How Long Can You Keep Halloween Candy For?

It’s almost Christmas and yet you still have a bowl of Halloween treats kicking around in the pantry!

Are they still safe to eat? Should you look for a “best before” date?

A food scientist said the goodies are probably just fine — and will be for many months to come.

“If you keep it stored and (in a) dry, cool area, unopened candy, can last as long as years,” Joell Eifert of Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology, said.

Eifert provided the following sweet rules of thumb:

• Hard candy – Up to a year, room temperature, dry location.
• Chocolate – Dark chocolate, 1-2 years if foil wrapped and kept in cool, dark, dry place. Milk/white chocolate, 8 to 10 months.
• Jellied candies – 12 months in unopened package, 6-9 months after opening if stored in dark, cool place.
• Gum — If packaged and in cool, dry place out of sunlight, 6 to 9 months.
• Caramel — 6 to 9 months or more if covered, away from heat and light.