How to know if yogurt is bad. Cooking school
By Layla Khoury-Hanold for Food Network Kitchen
Layla Khoury-Hanold is a Food Network contributor.
Yogurt is a food product created by the fermentation of bacteria in milk, so it can be difficult to tell if it has gone bad. To help us know how to tell if yogurt is bad, we consulted Toby AmidorMS, RD, CDN, FAND, award-winning nutritionist and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Diabetes Create a cookbook that prepares your mealsand Dana Angelo WhiteMS, RD, ATC, foodnetwork.com contributor, cookbook author and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc.
The short answer is yes, yogurt can spoil. “Yoghurt is a fairly stable food, but it can go bad due to mold, yeast or slow-growing bacteria. This spoilage can occur if yogurt is not kept refrigerated at 40 degrees or below,” says Amidor. “Due to the added sugar, flavored yogurts tend to spoil earlier than regular varieties when not stored at the right temperature.”
White points out that all perishable foods that need to be refrigerated are subject to spoilage. “For yogurt, the recommended shelf life is usually two weeks in the refrigerator and two months in the freezer,” says Dr. USDA,” she says. “There is no guarantee whether yogurt will be edible before or after this time frame, so you should check for any odors or discoloration and when in doubt, throw it away.”
Amidor shares that the best method to increase the shelf life of yogurt is to store it in the refrigerator at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. One-time tub set Amidor says, get what you need with a clean spoon, cover, and put the tub back in the fridge as soon as possible. “You want to minimize the amount of time your yogurt is out of the fridge and never leave it in the fridge for more than two hours.” White adds that when storing yogurt in the freezer, the optimal temperature should be 0 degrees Fahrenheit and yogurt should be consumed within two months of freezing.
In general, manufacturers put a sell-by date on foods to indicate when the product will retain optimal freshness, not to indicate spoilage. “Generally, it’s safe to eat yogurt that’s past its sell-by date as long as there are no signs of spoilage, such as odors or mold growth,” says Amidor. “It’s best to eat yogurt within 7 to 14 days of opening to reduce the risk of mold or yeast growth.”
There are a few things to look out for to look for signs that your yogurt has gone bad. Here’s what to check:
While there’s no guarantee that eating spoiled yogurt will make you sick, it’s best to avoid the risk. “Eating spoiled yogurt and dairy products can cause stomach upset and possibly nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, depending on how much you eat,” says White. “In the case of yogurt that goes bad very quickly, the bad taste may prevent people from eating large amounts.”