Bone Broth

Once opened, shelf-stable bone broth is good for about 5 days refrigerated, per Kettle & Fire’s own printed label — one of the category’s best-known brands. Their customer service team has also cited a slightly looser 5-7 day window, so the printed label is the safer number to go by. Unopened, shelf-stable cartons typically last around 2 years.

How long does bone broth last in the fridge?

Kettle & Fire’s own product label states: “Refrigerate after opening. Consume within 5 days after opening.” That’s the number printed directly on the carton, and the one we’d default to. Their customer support team has separately told customers “5 to 7 days” when asked directly — brands sometimes give a slightly more generous verbal answer than what’s printed, but the label is the more conservative, more reliable number to follow.

Unopened, shelf-stable bone broth (the kind that doesn’t require refrigeration until opened) is typically good for about 2 years from production, per the same brand. If you bought a refrigerated or frozen bone broth instead of the shelf-stable carton type, check your specific package — those formats are usually not shelf-stable and follow different, shorter windows.

As with any perishable, don’t leave an open container on the counter for more than two hours per USDA’s Danger Zone guidance — bacteria multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F, and broth is just as perishable as any other protein-rich liquid once opened.

Can you freeze bone broth?

Yes — freezing broths and stocks is standard, well-established food safety practice, though we couldn’t find a Kettle & Fire-specific statement endorsing or prohibiting it for their shelf-stable product, so this section reflects general guidance rather than a brand policy. Per USDA guidance on freezing, broth and stock freeze safely indefinitely at 0°F, though quality is best within 2-3 months. Pour into freezer-safe containers or ice cube trays for easy portioning, leaving room for expansion, and thaw in the refrigerator rather than on the counter.

If you’re working with a specific brand’s shelf-stable carton, check that carton’s own instructions before freezing it in its original packaging — some shelf-stable cartons aren’t designed to go from freezer back to fridge safely, and portioning into a separate freezer-safe container is the safer default.

How to tell if bone broth has gone bad

• Smell: a sour, rancid, or distinctly “off” odor beyond bone broth’s normal savory, meaty smell
• Appearance: visible mold, cloudiness beyond the normal fat separation, or an unusual color change
• Texture: a slimy or stringy texture in the liquid itself (not to be confused with normal gelling in the fridge, which is a good sign of collagen content, not spoilage)
• Packaging: a bloated or swollen carton — toss without tasting

One quirk worth knowing: good bone broth often turns semi-solid, Jell-O-like when chilled — that’s the collagen doing its job, not a sign it’s gone bad. Liquid that stays completely runny and thin when cold is sometimes viewed as a lower-collagen product, not a safety issue either way.

Storage tips

• Store opened bone broth toward the back of the fridge, not the door
• Reseal tightly after every pour
• Write the open date on the carton — go with the shorter, label-printed window (5 days) rather than a looser verbal estimate
• Portion into freezer-safe containers or ice cube trays if you won’t finish it within the fridge window

Why isn’t bone broth covered by USDA?

FreezerOrFridge.com’s 732 core pages pull their storage times from the USDA FoodKeeper database, which does include an entry for standard commercially produced broth and stock — typically 3-4 days refrigerated and 2-3 months frozen. Bone broth is a distinct, longer-simmered product marketed and formulated differently (often shelf-stable via retorting, unlike standard broth), and doesn’t have its own separate FoodKeeper entry yet. This page relies on a manufacturer’s printed label and general USDA freezing guidance to fill that specific gap.

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Author Bio: Written by our food storage team, using manufacturer labeling and USDA food safety standards for products not yet in the USDA FoodKeeper database.