If you've ever reached into your stash only to realize you're down to some old edibles hiding in the back, it’s fair to wonder, “Do edibles expire?” The general answer is, yes, edibles are food and food expires, so edibles do expire. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it looks quite the same as the carton of old milk you once discovered at the back of your fridge (yuck).
Today, we’ll take a look at the shelf life of different types of edibles, what happens if you eat expired edibles, and some tips for keeping your edibles, well, edible for as long as possible.
Do Edibles Expire?
While edibles can feel like magical little treats, they (sadly) aren’t exempt from expiring. That’s to say: yes, edibles do expire. But, how long they last and what “expired” means aren’t always the same, as a variety of factors come into play when discussing any food product. For example, baked goods won’t last as long as gummies, and once they have expired, the indicators that they’re no longer safe to consume can be totally different.
Specific ingredients and how an edible is made can greatly change its shelf life, but generally speaking, here’s roughly how long you can expect your edible treats to be good for (assuming proper storage practices, which we’ll cover later in this article):
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Gummies: It can vary pretty heavily, but expect your gummies to stay fresh for 6 to 12 months if stored in an airtight container and kept away from heat. (Camino gummies, for example, expire within 12 months.)
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Baked Goods: Depending on the baked goods and the ingredients used (like milk or eggs), you’ll have anywhere from a few days to a week or two before it’s time for the bin (longer if frozen, though).
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Non-gelatin Edibles (lozenges, mints, chocolate, hard candies, etc.): Again, this is super dependent on the ingredients, but expect the shelf life of these goods to be anywhere from a few months to a year.
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Infused Beverages: If properly canned and stored in the fridge, infused beverages should stay fresh for 6 to 12 months.
Are Expired Edibles Safe?
We can’t definitively say whether or not edibles are safe past their expiration date since “safe” can depend on all sorts of factors like ingredients, storage, and exposure to who knows what. But we can tell you what generally happens with edibles once they’ve been sitting around for a while.
What Happens to Cannabinoids Over Time?
Cannabinoids (like THC, CBD, and CBN) are the main compounds in edibles that give us all the effects we’re after when we open our favorite pack of gummies or break off a piece of chocolate. And while the good news is that these compounds don’t actually go bad, they do degrade over time.
So, what does that mean? It means that after a certain period of time, the compounds in an edible can have lesser or different effects than when they were fresher. If you do decide to roll the dice with an expired edible, just know that there’s a chance the potency isn’t going to be what it was the first day you opened it. That isn’t always the case, though, so don’t try to overcompensate by immediately gobbling a few extra! As always, the adage holds: start low and go slow.
What Happens if You Eat Expired Edible Gummies?
From an effects perspective, an expired gummy still has the chance to give you the regular experience, a more mellow experience, an altered experience, or even have no effect at all. There’s no real way to know beforehand, so it’s best not to risk it if you want to be sure what you’re getting into.
That’s not all there is to it, though! Edibles aren’t just cannabinoids (obviously), and all of the other ingredients that go into making your favorite little treats can drastically change how questionable an expired edible can be. For baked goods (and other edibles with highly perishable ingredients), spoiled ingredients and mold are much more likely, which can lead to an increased likelihood of making you feel ill — making eating them an absolute no-go.
Gummies, on the other hand, are a bit harder to read on the expired front. While we’d suggest always opting for unexpired gummies, if you do happen to eat one that is expired, the experience could range anywhere from just being extra chewy to making you sick, or worse (due to spoiled ingredients, mold, etc.).
How to Tell if Edibles are Expired
We wish we could give you a solid answer on whether or not your old gummies are fine to eat, but without us being there to valiantly offer ourselves as test subjects, the next best thing we can do is offer you some tips on what to look out for to determine if your gummies are just a little past their “best by” date, or if they need to dumped.
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Strange or changed aroma: If your edibles are giving off a funk that isn’t what you’d expect, probably best to toss ‘em.
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Hard or brittle (or both): The most likely change you’ll find with an expired gummy is a change in texture that makes it pretty hard and difficult to bite, tear, and chew. This probably isn’t the end of the world, but it is a definite sign that you’re eating a gummy past its prime.
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Discoloration: If your once-vibrant gummies have turned muted or even gone gray, it's safe to assume you’re not getting a fresh experience. Best to avoid!
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Strange or bad taste: Look, humans have survived this long greatly due to our ability to recognize spoiled or poisonous foods based on taste. If your tongue is telling you no, spit that thang out!
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Mold: We shouldn’t have to say it, but if you see mold (even the tiniest semblance), straight to the trash!
How to Store Edibles
Being able to recognize an expired edible is a good skill; being able to keep your edibles fresh for as long as possible is an even better one. Let’s go over some simple tips to make sure you don’t end up with prematurely spoiled gummies and edibles in general.
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Airtight containers: Whether your gummies come in a sealed bag or a tin, make sure you always reseal the packaging. If, for whatever reason, the original packaging doesn’t seem up to snuff from use and re-use, feel free to put the original packaging in another form of storage, such as a well-sealed ziplock bag or glass food storage container (keeping the label can help ensure you don’t accidentally mix up what you’re having!).
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Cool, dark places: Heat and sunlight can speed up the spoiling process in a major way. The best place to keep your edibles is in a cabinet or drawer in a temperature-controlled room.
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Refrigerate or freeze perishables (not gummies): Some baked goods can go in the fridge or freezer if you want to extend their life. That said, gummies are best kept out of both places, since getting too cold can make them tough to chew.
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Store them separately from other goods: Keeping your edibles stored separately in their original packaging is a good idea not only because it can help keep them mold-free if something else nearby goes bad, but it can also help you keep track of which edibles you’re actually taking. After all, if your goal is a certain vibe, it might be a little bit of a bummer to mistakenly switch them up.
Stay Fresh
While we can’t personally say we’ve ever let a tin of Camino gummies last past their expiration date, we do acknowledge that things can happen. If you need to replace some old gummies or are looking for gummies that are just too good to let expire, check out all of the different flavor and vibe options directly on our website or at a shop near you!
Cyrus Grant is a writer from Southern California with a background in law and dispute resolution. When he isn’t writing, he can be found deep-diving into the latest technology trends or simply spending time at the beach.
