Can you get sick from eating expired gummy bears?

In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “can you get sick from eating expired gummy bears” with an in-depth analysis of whether or not you can get sick from eating expired gummy bears. Moreover, we are going to discuss tips to properly store gummy bears.

So without much ado, let’s dive in and figure out more about it.

Can you get sick from eating expired gummy bears?

When it comes to gummy bears, you do not necessarily get sick from eating expired gummy bears as long as they were stored appropriately. 

Gummy bears have a very high sugar content and sometimes also have preservatives added to them therefore they do not provide suitable media for microbes to grow. 

Sugar is hygroscopic in nature which means that it has the ability to soak in water (it attracts the water molecules). Osmosis is the process in which water moves from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration. The solute in this case is sugar. 

So the water content of sugar itself is almost nil, so what happens is that when bacteria land on the surface of the sugar the process of osmosis sets in. Thus, the water starts to move from the body of the bacteria to the sugar, thereby dehydrating the bacteria and killing them and that is the very reason lying behind why you do not potentially get sick after eating expired gummy bears.

So no doubt gummy bears can still be eaten once they go past the date printed on them but you can feel a change in its texture and flavor so as long as you are okay with it, you can eat the expired gummy bears, it won’t make you sick.

It is worth mentioning that instead of the “expiration date”, you will find a “best by” or “best before” date written on the packet of gummy bears. The “best by” or “best before” date that is written on the pack of gummy bears refers to the quality rather than safety so the gummy bears don’t necessarily go bad immediately after the best before date. 

This date refers to the time during which you can enjoy the peak quality and flavor of the gummy bears but you can still eat gummy bears that are past this date as long as they were stored properly.

Gummy bears last for about 6-8 months when stored in a cool, dry, and dark corner of the pantry away from direct sunlight and heat. They also have about the same shelf life when stored in the refrigerator properly.

On the other hand, gummy bears last for about 1 year when stored properly in the freezer.

It is worth mentioning that the figures mentioned above are the estimated shelf life of gummy bears and gummy bears can even last longer than this provided that they are stored properly.

But you should remember that if you spot a mold on your gummy bears then it is better to discard them. Moreover, when in doubt, it is better to get rid of the gummy bears because it is better to be safe than sorry.

So what you gotta do is to do the sensory evaluation of your gummy bears and if your sensory evaluation gives you a green flag, you are good to eat the gummy bears without the risk of getting sick.

Tips to properly store gummy bears

  1. Gummy bears can be stored in a cool, dry, and dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. Therefore you can safely store the gummy bears in a cool and dry corner of your pantry away from direct sunlight and heat.
  1. Once you have opened the packet of gummy bears, you should transfer the rest of the gummy bears in an air-tight container or resealable plastic zipper bag. It is necessary to store the gummy bears this way so that no air and moisture will find their way to the gummy bears and degrade their quality.
  1. You should close the lid of the container as soon as you are done getting out the number of gummy bears that you need.
  1. You should never store your gummy bears in a humid environment.
  1. Last but not least, you can even store the gummy bears in the refrigerator in an air-tight container or jar or if you want to further prolong the shelf life of gummy bears then you can go ahead and store them in the plastic freezer bag in the freezer. 

You can read how to make gummy bears here.

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we answered the question “can you get sick from eating expired gummy bears” with an in-depth analysis of whether or not you can get sick from eating expired gummy bears. Moreover, we discussed tips to properly store gummy bears.

Citations

https://chocolatebarcabarete.com/qa/can-gummy-bears-go-bad.html#:~:text=%2C%E2%80%9D%20Blakeslee%20said.-,Can%20you%20get%20sick%20from%20expired%20candy%3F,and%20can%20even%20be%20moldy.

https://theklinks.pt/662jpm/e789ae-can-you-get-sick-from-eating-expired-gummy-bears

https://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/17366

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