Does Olive Oil Expire? How Long It Lasts, Opened and Unopened
Olive oil doesn’t expire the way milk does; it goes stale. An unopened bottle of extra virgin olive oil is at its best for 12 to 18 months after the harvest, and safe to use well beyond that. Once opened, it is at its best for one to three months and acceptable for about six. Old olive oil is not dangerous; it is flat, waxy and not worth cooking with. Here is how to read the label, store the bottle and tell when it has turned.
How long olive oil lasts
| Olive oil | At its best | Still usable |
|---|---|---|
| Extra virgin, unopened | 12–18 months from harvest | Up to about 2 years if stored cool and dark |
| Extra virgin, opened | 1–3 months | About 6 months, capped and out of the light |
| Refined or “light” olive oil | Up to the best-by date | Somewhat longer; fewer of the compounds that go stale |
| Infused oils made with natural flavoring | Same as the base oil | Same as the base oil |
| Homemade oils with fresh garlic or herbs | Refrigerated, a few days | Not shelf-stable: refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze |
Harvest date matters more than “best by”
The best-by date on olive oil is a quality date, not a safety date, and it is usually set 18 to 24 months from bottling, not from harvest. A good producer prints the harvest date too, and that is the number to read: extra virgin olive oil is a fruit juice, and it is freshest in the months after the olives were pressed. In the northern hemisphere that means oil harvested in late autumn is at its peak the following spring and summer. For more on how these dates work, see our guide to best-by dates on food.
What actually makes olive oil go bad
Three things: light, heat and air. Each speeds up oxidation, which is what turns a green, peppery oil into a flat, waxy one. That is why the best producers use dark glass or tins, why the bottle by the stove goes off fastest, and why a half-empty bottle turns sooner than a full one. Store olive oil in a cupboard, capped, away from the oven and the window. The refrigerator isn’t necessary; cold makes the oil cloudy and thick, which is harmless but a nuisance.
How to tell if olive oil has gone off
Smell it first. Fresh extra virgin olive oil smells green — cut grass, tomato leaf, artichoke, green banana — and tastes fruity, then bitter and peppery at the back of the throat. Rancid olive oil smells of crayons, putty, stale nuts or old peanuts, and tastes greasy and flat with none of the pepper. Fusty oil, a different fault, smells of damp cellar or fermented olives. If it smells wrong, it is; there is no point cooking with it.
Cloudiness, sediment at the bottom of the bottle or a solid layer after a cold night are not signs of spoilage. Let the bottle come to room temperature and shake it.
Can you use olive oil after the best-by date?
Yes, if it smells and tastes fine. An unopened bottle stored well can be good months past the printed date. It will not be as vivid as it was, and an oil bought for finishing — for bread, tomatoes, beans — is the one to use while it is young. The safety question is different from the quality one: rancid oil will not make you ill in a single meal, but it is not something to keep eating.
How we buy and store ours
We stock oils in dark glass and sell them within the season. Flamingo Estate’s Heritage is pressed within hours of the winter harvest in Ojai and bottled dark; Il Boschetto’s lemon oil is flavored with natural lemon rather than fresh fruit, so it keeps like the extra virgin it is built on. Both carry storage notes on their pages. Buy a size you will finish in a few months; the 500 ml bottle is a better buy than the litre for most kitchens. See our extra virgin olive oils and infused oils.
Questions
Does olive oil go bad if left open? An uncapped bottle oxidises faster; a capped one in a cupboard is fine for months. The problem is air and light, not the act of opening.
Does olive oil need to be refrigerated? No. A cool cupboard is ideal. If you refrigerate it, expect it to cloud and thicken; it clears at room temperature.
Can old olive oil make you sick? Rancid oil is unpleasant rather than acutely dangerous, and there is no reason to eat it. The one real hazard is homemade oil with fresh garlic or herbs left at room temperature, which can grow botulism; refrigerate it and use it within four days.
How long does infused olive oil last? If it is made with natural flavoring, like Il Boschetto’s, as long as the base oil. If it has fresh ingredients in the bottle, treat it as perishable.
What is the white stuff in my olive oil? Wax and solidified fat from the cold. Harmless. Warm the bottle in your hands or leave it on the counter.