People who work out and sport a lot might forget about their specific foods and drinks when they’ve reached their sports goal for the year. A few months later, you find another bottle of Gatorade. But how long is it there? Does Gatorade go bad you say?
Gatorade is a sports drink and will go bad just like many other drinks, but not that fast.
In this article, we will cover all you need to know about Gatorade and how long the product will last. We will talk about its shelf life, how to store it and how to detect signs of spoilage in this popular sports drink.
Enjoy the read!
What Is Gatorade Drink?
Gatorade is a brand that’s owned and run by PepsiCo. It’s a sports drink that was designed to help athletes replenish water and electrolyte levels during physical activities or workouts.
The name Gatorade is derived from the Gators football team at the University of Florida, for whom the sports drink originally was made.
The drink comes in many flavors, such as orange, lemon, and so on…
How Long Can Gatorade Last
As always, we will start with a quick table for your convenience:
Gatorade | Pantry | Refrigerator |
---|---|---|
Unopened | Best-by + up to 2 years | |
Opened | Up to 2 days | Up to 10 days |
Here you see that we will talk about 2 versions of Gatorade: unopened and opened.
The rule is simple, you can store them always in your refrigerator, even unopened. The important thing is that you realize that the best-by date gives you an idea of the quality and the freshness of your Gatorade.
The thing is, it can still be okay to open it, even if it has some years past this best-by date. Mostly, when drinking these drinks, the taste is important, but the important thing is you can recover faster from your performance.
Unopened Gatorade
The unopened bottle of Gatorade can perfectly be stored in your fridge for some period past the best-by date. This can last up to 2 years or even more.
While you can sure test all of this out on yourself, simply don’t do this. There are a lot of activities you can do during the year, where you can use this sports drink.
Of course, when you open the bottle of Gatorade, you’ll make it easier for the external threats out there like air, heat, odors, bacteria, and so on…
Opened Gatorade
As you can imagine, once you open a bottle of Gatorade and drink from the bottle, reclose it, and put it back in the fridge, it will go bad rapidly. Try to finish it within the first 2 days if you want to be sure.
When it comes to sports drinks, things are a bit different, in most cases, they will be still okay after a few weeks. If you want to increase the odds, try to drink from it from a distance so that your mouth doesn’t touch the bottle so you can avoid contact and avoid bacteria transfers to the bottle.
Always look for spoilage signs if you’re drinking from an opened bottle from more than 2 days old.
The above estimates are just that, estimates, and will be true if they’re stored in the right way.
When you store it into the fridge after opening, sealed tight, it will last up to 10 days.
How To Store Gatorade
Gatorade can be stored as you’ve bought it. Usually you’ll find it in the unrefrigerated section. The unopened ones can you store in the pantry at room temperature.
As we’ve said before, things change when you’ve opened the bottle. If you have some left, don’t let it sit out at room temperature but store into your refrigerator for an extended shelf life.
When you’re out for long endurance training, cycling or running, it will be cooled down when you’ll use it and will taste great.
The longer you’ll hold onto the Gatorade, the more important it is you place it in the refrigerator.
So bottom line: from the moment you’re not drinking Gatorade, place it back into your fridge and make sure it’s sealed tight.
If you’re unsure the next day, always try to look for signs of spoilage.
Can You Freeze Gatorade
Yes, of course, you can freeze Gatorade, just as you can freeze other foods and drinks. But should you do this?
We on GoodOrGoneBad don’t see the advantage of freezing the Gatorade, even if you have stocked up on that many of them. They can remain good for a long time after the printed date, so you should be fine. This way, you can leave the precious space for something more perishable.
On their website, PepsiCo says that it’s better not to freeze your Gatorade bottle below 40 degrees Fahrenheit because it can damage the flavor and it is perfectly possible that your bottle will be damaged because of the freezing, making it unsealed in the process. The efficacy of the drink should stay okay.
The expansion of the bottle is a real risk because your sports drink consists for the most part of water and thus will expand heavily.
If you do want to freeze the Gatorade, try to do the following:
- Transfer the drink out of the bottle to a bigger airtight container and seal it.
- You can wrap another plastic bag around the container, just to be sure.
- Place the correct date and time when freezing the Gatorade, just for your convenience
- Close the freezer
Gatorade won’t freeze to a solid form like ice cubes, it will be something in between.
Don’t try to freeze it longer than 3 to 6 months. We even say you don’t need to freeze this because it remains very good when stored in the pantry or fridge.
How Can You Tell If Gatorade Has Gone Bad
When it comes to detecting spoilage signs, we can rely on some simple guidelines for this.
Always use your senses when it comes to checking for spoilage. Your senses and intuition are key in deciding whether you should drink it or not. We give here, on GoodOrGoneBad, some advice for you to guide you, but in the end, it is you who should make the decision.
What should you look for:
- Does your Gatorade have another color? If yes, toss it away immediately, this means the bacteria have already done a great job. Don’t hesitate to discard it.
- Is there anything at the bottom of the bottle? This can be residue, this is not a good sign. If not much, you could shake it or stir it up and check for other spoilage signs at your own risk. This is enough for discarding it.
- Does the Gatorade have a sharp smell? If you smell something funny or unpleasant, toss it away immediately.
- How is the taste? Does it taste bad or differently? Rinse your mouth and get rid of it.
If you didn’t see any of the above signs, you can always decide to discard it just for quality reasons. Since this is a sports drink, it will still be useful but we advise you not to take any chances if you’re unsure. Sporting is healthy and drinking sports drinks should be no different.
If you’re in doubt, toss it away. We at GoodOrGoneBad don’t advise you to take unnecessary risks with your health. For a low price, you can buy new Gatorade in the store, and working out will be even greater with a better taste!
Enjoy your Gatorade!