Dairy & Eggs · 16 items
Milk & cream: Shelf Life Chart
Counter, fridge and freezer times for milk & cream, sealed or opened, collected in one sortable chart. Every figure comes from USDA FoodKeeper and was re-checked November 2026.
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16 of 16 items shown · in A–Z order
Storage times from USDA FoodKeeper · printed from diagxcar.com · keep it on your fridge door.
| Good to freeze? | Fridge, sealed | Countertop | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Almond milk | 7–10 days | Not listed | — | Use-by date | 2 hours |
 Buttermilk | 1–2 weeks | 3 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Coconut milk | 7–10 days | Not listed | — | Use-by date | 2 hours |
 Half and half | 3–4 days | 4 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Heavy cream | 10 days | 3–4 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Kefir | 1–2 days | Not recommended | No | 1 week | 2 hours |
 Lactose-free milk | 1 week | Not recommended | No | Not recommended (pantry) | 2 hours |
 Light cream | 1 week | 3–4 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Liquid coffee creamer | 3 weeks | Not listed | — | — | 2 hours |
 Milk | 1 week | 3 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Powdered coffee creamer | Not needed | Not needed | — | 2 years (pantry) | 2–3 months |
 Powdered milk | Not needed | Not needed | — | 3–5 years (pantry) | 3 months |
 Rice milk | 7–10 days | Not listed | — | Use-by date | 2 hours |
 Soy milk | 7–10 days | Not listed | — | Use-by date | 2 hours |
 Whipped cream (homemade, sweetened) | 1 day | 1–2 months | For cooking | — | 2 hours |
 Whipping cream | 1 week | Not recommended | No | 1 month | 2 hours |
Can you freeze milk & cream?
9 freezer answers in alphabetical order
Does it go bad?
How to spot spoilage in each milk & cream item
Left out overnight
14 perishable foods checked against the 2-hour rule
Figures here are drawn from USDA FoodKeeper plus FSIS guidance. Data re-checked November 2026. How we check our numbers · Spotted an error? Tell us