# Carnation Instant nonfat dry milk



## Szumi (Mar 10, 2012)

I have a package of this with a best by nov 2011 date that hasn't been opened. Location northern michigan, high temps in the house 75-76 during summer, as low as 60 at night in winter.

How do I know when this stuff is really too old? I don't drink a lot of milk but I have some packaged foods that require milk to prepare. I need to know how long I can keep the stuff and how I can improve the storage life.

Thanks,

Szumi


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Open it and smell it. If you know what powdered milk normally smells like, it's easy to tell when it's gotten off-flavor and stale. We opened a package of non-fat powered milk this summer that expired in 2006 (it was in with several boxes of food from a family that moved away) and it cleary had a funky smell. It was like old-but-not-moldy hay. We mixed it with the chicken food. Something as newly expired as 2011 is probably still good, even stored in a warm-ish house.

In the future, try vacuum-sealing it and then storing it in an air-tight bucket or other container. A dark, cool place with a steady temperature gives you the longest shelf-life for it and any stored foods.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Stored like gypsysue tells ya, LDS church says it'll keep 20 years.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

The LDS Preparedness Manual is available for a free down load. Your question and many others are answered here. I found it well worth my time to read. Both times.


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## Szumi (Mar 10, 2012)

gypsysue said:


> Open it and smell it. If you know what powdered milk normally smells like, it's easy to tell when it's gotten off-flavor and stale. We opened a package of non-fat powered milk this summer that expired in 2006 (it was in with several boxes of food from a family that moved away) and it cleary had a funky smell. It was like old-but-not-moldy hay. We mixed it with the chicken food. Something as newly expired as 2011 is probably still good, even stored in a warm-ish house.
> 
> In the future, try vacuum-sealing it and then storing it in an air-tight bucket or other container. A dark, cool place with a steady temperature gives you the longest shelf-life for it and any stored foods.


I stopped at a local big box store to buy another container of dry milk. It was one month expired sitting on the shelf. I'll stop at another store to get some fresh stuff to compare to.

I need to look into the vacuum sealing. Repacking a big box of milk into smaller vacuum packs sounds like a plan.



Caribou said:


> The LDS Preparedness Manual is available for a free down load. Your question and many others are answered here. I found it well worth my time to read. Both times.


Found it. Thanks much!


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