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Bottled beverage shelf life

14K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  extreme_survival84 
#1 ·
so, the special lady got me thinking. she has a thing for bottled drinks such as iced tea and certain sodas. she would drink them all day long if she could. i've considered adding a giant stockpile of these to our preps, but noticed the relatively short shelf life of around 6 months for regular soda, and about 9 months for her favorite bottled iced tea.

just to set the record straight...what is the "REAL" shelf life of these sorts of drinks? does the indicated shelf life on the bottle just mean when the soda will start going flat, or will it become dangerous to consume?

many thanks! :thumb:
 
#2 ·
Maybe she can do with drink mixes... Powdered ice tea, powdered kool aid, etc. Long shelf life. Or better... Tea bags and sugar. Store forever, especially if the tea is mylar'd and O2 absorber'd... It would be better than just water.

Fake sugar soda degrades into some pretty nasty chemicals. I'd only store sugar or corn syrup sodas for long periods. Cans in hot garages can explode, so store room temp if you do.
 
#13 ·
24 +
When it's free I can do that before breakfast - I also **** like hell and sweat like a pig

Actually the soda syrup goes bad just as fast as pre-made. the syrup is just less water and CO2

Homemade soda is awesome, but fermentation leaves nasty off flavors (some people like it thow) wether natural or with bought yeast.
 
#14 ·
24 +
When it's free I can do that before breakfast - I also **** like hell and sweat like a pig

Actually the soda syrup goes bad just as fast as pre-made. the syrup is just less water and CO2

Homemade soda is awesome, but fermentation leaves nasty off flavors (some people like it thow) wether natural or with bought yeast.
You need a serious intervention!
 
#6 ·
I've heard of sodas lasting longer.....but when I worked for Coca Cola, we were told plastic bottles, 2, 3 liter etc, lasted about six months. We were shown bottles that sat for 6 months and a bit longer and the ingredients had separated.

There was a whitish sediment, sometimes fuzzy looking at the bottom. As a route merchandiser....they hammered us about being sure to rotate and front stock each day on our routes. Cans? Eh....cool keeping, I think they told us several months. Refrigerated, longer still. Again, they'll go flat fast if they get warm.

I have cans here that were bought a couple days ago, and the dates on them are November of this year. Carbonated drinks also have a habit of going flat. Take a can of Coke, Dr Pepper, etc, and tap it on a table a few times after you open it, and see how fast it goes flat.

One thing that used to be, and I'm sure still is....Sodas in a store, at least Coke products, are pretty fresh...like a couple days on cans. Maybe a few more for bottles, unless the store has them on ad and they're rotated quickly from the back. Large grocers get product in daily, so it nevers sits in the back long, if the grocery manager and the soda salesman are doing the job right.
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Most sodas now are sweetened with corn syrup. A few are bringing back sugars. As an aside...ever pop open a can of Pepsi, and get a metallic like taste? lol Not sure if it was the treated lining in the can or what. We used to joke about it. As far as diet sodas....mostly sweetened with aspartame, and usually don't last as long as reg. sodas.. Do a Google on aspartame.

Something to keep in mind....drinking a 12 ounce can of Coke is 39 grams of sugar. Dr Pepper I think, is 40 grams. I think root beers are more. That's the equivalent of just eating 8 or 9 teaspoons of sugar.

I don't believe sodas are a good long term stock item.
 
#9 ·
I saw something about this not too long ago and specifically related to Coca-Cola products.
The US version of Coke is made with corn syrup and typically shipped in plastic bottles. It has an approximate shelf-life of less than 6 months. Cans have a shelf-life of 6 to 9 months.
The Mexican version of Coke is made with real sugar and bottled in glass, which gives it a significantly longer shelf-life of up to a year or more. I am unsure about the canned version though.
I would assume the same applies to most carbonated beverages. But, you know what happens when you assume :)
 
#12 ·
They're not going to store well. A good alternative are the powdered mixes. Stored properly (not in their original packaging) some types will last for many years.

But you do have a couple options for making your own sodas. There's the Sodastream soda maker. The syrups should last a lot longer than standard sodas. The downside is that it requires syrup and carbonators, so you will run out of them sooner or later.

Another option is brewing your own. You can buy the extracts, and they will last a very long time. You need to ferment a sugar solution for the carbonation. But with a little practice, you can use wild yeast for that.

Tea, if properly packaged will keep for many years, so the ice tea is no worry other than the ice.
 
#16 ·
From my own experience, sodas don't last very long, but for short term emergencies (6 months or less) having some soda around makes for a great morale boost, and provides quick energy. And after you drink the soda, bottles can be reused for water storage.

I keep a couple cases (24 20oz bottles per case) of "Corn Squeezins", a generic Mountain Dew I like, around just in case. But I rotate them monthly.
 
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