Could have something to do with the chemicals in your milk vs. your roomies or the temperature of your fridge. If you fridge is too warm and you milk has been in there longer, it would probably go bad first. You might want to check your fridge temp (with a thermometer, not the little knob in the fridge).

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Fat-free milk does turn quicker than regular, or even 2%, milk. Basically fat-free milk will rot, whereas regular milk will sour. I've even had cream turn into butter just sitting in the fridge.

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I would think that milk would go bad quicker if there is more fat in it because of the lipid oxidation that would occur. Most likely your milk had a stray bacterial cell in the jug or in the product that caused the milk to sour quicker than your roommates.

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organic whole D last much longer than non-organic milk.

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I once had milk go bad on me because my room mate wasn't quite closing the door of the fridge, making it warmer in there. The milk was also stored in the door, which made matters worse because it's always a little warmer in the door. I don't know about the various fat percentages affecting spoilage times, but it would seem to me that an expiry date should be relatively reliable no matter what. I agree with Alex: check the fridge temp.

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Take a look at the best before dates on products of various MF (Milk Fat) percentages. Butter will last about a year under refrigeration. Creams will usually have a best before date nearly two months in advance, and milks will only last a few weeks.

Fats have been a preservation method for thousands of years. We oil-pack various products so they keep longer, so shouldn't the natural fats in a refrigerated product work in a similar matter?

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I tend to purchase 1% milk, in a rather useless attemp to insert a healthier item into my diet of steak, frozen pizza, bacon, eggs, and ice cream. I've long noticed that the 1% doesn't last nearly as long as the 2% or whole milk my roommate used to buy. I don't know from organic-schmorganic, lipid oxidation, and stray bacteriumses, but I do know what I've experienced.

Maybe someone should but 1 gallon of fat-free, 1 gallon of 2%, 1 gallon of whole, all from the same brand and with the same expiration date, and see which lasts the longest. Sounds like a good candidate for Slashfood's new "Experiments With Food" series. Yes, that's a hint.

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Let me clarify. The date stamped on the carton means nothing once you open it. Even ultra-pasteurized milk, typically good closed for 6-8 weeks, is only good for about 7-10 days once opened. If you buy a carton of milk stamped 30 June today and open it, trust me, by mid to late-May it will be a disaster.

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From what i understand, it also has to do with when the milk is opened. If the seal is broken, i guess the milk generally has about a week to a week and a half before spoiling. Kind of like a can of refried beans, they might be good till August 2010 but obviously not if they were opened in 2008. We had to start buying half gallons instead of gallons, because even if they weren't expired, they would go bad because two people couldn't drink a gallon in a week.

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The organic skim I buy holds for quite a long time, even once opened. It takes me a couple of weeks to use it and I've not had it go bad yet on me.

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I've always thought that higher fat dairy lasts longer... I assumed it was a widely held belief, go figure.

Half-and-half lasts a lot longer in my fridge than 2%, that's for sure. Like twice to three times as long.

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My organic 2% also lasts a long time after opening -- one half-gallon carton made it through over 3 weeks! Our fridge is REALLY cold, though -- juice sometimes turns into a slushie in there, if you keep it in the coldest part.

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In my unscientific experience, drinking out of the carton seems to hasten the spoiling of milk.

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Generally, milk is fine 7-10 days after opening, before the "Best By" date stamped on the bottle. Pasteurized milk usually has a Best By date that is 14-21 days after processing and Ultra-Pasteurized Milk is 21-28 days after processing.

From the customer complaints that I’ve reviewed at the milk plant that I work at, the skim and 1% milk absorb flavors from around them faster than the 2% and whole milk. This was found where some of the stores we sell to were storing flowers in the same cooler as the milk. I’m guessing the onions in one’s fridge can give off flavors that can be absorbed and this can be seen as the milk “turning”.

Organic milk, if run with conventional milk, is run first on clean equipment, so a dairy that makes organic on the first run and then runs conventional milk the rest of the day with poor sanitation MIGHT have organic milk that lasts longer than conventional milk. However, there isn't anything "magic" about the organic milk vs. the conventional milk. As of yet, there are no scientific processes that can prove or disprove that milk is organic or conventional, or if the cow has been injected with rBST or not. You just have to go with the processor's word, so you better trust them and any certifications that they might have.

And, yes, drinking out of the carton can have the milk spoil faster since you just inoculated the milk with the lactic acid bacteria naturally found on your lips and in your mouth.

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My experience is that skim or low-fat milk doesn't last as long after being opened as whole milk.

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I'm a dork...I thought this article was about the name of the milk before I actually read it. You know...Hood...hoodlum...bad milk...nevermind *cough*

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Did you pour it into a glass and smell it or did you just stick your nose in the container...?

I ask because a few weeks ago I thought my organic whole milk was going rancid after smelling it through the top of the container – when I put it in a glass, the funky smell was gone. I'm thinking milk might collect on the nozzle and cause *that* to smell bad when the rest of the fluid in the container is actually fine.

Who knows, just a theory...

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