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I was just wondering how long you could keep chia seeds in the refrigerator after they have already soaked in the water. I know dry chia seeds have an extremely long life if stored properly but I can't find anything online about once they are already soaked.

Thanks.

Nathan
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  • I'd say that you could keep them until they sprout. – Mr. Mascaro Mar 04 '15 at 18:42
  • I did a quick websearch and found ranges of 5 days to 3 weeks in the fridge. The sources are various blogs (on veganism, organic food, healh...) in German, so no use posting them here. Welcome to the site, btw. – Stephie Mar 04 '15 at 18:52
  • Most English sites seem to claim that the chia gel can be stored for two weeks in the fridge. Are you sure you *did* search? – Stephie Mar 04 '15 at 18:58
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    @Stephie some people are better at googling than others :) – Ming Mar 05 '15 at 01:20
  • No mine started smelling bad after 2 days – Richa Jan 27 '19 at 08:23

5 Answers5

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Chia seeds have been known to harbor salmonella, and considering their high fat content, high carbohydrate content, and their physical/chemical reaction to being soaked in water, they are an ideal growing medium for any number of hazards.

The USDA does not have a published opinion on the topic.

The EFSA has approved them as an ingredient in all forms,including uncooked, but has only researched cooked form (which is typical for seeds and nuts)

Give the lack of guidence from a credible organization, and the wildly varying ranges of unauthoritative sources, I would treat soaked chia seeds as most akin to leftovers of a salad that has dressing applied, which is to say even in the refrigerator, no more than a day and "when in doubt throw it out".

Phil
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You can do a test to determine it like this. The next time you get to-go food, ask for 3-4 little sauce cups. Make your chia gel, date the cups, put 1/2 tsp in each cup, and store them in the fridge. Test one cup at a time every 3-4 days. Timings can vary because every fridge's temp is different, though the middle shelf is usually the coldest.

Allison C
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Joiey
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  • This answer is wrong, sorry - food can look and smell perfectly alright but be teeming with pathogens, so food safety rules don't allow for doing any kind of self test. – rumtscho Aug 20 '20 at 08:17
  • test for *what*? And the results are not necessarily replicable (ie even if you tested for pathogens and found none after a few days *this time*, possibly your next bag of chia seeds is contaminated and that number of days will give the bacteria enough time to grow) – Esther Sep 06 '22 at 21:58
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Have you thought about freezing it? If you wanted to freeze in small silicone molds then you could pop them in a baggie or jar and remove as needed. I put mine in the smallest mason jar I can find when I add the water so mine doesn't go bad in the fridge.

Deena
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Mine are at least 3 or 4 weeks old and seem fine.

Divi
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Hol
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  • mine are about 2 weeks old. And have this white stuff, possible mold or other not good stuff? smells alright tho. guess the answer depends – HattrickNZ Jun 09 '20 at 21:39
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I thought the chia seed water/gel would last forever in the fridge because they last forever dry in the cubboard. But No, absolutely not. I didnt go to taste it until about 2-3 weeks (no longer) after making it and putting it in the fridge. I was shocked, spit it out, and felt like vomiting from the smell of it. .. so it probably doesn't last very long.

Johnny Chiaseed
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