In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “can you get sick from eating expired ice cream” with an in-depth analysis of the health implications of eating expired ice cream. Moreover, we are going to discuss the shelf life of ice cream.
Can you get sick from eating expired ice cream?
Yes, you can get sick from eating expired ice cream. Expired ice cream has the potential to make you sick because of the reason that it provides a suitable medium for bacteria to grow as it melts.
What is the reason for the bacterial attack on ice cream?
There are two reasons behind the expiration of ice cream.
- The first reason is that when the ice cream melts it gives chances for bacteria to grow due to moisture and such bacteria can make you sick
- The other reason is that the ingredients used to make ice cream get tainted with bacteria.
As you know the main ingredient of ice cream is milk and cream. And it is unusual to harbor bacteria in milk and ice cream. Moreover, we heat the milk through a pasteurization process so all the bacteria kill like E.coli salmonella listeria, etc.
When it comes to the industrial level all the ingredients are pasteurized eggs are used in this process so there are no chances to grow bacteria.
When we make ice cream at home then the ingredients are not pasteurized then there are chances to grow bacteria like salmonella which cause infection.
When ice cream melts it gives a suitable medium to grow bacteria so bacteria enter the ice cream via serving.
So once the ice cream melts it is not safe to refreeze and eat again because listeria bacteria enter it and cause infection.
Which kind of infection does bad ice cream cause?
So if you eat contaminated ice cream it causes serious problems in your body like:
- Nusa
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Fever
- Abdominal cramp
- Dehydration
- Weakness
A mild food poisoning can stay for 1 to 2 days but serious food poisoning can last after 10 days.
Food poisoning after eating ice cream causes abdominal cramps. Abdominal cramp is associated with vomiting and nausea in some cases.
Diarrhea in your body is a sign of something infectious entering your body. So eating expired ice cream can cause diarrhea in your body.
If you eat an ice cream that contains the bacteria it causes nausea and vomiting because vomiting is a natural process of the body to get rid of the harmful thing from the body and it indicates that something which is not good enters your body.
So in case, you eat expired ice cream or ice cream which contains bacterial growth and you are suffering from diarrhea and nausea.
Drink water as much as possible so the body gets rid of the infection and through vomiting, all the infectious things come out and the body is not dehydrated which causes vomiting.
Moreover, life-threatening food poisoning causes diarrhea which can persist for more than 3 days, a fever of more than 101.5 degrees F, and dehydration. In such cases seek medical help immediately.
What is the shelf life of ice cream?
The unopened pack or container of ice cream can stay for 2 to 3 months after passing its best before the date written on the pack.
But once it opens its shelf life decreases and you can eat it within 2 to 3 weeks. But ice cream retains its best taste and quality for only 7 to 10 days after opening.
You can make ice cream at home by using cream sugar milk know the proper recipe for making ice cream is here
Does it cause the same infection problem in all the people?
No doubt that eating bad ice cream cause a serious problem but in some people, it causes venerable side effect which is:
- Aged people especially those more than 65 years old.
- Under 5-year-old children because their immune systems are not strong as adults.
- Pregnant women because of pregnancy need to take care of their food and diet to get healthy.
- Some people, like immunocompromised, already suffer from different diseases like HIV or other people who recently transplant any organ not bearing such kind of infection.
All the people mentioned above should take more care while eating anything which causes any infection or problem. They should double-check all the things before eating.
Conclusion:
In this brief guide, we answered the question “can you get sick from eating expired ice cream” with an in-depth analysis of the health implications of eating expired ice cream. Moreover, we discussed the shelf life of ice cream.