liliblu — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:45:26 GMT

I drink Stonyfield Organic Milk. I love it. My milk never lasts longer than 5-7 days. If the milk has been opened it doesn't last longer than a week. But I've read that unopened refrigerated milk lasts until about week after the printed used by date.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

LindaSal — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:42:11 GMT

@gardenman Hi there! We have a farm in our area and they're milk is organic. It is so fresh that there are not dates on the containers at all. Of course milk doesn't last in my house that long anyway, hubby eats cereal like it's going out of style. My point I guess is you cannot get it any fresher and the taste is fabulous!

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

gardenman — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:54:08 GMT

I mostly use milk for my cooking (biscuits, pancakes, muffins, corn fritters, or for pudding) so I don't go through milk very quickly. Most of the time I end up throwing some away. Finding a milk with a seven week later expiration date was kind of a surprise to me. It makes it very easy to keep fresh milk on hand.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

PinkyPetunia — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:57:30 GMT

I can't say why organic milk has such a long sell-by date, but I buy lactose free milk and it is the same way. It also stays fresh a long time after the container is opened. I like that because I don't use a lot of milk.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

Catch71 — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:00:19 GMT

@gardenman

I asked the gentleman stocking the milk in my supermarket and he said once its opened the expiration date means nothing. That date only tells you how long it will last unopened.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

grandma2pkmh — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:02:42 GMT

@gardenman I have been buying only organic milk for the last 5 or so years. I love the extended expiration date. I usually buy 3 half gallons so I don;t need to go to the store so often.(I was always running out of milk before anything else). The milk is processed differently than regular milk, mainly by using ultra high temperature heat to kill more bacteria. I buy the Publix Greenwise brand and it is expensive but worth it to me.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

kitty60 — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:53:01 GMT

As someone else said, lactose free also has that longer shelf life. As I dislike milk anyway, if I have to use for something, regardless of date if it has any smell, out it goes.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

Sooner — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:59:19 GMT

The way it is heated to pasturize and reduce lactose content I think is what makes it have a longer shelf life. But no, doesn't mean you can leave it open that long I don't think

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

Marp — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 14:10:58 GMT

@gardenman, the milk is ultra high pasturized which essentially renders it sterile enabling the longer shelf life. However, once opened it lasts about as long as the regular milk you buy.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

gardenman — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 14:18:59 GMT

@Marp wrote:
@gardenman, the milk is ultra high pasturized which essentially renders it sterile enabling the longer shelf life. However, once opened it lasts about as long as the regular milk you buy.

Interesting. I always check the expiration dates and buy milk with a longer one, but finding an expiration date about seven weeks away was surprising.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

World Traveler — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 16:04:31 GMT

Pasteurization. My organic almond milk usually has "sell by" dates that are up to two months from the date I purchase it. Always been that way.

Always tastes great and fresh when I open it.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

gardenman — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 16:51:39 GMT

I'm just giving this a bit of a bump for a quick update. I'm now an organic milk convert. The stuff stays fresh forever. The half-gallon I bought in August lasted me through September. I bought a fresh half-gallon in late September with an expiration date of 10/26. I opened that in early October and here we are on November fifth and it's still good. I just used a third of a cup for my corn muffins. I don't know what they do to the milk, but it stays good for a long time.

It's not hard to tell when milk goes off, but this is as fresh smelling as the day I bought it. Now it just comes out of the fridge when I need it, it gets opened, poured out, recapped, and put right back into the fridge, but it stays fresh for weeks even after being opened. It's well worth the extra money. I don't use a lot of milk and I typically throw away as much as I use, but this stuff lasts a very long time.

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

Mellyg — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:42:40 GMT

When I first started buying organic milk, DH was convinced something was wrong with the "sell by" date. He was so skeptical, until he realized that it does last much longer unopened.

For me, that's an added bonus of it. I buy a few cartons at once and don't need to worry about them going bad!

Re: Organic milk expiration date?

gardenman — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 22:11:07 GMT

@Mellyg wrote:
When I first started buying organic milk, DH was convinced something was wrong with the "sell by" date. He was so skeptical, until he realized that it does last much longer unopened.
For me, that's an added bonus of it. I buy a few cartons at once and don't need to worry about them going bad!

That was me with the first half-gallon I bought. I was very confused why the expiration date was so much later than conventional milk. I'd never bought the organic milk as it cost twice as much, but I needed milk and the organic was all they had, so rather than wander off to another store, I bought it. I looked at the expiration date and thought it must be a misprint. The stuff lasts forever though.