I bought a large box of fondant - 50 pounds from the restaurant supply to do a wedding cake. I probably used about 15 pounds and the rest I divided up, wrapped in plastic wrap and then into ziploc freezer bags. I forced out as much air as possible when packing them. I put the individual ziplock bags into a large plastic storage container where I usually keep bulk flour, sugar, etc. all at room temperature. This was about 3 months ago. Today I went to get it and has started to separate. There is some type of liquid that separated from the fondant in the bag and black spots and air holes throughout. I think the black spots are mold or bacteria growing - the liquid is slightly yellow and the bubbles that formed in the fondant are full of yellowish thick liquid. The original fondant when I bought it was pretty much perfect. Soft and pliable and in good condition. I only cut off what I used for the cake and never kneaded or touched the remaining fondant that was stored. What happened?

I was told a long time ago that if you are storing fondant for more then a couple of weeks then you need to refridgerate it or even freeze it. It's one of those things best used fresh. I'm thinking that storing it at room temp gave a breeding ground for the bacteria. HTH. Cat

I am so sorry this happened to you. I make MMF occasionally and always store it wrapped up in the fridge. It keeps for awhile. I bought some Wilton fondant a couple of years ago and stored some in the fridge also. I did not use it and after a few months it became hard and I threw it away, but it never developed mold. I am sure what catharper said is correct.

yea...unfortunately I think that fondant is unusable and I really do think past a month I wouldn't use the fondant

Thanks so much for the replies so far. I've always heard that fondant can be stored for a LONG time. I've purchased Wilton fondant and unopened, it lasts forever (not really forever but I'm sure a few months is no problem) I've had fondant stored in the fridge that lasts for over a month but it does get hard. I wouldn't even think about using my fondant now that its separated and not so pleasant looking. What is the shelf life of open fondant - 1 month max - in the fridge. How should fondant be properly stored?

This is interesting. Just out of curiousity, which brand is it? I too have Wilton fondant that I have had a while. It is unopened. I'll have to check it and make a cake soon!

Also, have you tried writing to the manufacturer or looking for a website to see if they can tell you how to store and for how long to store it?

Let us know what you find out. This will be good for future reference.

Ok, what you descrubed is really nasty, and I'd be very concerned about what happened to it. I've never heard of such a thing. Even when I've seen fondant 'go bad' all it ever did was get hard and crusty. I have a few pails of colored fondant (colors that are hard to make are EASY to buy! haha) and they last for a long, long time at moderate room temp. I mean, a year. As long as the plastic is wrapped well...

I've never seen that happen except with gumpaste, not fondant. In my early gumpaste days, I didn't store some gumpaste in the fridge and forgot about it. I checked it one day & it was separating like you said with mold growing.

but I've never had this happen with fondant and I've had some fondant for a really long time (that I use only for dummy cakes) and it only dries out. very curious

AI had the same thing happen before to me. I bought a large box of fondant at restaurant depot- I think 50lbs and refridgetated half of it. It started growing mold and really yucky when I went back to it. Granted, it was in the fridge awhile but I thought that's not suppose to happen.