How long does vegetable oil last? Vegetable oils and edible oils usually only have a limited shelf life, even if they are stored correctly. The reason for this lies in ingredients such as unsaturated fatty acids, but also other additives that react with the air or change when exposed to light. The oil oxidizes, becomes rancid, and is no longer edible
How Long Does Vegetable Oil Last?
Basically, cold-pressed oils have a shorter shelf life than refined oils such as sunflower oil or refined rapeseed oil. With refined oils, accompanying substances are removed during production, which makes the products more heat-stable and longer lasting. Valuable components are also lost in the process.
Once opened, cold-pressed oils can be kept for around two to three months, and refined oils up to six months.
Unopened, cold-pressed oils can be stored for up to a year, and refined oils for about one to two years. Unopened, sunflower oil has a shelf life of about nine months.
However, this information is only a rough guide – as is the information on shelf life by variety below. The question of whether an edible oil is still good or spoiled also depends heavily on how it was stored. We, therefore, recommend a smell and taste test before hasty disposal: If the oil becomes rancid or if it tastes bitter (bitter than usual) on the tongue, this can be an indication of a bad product.
How should cooking oil be stored?
Dark: Daylight destroys valuable ingredients and allows the oil to go rancid faster. Therefore, it should be stored in opaque containers or in dark places and protected from sunlight.
Cool: Edible oils are not only like it dark but also cool. How cool depends on the variety. For example, rapeseed oil can be stored in the refrigerator after opening, while olive oil is better stored in a cool room. The olive oil would become cloudy and flaky in the fridge over time. If cooking oil is used daily, it does not necessarily have to be in the fridge, although it is recommended. It is sufficient to store the oil in a dark and closed place.
Sealed: Oxygen sets oxidation processes in motion and thus ensures that oils become rancid and inedible. The bottles should therefore be sealed airtight quickly after use.
Shelf life and storage location by Variety
Guide values for individual varieties, unopened:
- Wheat germ oil: 24 months, room (cool)
- Pumpkin seed oil: 12 months, refrigerator
- Olive oil: 12 months, room (cool)
- Rapeseed oil: 12 months, refrigerator
- Sesame oil: 12 months, room (cool)
- Grape seed oil: 12 months, room (cool)
- Peanut Oil: 12 months, room (cool)
- Safflower oil: 9 months, room (cool)
- Hemp oil: 9 months, refrigerator
- Sunflower oil: 9 months, room (cool)
- Hazelnut oil: 6 months, room (cool)
- Walnut oil: 6 months, refrigerator
- Linseed oil: 3-4 months, refrigerator