Can You Drink Expired Cranberry Juice? – Advice and Tips

June 6, 2022

It is good to stock up on healthy foods like delicious fruit juice, especially if you can find discounted rates for bulk buys or if you happen on a good special. But when you buy juice in bulk, there is always a chance that you can end up with some leftover juice that already reached its expiry date.

When you find your juice is already a couple of days beyond its expiry date, the question can you drink expired cranberry juice usually comes to mind. Can you still drink the juice and does the cranberry juice go bad? In this guide, we answer these common questions and we offer some helpful tips to make your juice last longer.

Table of Contents

Does Cranberry Juice Go Bad?

Cranberry juice has a longer shelf life compared to many other fruit juice types. This is because this fruit juice has higher acidity than naturally increases its shelf life.

If this juice is stored properly and safely, bacteria and fungus can’t get into it and the shelf life of this juice increases dramatically.

With that said, even this juice won’t last forever. Cranberry juice will eventually go bad no matter how this juice is stored.

How Long Does Cranberry Juice Last?

The shelf life of cranberry juice differs depending on its manufacturing. Commercial cranberry juice typically lasts a long time because the healthy drink is pasteurized and often contains preservatives. These juices are also stored in air-tight containers and can be stored for 7 months up to a year if the container is stored in a cool dark place and remains unopened.

Store-bought cranberry juice will start to go bad the moment the bottle or container is opened. Unrefrigerated cranberry juice can start to spoil within two hours after opening the container. Refrigerated cranberry juice will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks if you keep them in a refrigerator and can last months if the container is placed in a freezer.

A lot of people prefer to steer clear of commercial store-bought fruit juices because these products often contain plenty of unhealthy additives and added sugar that can affect your health.

The best way to avoid unhealthy substances is by making your own homemade cranberry juice. Since these juices don’t contain any preservatives, they will however spoil a lot faster. The right juice extraction method and storage can however make your homemade cranberry juice last a lot longer.

It is usually best to consume fresh homemade cranberry juice within a couple of days and to keep the juice in an air-tight container in the fridge. With the right juice extraction method and proper storage, homemade cranberry juice can be stored for up to 1 week.

Can You Drink Expired Cranberry Juice?

Just because juice and food items reached their expiration dates on food packages doesn’t necessarily mean these foods are rotten. Expiration dates are a good guide to indicate whether food is still good or not but food can sometimes go bad sooner or can sometimes last beyond the expiry date. The life of fruit juice is also different for different types of juices.

Commercial cranberry juice can still be drinkable up to 10 months past its expiration date. Some believe that these juices can keep for up to 24 months past the expiration date. The juice will likely still be safe for drinking but the taste and look of the juice will likely be different than normal.

This is because cranberry juice can start to ferment if it is stored for too long. Over time, the acidic beverages can slowly convert into cranberry wine or even vinegar. The sour wine might contain alcohol or might start to taste horribly sour but still won’t affect your health or cause food poisoning.

Cranberry juice that is opened or stored in direct sunlight can however become bad for your health and drinking juice that is off can cause all sorts of negative symptoms like nausea, stomach aches, diarrhea, and can make your stomach upset.

How to Tell if Cranberry Juice is Bad?

Since cranberry juice can be stored for so long passed its expiry date, it is best to check for visual cues before you drink these beverages. Here is a quick look at some of the signs of spoilage of cranberry juice that is no longer suitable for drinking.

Spoiled juice usually has signs of mold or other contaminants on top of the juice or on the side of the container.
Check for little bubbles floating up and down in the juice. These bubbles are a sign of fermentation and can mean that the juice has started turning into wine or vinegar.
Smell the juice. If you note a sour smell, the juice could have turned into vinegar and shouldn’t be consumed.
Check to see if the unopened bottle has become puffed out. this could be a sign of fermentation since this process releases plenty of gas.
Do a taste check. If the cranberry juice taste bitter, sour, or has a slight burning sensation then you should also discard it. Fresh juice should have a deep, almost cherry-like flavor.
You can also check for discoloration. Spoilt juice looks different and should be discarded.

While it is fine to drink expired cranberry juice, bad cranberry juice can make adults and kids sick. Always check for the cues when you are drinking expired juice or frozen cranberry juice that has been stored for a long time.

How to Store Cranberry Juice to Preserve It?

The shelf life of commercial and freshly produced cranberry juice can be extended by storing the juice properly. Here is a quick look at the best way to store these juices if you want them to last longer.

How to Store Commercial Cranberry Juice

Canned cranberry juice is usually already packaged in an airtight container. To preserve these juices, you have to keep the juice container sealed tight. You should also keep these juices away from direct sunlight and heat sources. High temperatures can increase the fermentation process and will cause your juice to spoil. The best way to store the unopened cranberry juice is in their unopened juice boxes in a dark and cool area like the back of your pantry.

Once opened, the juice should be stored in the fridge and should be used up within a couple of weeks.

How to Store Homemade Cranberry Juice

Homemade cranberry juice doesn’t last nearly as long as commercial cranberry juice but can be a lot healthier since your juice won’t contain any additives. Here are a couple of good tips to make your homemade cranberry juice last longer.

The best way to make cranberry juice last longer is by extracting the juice from the fruit using a slow masticating juicer. If you use a centrifugal juicer, the juice will be oxidated which can make it spoil much faster.
Store the fresh cranberry juice in an air-tight container. Exposure to oxygen will make the juice go bad quickly because your juice will come in contact with bacteria.
It is best to keep fresh cranberry juice in the fridge. Juice that is left out will become warm which can make it go bad much quicker.
Store cranberry juice away from direct sunlight. Sunlight and heat will activate the decomposition process and will cause the juice to spoil.

Can You Freeze Cranberry Juice?

Yes, you can freeze cranberry juice. Freezing the juice can make it last for a very long time. But it isn’t a good idea to chuck the entire cranberry juice bottle or carton of cranberry juice into your freezer. Liquid expands when freezing cranberry juice. The expanding liquid can cause the carton or bottle to pop open which can cause a mess in your freezer. When the can opens, it also exposes the frozen juice to contaminants.

It is best to freeze cranberry juice in a bag or in a fridge container with an inch headspace that will allow the juice to expand without causing the container to pop open. A good way to preserve cranberry juice is by freezing the juice in ice cube trays before placing them in a bag.

Final Thoughts

So can you drink expired cranberry juice? Yes, cranberry juice has a very long shelf life and will probably remain drinkable long after the product reached its expiry date. But these juices can still go bad if not stored properly. If you want to drink expired cranberry juice then you need to take care to store it properly and you should do a visual, smell, and taste test just to be on the safe side.

We hope that this guide offered some helpful information. If you want to learn more about the benefits of drinking fruit juice or if you want to learn how to make your own juice, then you should check out some of the other guides we have on JucierzHub. With our guides and reviews, you can find all the best juicing health tips and products.