How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out

How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out | How to Tell If it’s Safe to Eat

Before you open up your next packet of yogurt, let us ask you this, do you know how long can yogurt sit out. Leaving an open packet of yogurt is not an advisable thing, especially if it is the summer. Out in the open, your yogurt will not last very long. 

How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out

Now, the answer to the question, how long can yogurt sits out will depend upon a couple of factors. If you want to know how long your yogurt remains consumable after opening the packet it’s about 1 week, if you keep it in the refrigerator. In a freezer, the time extends to about a month. In this scenario, when we say consumable, we mean just consumable, as in you won’t get sick from eating it. Don’t expect the flavor or the texture of the yogurt to stay intact. 

The yogurt mentioned above will probably taste sourer than it should, or its consistency will change. But if you want to enjoy your yogurt the way it was intended to be enjoyed, you shouldn’t wait more than two hours after opening the packet. Leaving an opened packet of yogurt at room temperature for more than two hours will start the deterioration in the quality of the yogurt. 

If it has been more than two hours since the yogurt was opened and you left it at room temperature, you can stick the packet in a refrigerator, it’ll still be useable. But to be extra sure, you can check the yogurt before using it by applying the methods mentioned in the next section to make sure that the yogurt is still safe to eat. 

How To Tell If Your Yogurt is Safe to Eat

Let’s say you left your opened packet of yogurt somewhere and you are later finding it. You don’t exactly remember how long it has been since you left there, we’ve all been there, we all forget stuff. Or probably it wasn’t you who left the packet of yogurt out in the open, it was your kid. We all know how kids are, they open the packet, take a bite and leave the rest of the packet anywhere. 

Now that you have no way of knowing how long your packet of yogurt has been sitting out in the pen, it might be handy if you knew other ways to make sure that it is still safe to eat. After all, it’s such a big waste to throw out a packet of yogurt, and wasting food isn’t good. So, let’s discuss some ways to know if your yogurt is no longer fit for consumption so that you won’t have t waste a perfectly good packet of yogurt. 

Your nose is a very good ally that will tell you if your yogurt has gone beyond the point of usability or not. Check for any rancid, putrid or unusual smell in your yogurt. If your nose hits a strong and unpleasant smell as soon as you open your packet of yogurt for the second time, just realize that it’s been too late. That packet of yogurt belongs to the microorganisms now, it’s their food and it’s time to throw out the yogurt if you don’t want to get sick. 

If your nose is blocked and you can’t smell anything, another good way to tell if your yogurt has gone bad is to use your eyes. You will be able to see clear signs of growth of mold or other microorganisms in the form of spots or large discolored areas. It should go without saying that you should not use yogurt where that you see these signs. 

Apart from the unpleasant smell and taste, there are some very good health reasons that should compel you not to eat bad yogurt. There is a high chance of you suffering from food poisoning and other abdominal discomforts if you consume bad yogurt. Trust us, you’d never want to eat yogurt again if you eat a bad pack of yogurt. 

Conclusion

As long as your yogurt hasn’t gone bad, it’s a pretty good thing that you enjoy consuming yogurt. Eating yogurt can help you from getting enough protein and nutrients to strengthening your immune system. If you are not vegan or lactose intolerant, you can eat a moderate amount of yogurt regularly, it will help you improve your health. And it is really easy to freeze your own yogurt at home. So, there is no good reason you should not eat yogurt.  Just make sure to finish your packet in time after you’ve opened it and you’ll be fine.