How to store cream cheese
Best place: the fridge. USDA gives cream cheese a fridge time (2 weeks, from the package date) and no pantry time, so it belongs in the fridge as soon as you get home.
No guideline
2 weeks
from the package date
Not recommended
How to tell cream cheese has gone bad
- Cream cheese is a soft cheese, so any mould means the whole tub or block goes out. USDA does not allow trimming here because mould spreads through soft, moist foods.
- An off odour or off flavour, or yeasty growth, is the usual sign a dairy product has spoiled.
- Keep it at 40 F (4 C) or below. USDA gives cream cheese 2 weeks in the fridge from the pack date, and freezing is not recommended.
Sources: Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous? (USDA FSIS); Safe Handling of Milk and Dairy Products (Clemson University Extension). The times on this page are quality guidelines, not safety limits; food that shows these signs goes out regardless of the date.
Storage habits that make the difference
Keep dairy and eggs in the coldest part of the fridge, not the door, at 40 F (4 C) or below. Store eggs in their original carton to protect them and track the date. Reseal cheese tightly in wax paper or a container, and keep milk capped between pours.
How to store other dairy products & eggs
Source: USDA FSIS FoodKeeper dataset (public domain). How we decode the data.