How long will an unopened gallon of skim milk last if left out.?!
Answers: Last night I went to the store and forgot to put agallon of organic skim milk away in the refrigerator. It has been about 12 hours. I put it back in back in the fridge. Is it undrinkable by now even if the milk was unopened?
One of the previous answerer is on the right track. It's really a matter of storage temperature. If you left it out for 12 hours you have significantly shortened the shelf life of the milk. That means the "use by" date on the milk is not longer valid but you can still drink it. Just use it up pretty quickly because by leaving it out you gave the spoilage bacteria a chance to grow. By the way the spoilage bacteria in general will not harm you they just make the milk spoil. The bacteria are very closely related to yogurt bacteria.
PhD Food Chemistry and Nutrition
It is likely full of bacteria by now and fully spoiled.
if the weather is hot, throw it away it is already spoil by now. if the weather is cold then don't worry just stick it back in the refrigerator it should be fine
It has been out too long - you are better off buying a fresh gallon of milk.
Yes, it should be fine. This is pasteurized milk, right?
Smell it and taste it. If it is sweet it is fine. It will taste sour/ acidic if it is starting to go bad.
What a bunch of naysayers!
If the carton or jug is unopened, the milk should be OK to drink. It may not last as long as it normally would have (if it had been refrigerated the whole time), but it ought to be fit for consumption.
There is one main thing that contributes to milk spoilage: air. Or at least, the bacteria that live in the air. The moment you open a container of milk, airborne bacteria land on the surface of the milk, and begin to multiply. Refrigeration helps keep them at bay, but eventually (even at fridge temperatures) they reproduce in large enough quantities to spoil the milk (I should point out that they're not actually harmful; they just taste and smell bad, and they make the milk look very unappealing).
Gross! I would not drink it if it has only been out for an hour. That is just nasty. Definitely do not drink it. It is rotten by now.
The health department has established a danger zone for food. Food should not be stored at the tempature range of 41 F to 140 F. This is an ideal range for bacteria to grow. The health department recommends food being kept no longer than four hours in this range. In four hours or less, it must be cooled down to 41 F.