How long is sour cream good after the expiration date?

What “package use-by date” means

Most FoodKeeper times are counted from the day you buy or open a food: yogurt, for example, gets 1–2 weeks from purchase. For sour cream, FoodKeeper gives no count at all. It points you to the date on the package instead. FoodKeeper gives the same answer for a handful of other packaged foods, such as refrigerated cookie dough and cut fruit. Cream cheese, by contrast, gets a set fridge time counted from purchase; see how long cream cheese keeps.

In practice, that makes the printed date the conservative cutoff for sour cream. Opening the tub doesn't add time, and FoodKeeper doesn't give any days beyond the date. It also only holds if the sour cream has been kept cold the whole time.

Does USDA say sour cream is good 2 weeks past the date?

No. Several of the pages that rank for this question say USDA allows sour cream two weeks, or 7–10 days, past its best-by date. We couldn't find that in any USDA source, and FoodKeeper, USDA's storage database, points the other way: go by the package date. Two real figures may be getting mixed up. FoodKeeper gives sour cream based dips 2 weeks from the day you buy them, and Daisy, a sour cream maker, says its sour cream stays fresh about two weeks after opening. Neither is “two weeks past the date.”

Here is what the sources we checked actually say:

The sources disagree, and none of them gives a number of days after the printed date. For a safety decision, USDA's answer is the most conservative: use sour cream by the date on the tub.

What the date on the tub means

Except for infant formula, federal rules don't require a date on food, according to USDA and FDA, so the maker picks both the date and the phrase in front of it. Daisy, for example, prints a Best By date and says it marks when the sour cream “will exhibit optimal flavor and quality attributes” and is “not a purchase-by or safety date.”

• Best by is a quality date, per USDA. See what best-by means.
• Use by is, in USDA's words, “the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality.” The food industry groups that pushed for simpler labels recommend “Use By” for perishable products that should be eaten by the date and thrown out after it, as FDA's 2019 letter describes. More on use-by dates.
• Sell by is for the store's stock rotation, not for you. See what sell-by means.

Whatever the phrase, FoodKeeper's answer for sour cream is the same: that date is your limit. Not sure which number on the lid is the date? The expiration date decoder and the guide to reading expiration dates can help.

Opened vs. unopened sour cream

FoodKeeper doesn't split sour cream into opened and unopened times. The package date applies to both. Daisy's guideline is stricter for opened tubs: use them within about two weeks of opening, even if the Best By date is later. Combining the two gives a simple rule: an opened tub is good until the printed date or about two weeks after you opened it, whichever comes first.

A few habits keep an open tub from spoiling early:

• Use a clean spoon every time, and avoid touching the inside of the lid, as Daisy suggests.
• Put the lid back on and return the tub to the fridge right after use. Daisy recommends the lower shelves.
• Keep the fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below, the temperature FDA recommends.

Bought a tub for one recipe? Scan its date when you unpack. FreshScan reads the printed date, saves whether it's a best-by, use-by or sell-by date, and reminds you two days before, while there's still time to use the rest.

Free on theApp Store

How to tell if sour cream has gone bad

• Mold, anywhere. Fuzzy spots or colored specks on the surface, the rim or the lid. USDA says to discard moldy sour cream, not scoop the mold out: in high-moisture foods, mold can reach below the surface, and bacteria can grow along with it. Throw out the whole tub.
• An off smell. Daisy says sour cream with an off odor should be thrown out, even before the date.
• A clear change in color, consistency or texture. FDA advises avoiding foods that have changed noticeably in these ways.

A little watery liquid on top is different. That's whey, the watery part of cultured dairy, and Daisy says you can stir it back in or pour it off. Don't taste sour cream to decide whether it's safe, and don't sniff a tub that already shows mold. When in doubt, throw it out.

Sour cream that sat out also counts as gone. FDA's rule is no more than 2 hours at room temperature, or 1 hour above 90°F, for perishable food. That includes a bowl of sour cream dip on a party table.

Can you freeze sour cream?

FoodKeeper lists freezing sour cream as not recommended, and sour cream based dips too. The reason is texture. NDSU Extension says all cultured, soured dairy products “lose their smooth texture when frozen”: they turn grainy and sometimes separate out their water. Daisy also asks people not to freeze its sour cream because it hurts the creamy texture and flavor.

If you do freeze leftover sour cream, NDSU notes it can still be used for cooking, so plan to use it in a cooked dish rather than as a topping.

For the rest of the dairy shelf, see how long yogurt keeps, cream cheese and cream, or the full shelf life chart. The food expiration calculator turns a purchase date into a use-by day for foods with a FoodKeeper time.

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