Does Boxed Mac And Cheese Ever Truly Go Bad?

When you think of foods that can go bad on your pantry shelf, boxed macaroni and cheese probably doesn't leap to mind. After all, boxed mac and cheese is a shelf-stable food product. You don't need to refrigerate it until it reaches leftover status, and it doesn't require special handling. Even the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) calls dried pasta non-perishable, and pasta is the main ingredient in boxed macaroni and cheese.

However, it turns out that boxed mac and cheese can go bad, although it will last at least a year past its best-when-used-by date, according to food bank Second Harvest's guidelines. Laurie L. Dove at How Stuff Works points out that boxed macaroni and cheese can last even longer when stored unopened at room temperature and away from anything that can puncture or tear the box or cheese pouch.

The best way to find out if your box of macaroni and cheese has gone bad is to look at and smell the pasta and the cheese powder. If mold, moisture, bacteria, or yeast has gotten into the pasta or cheese, you will probably notice discoloration, tiny spots (that's mold growing), a rancid smell, or an off texture. The pasta might be crumbly instead of firm, and the cheese powder could be clumpy rather than loose. Liquid cheese sauce will eventually lose its creamy consistency. It can also develop a rancid smell or become discolored. If so, toss that box.

Food package labels in the United States can confuse even the most savvy shopper. The federal government only requires expiration dates to be placed on one type of food product, infant formula, according to the FSIS. All dates on other food products are placed there by manufacturers for various reasons, not all of which pertain to food safety.

Individual states can impose product labeling requirements on manufacturers and retailers. Per the FSIS, which monitors egg, meat, and poultry products, manufacturers also can (and generally do) voluntarily label these products with a sell-by or freeze-by date. Other date label phrases are also allowed, provided their meaning is clear.

The date label on your boxed mac and cheese is not directly related to food safety. Instead, it's associated with inventory management. "Best if used by" indicates how long the mac and cheese will remain at peak quality; it's not an expiration date. "Use by" has a similar meaning (except for infant formula, where it's an actual expiry date). "Sell by" is directed at the retailer, not the consumer, and tells the retailer when to pull the product from shelves. "Freeze by," although not related to boxed mac and cheese, points out the last date you can freeze a product at maximum quality, not when the food goes bad. Let your eyes and nose, not the calendar, tell you when to pitch that box.