If they're not green and smell fine, I'd use them.

I've used cream cheese when the seal on the inside foil wrapper hasn't been opened, even long after the date on the package. I figure if there's nothing green and fuzzy growing on it, it's fine. It is cheese, after all. ;o)

Great minds.

I am currently using a block of cream cheese dated in MARCH!...It's fine...might have a little more "tang"...but in my opinion it's better.
Cheese is already spoiled...a little more doesn't hyrt it...even green mold doesn't make it harmful....and in my refrigerator all mold is green!...A consequence of always having lots of Blue cheese in there.
Linda C

Thanks for your input!

I agree with the above!
Nancy

You guys are braver than me.

I would. Sealed cream cheese lasts pretty well indefinitely in my book.

LOL James! I've used it past the use by date... not as far back as March though...lol. I use cream and buttermilk past their use by dates too.....smell and tasted guide my final decision.

I know we have discussed freezing it before but I can't remember what the verdict was on that one. I'd like to stock up the next time it's on sale. I mainly use it for frosting, danish, soup, and of course cheese cake.

David

DH was on a cream cheese celery binge so I stocked up as he was consuming 1 - 8oz every two days. I should have known not to stock up knowing his short tolerance for eating the same foods. This is good information and like David, I can't recall the answer but here is what I found:

Under normal refrigerator conditions of 40 degrees at all times, an unopened package of cream cheese is good 1 month past the Best When Purchased By date on the carton. Once opened cream cheese should be used within 10 days.

Don't freeze cream cheese that will be used for spreading. When thawed, it may look curdled in appearance and have a crumbly texture. However, you can freeze regular brick cream cheese for up to 2 months for use as an ingredient in recipes. Freeze in its original container.

Thanks for the info Cathy! : )

I just spent some time in a friend's apartment in NYC and when scrounging for something to eat found quite a few out-of-date items. I opened a (previously unopened) box of Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes that had expired in February 2003 and they were delicious with whole milk, maybe a little lighter and crunchier than fresh ones would be. I also ate individually wrapped Kraft cheddar cheese pieces which had expired about two years ago. Those were good, too. I also ate some pasta and pasta sauce which were past their sell-by dates and found nothing wrong with them. The only things I found which had really gone bad were fresh eggs. They were dried out and gooey, but not moldy. Those went into the trash.

LOL!!! I was laughing at Linda using cream cheese from March but Carrie "you win!" That is tooooo funny!!!

In all honesty I am laughing not making any judgment or anything!

I've definetly used stuff beyond it's expiration date but not that far - I'm not that brave.:)

Carrie you musta been really hungry. hahahah!!

I can't eat expired food. Just can't do it.

Tell me....what's to go wrong with the cream cheese? Nothing! It becomes cheesier!
If you buy a chunk of 2 year old cheddar, do you toss it after 3 months in the refrigerator is it hasn't grown fuzz? Of course not...
How about 6 month old soda crackers....even though the box hasn't been opened? yep Toss it, it will be rancid and nasty!
But the cream cheese is fine.
Linda c

I don't know. I personally wouldn't have used it pass a month old.

According to wikipedia.. Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neufchâtel. More comparable in taste, texture, and production methods are Boursin and Mascarpone.

Not all cheeses are a like...of course, cheddar is going to keep long; it's a hard cheese. I think they even have to put a perservative in cream cheese to hold it longer.

When in doubt, throw it out... especially with refrigerated foods and dairy.

Nah, I use it if it's not moldy. Harder cheeses you can remove the mold from, but not the soft ones, it gets into the soft cheese and I can still taste it.

I'd have eaten the Frosted Flakes, no problem, they're just grain and sugar, what could go wrong? Ditto the pasta and sauce and probably even the cheese slices, as long as they were sealed up. The eggs, those usually don't even get rotten, they just kind of dry up, so I agree with tossing those.

Most dates on package are "sell by" dates, not expiration dates. Of course, since I grow my own beef, I'll have half a cow at a time in my freezer. The USDA used to say I could only keep it 9 months. What a crock, now at least they say it will be safe to eat indefinitely if frozen but the quality will deteriorate.

So, many of the "sell by" dates have to do with quality, not safety.

Annie

Well I hate to say it but mine is sooooo much older than just a couple months for my cream cheese blocks...haven't been opened though..

I occasionally find an 'expired' unopened box of cream cheese in the fridge -- if I open it and it looks good I give it a little taste test. It's always clear to me whether or not it's something I want to eat. I found one recently that I probably bought for xmas baking in 2015. lol! When I opened it it still looked perfect, but the taste was off.... not tangy, not moldy, just unpleasant to me, so I tossed it. That doesn't happen often.

I use it if it's not moldy and tastes OK. I know that I've used cream cheese that was a year past sell-by date and it was perfectly fine.

Cream cheese is simply cottage cheese with more fat content. Cottage is simply cheddar with less salt and unaged...or blue cheese without the mold powder and no age. If it's not moldy, it's fine...It will taste more cheesy but it's fine. Now that "lite" stuff....not so much. Don't know what they do to make it "lite' but it can get pretty funky tasting if you keep it too long.
My grandmother made cream cheese....called it "shmear-case".

I've not bought cream cheese that i can remember but i would think the un-opened packaging will keep it well past the sell buy/use buy date. (whatever they use)...key note is un-opened.

Having just started Spring cleaning my freezer and fridge and lower pantry i did have some off products. So many things do go off and why i don't stock much. Out went everything 2015.

My kitchen fridge is counter depth so nothing gets lost being shallow and i keep it minimal with a good rotation of fresh.

A 2008 thread. Cool. Cream cheese is really easy to tell if it's okay to eat when you open it. If bad it's either moldy, green or pink or liquid around it. It looks normal then just taste and if it tastes fine, it's fine.

Spot on coconuts....nice to see you again!!

Thanks Linda.

Humm my cream cheese is six months past the expiration and been opened. Still tastes great!