Failure to refrigerate...

I bought a bottle of Lifeway Kefir yesterday, and somehow in the crush of events, it did not get into the refrigerator for 24 hours, but sat out at room temperature (unopened).

I called Lifeway to ask if this was okay or not. Apparently, the person I really needed to speak to was not available. However, the person who answered the phone assured me that "the CFO does that all the time" and if it didn't smell bad, it would be fine.

Will it have soured more, like yogurt (?)?? (I drink it so rarely, I don't know that I could tell.)

I seem to have fallen into a rabbit hole where no one is ever able to give me a straight answer and nothing is ever simple, so I suppose I wasn't expecting a yes or no, but I guess I wanted more than the receptionist (?) saying I should smell the stuff. (I guess I shouldn't complain, it is much simpler to toss a bottle of kefir than to figure out if my son who earned $750 last year really needs to file the 1040 (not the EZ) and all the self-employment forms.)

Sigh. Maybe I need a chocolate milkshake right away and everything would seem clearer.

Would you drink the kefir?

I'd drink it. There are so many cultures in there, it's very tough for spoilage bacteria to get a start. If you check, you'll see that kefir has a much longer expiration date (at least out of the factory) than yogurt. I think the receptionist's advice was spot-on.

If it were my company, I'd be pretty reluctant to provide any advice other than throw it out in fear of a lawsuit if the buyer got ill. What's the upside for them to tell you to drink it, even if there's a 99% chance its OK?

nr706, thanks, I will try it later when it gets cold.

rickster, I think Lifeway is a very small company (I've driven by their building on Oakton), which probably explains why the person who answered the phone a) knew that the CFO drank it after a period of non-refrigeration and b) was willing to tell me so. We'd all be better off if there were fewer lawyers in the world, IMHO.

Drink it. I do stuff like that all the time, and have never had a problem. If it had been opened, access to oxygen could have accelerated its deterioration, but you said it was sealed, so I think you should be good to go.

You'll be fine.