Does Peanut butter expire?
Peanut butter is dry and oily, which makes it inhospitable to bacteria — the risk with peanut butter has historically been Salmonella introduced during manufacture, not something that develops in your cupboard. What limits it at home is the oil oxidising, and stabilised commercial products with added hydrogenated fat resist that far longer than natural ones that separate. Oil sitting on top of a natural jar is normal and should be stirred back in. Refrigeration roughly doubles the life of a natural jar at the cost of making it hard to spread.
How to store it
- Cupboard for commercial jars, fridge for natural ones once opened.
- Stir separated oil back in rather than pouring it off.
How to tell it has gone
- A sharp, bitter, paint-like taste means rancid.
- Dark, dried-out patches or any mould mean discard the jar.
"Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.
Common questions
- Does Peanut butter expire?
- Commercial peanut butter keeps 6-24 months; natural, unstabilised jars go rancid faster and prefer the fridge.
- How long does Peanut butter last?
- Commercial unopened: 1-2 years. Opened: 3-6 months. Natural: 1-3 months, refrigerated
Related pages
- Does Eggs expire? Eggs stay usable for weeks past the date on the box, and the float test tells you about age rather than safety.
- Does Medicines expire? Most solid medicines keep much of their potency for years past the date — but a handful genuinely must not be used late.
- Does Petrol and diesel expire? Petrol goes stale within months, and ethanol blends go faster because they absorb water.
- Does Batteries expire? They self-discharge on the shelf, at very different rates by chemistry — and alkalines leak when flat.
- Does Wine expire? The great majority of wine is meant to be drunk within a year or two. Very little of it improves.
- Does Chocolate expire? It keeps far longer than the date. The white bloom on old chocolate is fat or sugar, not mould.
- Does Household bleach expire? It loses strength within months and eventually becomes salt water. This surprises most people.
- Does Paint expire? Unopened water-based paint keeps a few years; opened tins depend entirely on how well they were sealed.
- Does Honey expire? Does not expire
- Does Milk expire? Has a real expiry date
- Does Sunscreen expire? Unsafe or ineffective after the date
- Does Salt expire? Does not expire
- Does Frozen food expire? Indefinite if stored properly
- Does Canned food expire? Indefinite if stored properly
Sources
- Food Safety and Inspection Service — US Department of Agriculture (Public domain (US Government))