This was once a crucial question for me and thousands of other college students who bought Kraft M&C by the case. Neverthelesss… Who among us hasn’t asked ourselves, at one time or other… What is the actual shelf life of Kraft Mac & Cheese?
What is the actual shelf life of Kraft Mac & Cheese?
Poor old Kraft Mac & Cheese! The college dorm room staple we all resorted to once in a while back in the day was the butt of frequent jokes about its longevity – as long it was stored in the proverbial ‘cool, dark place’…
No simple answer
You’d think all a curious fan would have to do is search out the mandatory ‘Best Before’ or ‘Expiry’ date on the package to get the answer. But it turns out there is no single, simple answer to that deceptively simple question.
According to Alyssa Galiardo, Associate Brand Manager for Kraft Mac & Cheese, “The recommended shelf life for Kraft Mac & Cheese Original Blue Box is about eight months.”
But when I was in culinary school, I was taught that a totally-dehydrated, well-sealed product could still be ‘good’ long after its official expiry date. The real question, then, is HOW long?
What’s ‘perishable’?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises: “The quality of perishable products may deter-iorate after the date passes, but the products should still be wholesome if not exhibiting signs of spoilage.”
Just to make the whole issue cloudier, the FDA introduces the concept of ‘perishability’. I’ve always thought of ‘fresh’ foods, such as meats and produce, as perishable. And dried or canned foods, as ‘long-keepers’.
For practical purposes, Kraft Mac & Cheese could be considered a classic long-keeper. Kept sealed, and stored in that legendary ‘cool, dark place’, the dry pasta component would probably remain wholesome for 5 years or more.
What about the ‘Sauce’?
On the other hand, there are many issues surrounding the ‘sauce powder packet’. Because it was originally a moist component (cheese), and especially since it was originally created via a ferment-ation process (ie. – one using live bacteria), how likely would it be to spoil over the imagined 5 years? The FDA – and other self-identified experts – say, if it was sealed in a perfectly dry state, it would probably still remain ‘good’ for up to 5 years.
The real question is… How would it taste, smell, ‘look’ and behave? I.e.- how well would it still ‘work’? If you prepared the dish according to the instructions on the packet, would ‘older’ cheese sauce powder still produce the finished product you were expecting?
Bottom lime here… If the contents of the sauce powder packet had changed colour or aroma, that would probably indicate it had gone ‘bad’. The logical, practical and altogether best way to save the day would be to melt several Kraft American (processed) Cheese product slices into the pot, and stir carefully until warm and creamy, to ensure the mixture doesn’t burn. You might want to add a little milk (as the powder packet instructions call for), just to hedge your bet…
My take
In the end, it’s entirely up to you to decide whether to eat any ‘heritage’ Kraft M&C product you might find in the back of a cupboard. For purposes of this post I’m just relaying the opinions of others – official or otherwise. My bottom line? I wouldn’t eat it if it was more than the aforementioned 5 months past it’s official, Kraft-approved expiry date.
Back in the day, of course, it would have been another matter altogether. Nobody in university when I was would have dreamed of possibly ‘wasting’ a probably-perfectly-good 29-cent box of Kraft M&C!
~ Maggie J.