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Does Orange Juice Go Bad? Things to know!

Orange juice can be delicious and refreshing. It’s a healthy and beneficial drink if you know how long you’re storing it. Orange juice is one of those drinks, I admit it, that can be easily forgotten in your large fridge. Is it still safe for consumption? Does orange juice go bad?

There are some products that, even when they’re beyond the expiry date, look good and smell good, while others won’t. It’s best to avoid this and don’t take the risk if this happens.

In this blog post, we will cover this topic for you and go deeper into the shelf life and storage tips for orange juice. Based on our article, you can decide whether to throw it away or not.

Does Orange Juice Go Bad

Yes, definitely. Like all foods and drinks, they will deteriorate over time and expire eventually. Orange juice oxidizes in time. Oxidation means that small bacteria can infiltrate the orange juice. When this happens, you’ll see a change in color and taste. It won’t taste as fresh as it used to be and have a more sour taste. Another word for oxidation is fermentation.

Don’t think if you haven’t opened the drink yet, that you can consume it very easily, so be warned.

How Long Does Orange Juice Last

We’ll start with a table:

Orange JuicePantryRefrigeratorFreezer
Freshly squeezed/Up to 3 days /
Unrefrigerated & UnopenedBest-by + up to 6 months/Up to 6 months
Unrefrigerated & Opened/Up to 7 days (1 week) Up to 6 months
Refrigerated & Unopened/Date + up to 7 days (1 week)Up to 6 months
Refrigerated & Opened/Up to 7 days (1 week)Up to 6 months
The shelf life of orange juice depends on the way it’s stored. Try to finish it within the first 2 days if possible.

Unfortunately, there’s no general rule for this. All types will go bad and taste sour or bitter in time, we can’t say they will all be bad after x days.

There are multiple types of orange juices as we speak. You can make them yourself from fresh oranges or buy them in the store. Those in the store come with some extra substances in them, we call them additives.

Because of those additives, they’ll have a longer shelf life compared to the orange juice you’ve just prepared from those oranges.

an unopened pack of refrigerated orange juice
An unopened package of refrigerated orange juice

How Long Does Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice Last

Squeezed orange juice: as this is a fresh drink, it will go rancid first compared to the others. You’d best consume this as soon as possible, within the day. Don’t let it out longer than 3 days. Also, consider the shelf life of your oranges.

How Long Does Orange Last Unrefrigerated

An unopened pack of orange juice (on the shelf): you’ll this one on the shelf in the store. This orange juice will last longer than the others because it has been pasteurized. This means it won’t let any harmful bacteria get to the orange juice. Shelf-life orange juice will last up to 2 years if unopened, usually the best-by date + up to 6 months. If opened, consume within 7 days or 1 week.

How Long Does Orange Juice Last Refrigerated

An unopened pack of orange juice (refrigerated): you’ll find this one in the refrigerated section of your store. On the pack, there will be a best-by date. If it’s unopened, don’t let it out for more than 7 days past the date. If you’ve already opened it, know that you’ll have to finish it within 1 week or 7 days. We all have little kids that can drink orange juice, don’t take this risk.

How Long Does Frozen Orange Juice Last

Frozen orange juice will last very long, not many people freeze their orange juice though! Consume it within 6 months because it will still go bad. Always consider what you freeze.

Can You Drink Expired Orange Juice

I even found a small pack of orange juice in my fridge, with a best-by date of 2022/11/28 and I consumed it on 2022/12/11. While this is close to 2 weeks after the best-by date, it was still good, it is of course better to consume it much sooner! Always do your own research.

Unopened pack of orange juice with best-by date
An unopened refrigerated pack of orange juice. The best-by date was 28th November 2022. On 11th December 2022, this pack was consumed and all tasted very well.

How Do You Store Orange Juice Properly

There’s a simple rule of thumb you can apply to this: store the orange juice the same way you’ve bought it in the store.

If you’ve opened the orange juice and didn’t drink all of it at once, seal it and put it in the refrigerator.

  • Squeezed orange juice: put it in the refrigerator
  • An unopened pack of orange juice:
    if you got it in the refrigerated section in the store, also refrigerate it at home.
    If you’ve got it from the shelf, if unopened, store it in the pantry, if opened, put it in the fridge.

Unopened orange juice is best stored away from light, in a dark container (the pantry), safely hidden away from light and heat. Changes in temperature and contact with light are bad for your orange juice.

If you’ve opened it, store it away in the fridge, of course, sealed because we store other things as well in the fridge. By storing it away, we mean storing it away sealed, as there are other foods and drinks in our refrigerator as well.

There’s always the possibility of freezing your orange juice, but keep in mind that when you freeze things they don’t have the same healthy, nutritious value compared to the unfrozen orange juice.

A nice tip: you can do a lot of things with frozen orange juice, it’s an ideal refreshing beverage for the summer. Freeze it in small parts or crush it in small pieces and place them into a glass of water for a great refreshing summer drink.

How to tell if orange juice has gone bad

As with most foods and drinks, orange juice will go bad after some time.

You don’t want to consume drinks that have gone bad, because that’s not a good idea for your health and well-being. Since we can easily buy some other orange juice in the store or squeeze them for a low price, don’t take this risk.

How can we tell if orange juice has gone bad? What or where do you have to look for?

As we’ve said earlier in this post, harmful bacteria can enter and multiply themselves and turn the great orange juice into bad orange juice and cause stomach issues, diarrhea, make you vomit, and so on…

Telltale signs

Rely on your senses and see the color of the orange juice, smell it, and lastly taste it. Luckily you can spot these signals fairly easily:

  1. Does it have another color? If yes, don’t look further and get rid of it.
  2. Do you smell a sharp smell? This is a sign that bacteria have done a great job already.
  3. Are there any black marks on the package? This can be a sign of mold. It’s good to be cautious about it and discard it right away.
  4. Is the package expanding? If yes, this will be because of the fermentation process that’s going on inside the package. Throw it away. You’re not drinking orange juice anymore.
  5. How is the taste? Does it taste odd, or sour? Do you taste alcohol? This will be because of the fermentation process. Get rid of it.

You can use these tips and tricks also for other juices as they’re based on common sense.

Always be cautious when it comes to drinking orange juice that’s over time. The risk is simply not worth it as you can buy some others for a low price in the store.

Enjoy your orange juice!