Does yogurt need to be refrigerated

Yogurt needs to be refrigerated, otherwise it will go bad and spoiled yogurt cannot be eaten. The yogurt sold in supermarkets has a very short shelf life and is kept in the refrigerator. In fact, yogurt can not only supplement the amino acids and proteins needed by the human body, but also help digestion. Personally, I prefer drinking yogurt. The sour and sweet taste is very delicious.

Why yogurt should be stored in the refrigerator

The main ingredient of yogurt is active lactobacillus, which can prevent protein fermentation and reduce intestinal gas production, thereby alleviating symptoms such as bloating and indigestion. Under normal circumstances, the survival period of active lactic acid bacteria in an environment of 0℃ ~ 4℃ is dormant, but as the ambient temperature rises, the lactic acid bacteria will multiply and die rapidly. At this time, the lactic acid bacteria beverage becomes an acidic dairy product without live bacteria, and its nutritional value will be greatly reduced.

Yogurt containing active lactic acid bacteria has a short shelf life, generally about two weeks, and must be stored at 2°C to 6°C, otherwise it will easily deteriorate.

Store in the refrigerator so that yogurt does not spoil easily. Since active lactic acid bacteria will be killed at high temperatures, if you don’t want to drink too cold yogurt, it’s best to warm the yogurt to room temperature and then drink it within 30 minutes. It can also be heated by water bath, but the temperature should not exceed 40 degrees to avoid killing the active bacteria.

Lactic acid bacteria beverages should be consumed immediately after opening the can, otherwise the number of live lactic acid bacteria will decrease due to the entry of oxygen. In addition, dead lactic acid bacteria can no longer play the role of probiotics, the guardian of the intestines, but they still have the nutritional value of protein and vitamins.

Active lactic acid yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for about 10 days, but the yogurt from the first 3 days is the freshest, has the most live bacteria, and has the best quality, so it is recommended to be consumed as soon as possible. Yogurt should be drunk as soon as it is purchased. It will taste sour if it exceeds the fermentation time, but it is still edible. If the food turns orange in color, bubbles appear, or has an odor, it has gone bad and cannot be eaten.

Commercially available yogurt that can be stored for more than half a year is completely sterilized and has no active acid bacteria. This product can be stored at room temperature.

How to store yogurt

Yogurt can be stored at 4°C for 14 days because the lactic acid bacteria in yogurt have the function of inhibiting harmful bacteria and spoilage bacteria. In a 4°C refrigerator, the number of lactic acid bacteria in yogurt will slowly decrease, and after 14 days the number of live bacteria will drop to about 1/10 of the original level. Therefore, consumers should try to choose freshly produced yogurt.

It is important to note that the storage time of yogurt at room temperature should be shortened as much as possible. If stored at a higher temperature, the death rate of lactic acid bacteria will be greatly accelerated and the health benefits of yogurt will be greatly reduced. At the same time, because lactic acid bacteria produce too much acid under high temperature, the yogurt flavor will become too sour, but sour yogurt is still safe to eat. Only yogurt that produces wine and moldy smells is contaminated by lactic acid bacteria and must not be eaten.

Generally, yogurt has high requirements for storage conditions. Especially in summer, yogurt must be refrigerated at low temperatures, and the shelf life on its outer packaging also refers to the storage time under low temperature conditions. However, the yogurt sold in some small shops on the market today cannot meet the standards for low-temperature refrigeration, which can easily cause the yogurt to spoil prematurely.

Experts pointed out that under high temperature conditions, the lactic acid bacteria in yogurt will greatly increase, and other miscellaneous bacteria will also multiply in large numbers. Therefore, even if the yogurt stored under such conditions has not exceeded the shelf life, its nutritional components may be destroyed. Such yogurt will not only fail to play a nutritional role, but may also affect health.