ROANOKE, Va. – As you prepare for Halloween, you may be able to hold on to that candy much longer than you would think, according to a consumer food safety expert from Virginia Tech.
Chocolate and hard candies typically last nine months or up to a year if they are stored in the proper temperatures.
White and milk chocolate typically go bad faster than dark chocolate. Joell Eifert said most packaging labels are created so that people enjoy the candy at its peak, but if it is past that date, it does not mean it may not still be edible.
“The expiration dates are what manufacturers put on there so the consumers eat it at the highest and best peak, and that includes candy,” Consumer Food Safety Expert Joell Eifert said.
Eifert said if you see a white coating on chocolate, most of the time this is a phenomenon known as “bloom.”
This happens when fat rises from cocoa, and it is safe to eat.