Please Don't Think I'm Wacko, But....
Decorating By cindycraig Updated 29 May 2011 , 1:08am by SBaker
I have a container of cream cheese frosting in my fridge that I made 3 weeks ago- with cream cheese whose exp date is in July. If I put this on a cupcake for my child who is begging for one is it going to make him ill? Normally I wouldn't have kept it that long but it's there and he's giving me the puppy dog eyes and everything. Tell me cake divas, is it spoiled...or "rurnt" as we say here in Arkansas??? ( And please don't call SCAN on me for this!) 
The expiration date is usually for the cream cheese unopened. I think it usually says its good for like 5-10 days after it has been opened. I think 3 weeks is too old. And you didn't say how old your child is but children have weaker immune systems than adults so I wouldn't risk it.
No worries. When you add as much sugar to the frosting as I am sure you did, it acts as a preservative. Bacteria has a much harder time growing on sugar as well as salt due to it's dehydrating properties. Yes, cream cheese will mold, but the mold is not as bad as bacteria, there is most likely NO bacteria growing in your frosting.
If it makes you feel better, I am an RN who did my term paper on the preserving properties of sugar in my microbiology class.
The expiration date is usually for the cream cheese unopened. I think it usually says its good for like 5-10 days after it has been opened. I think 3 weeks is too old. And you didn't say how old your child is but children have weaker immune systems than adults so I wouldn't risk it.
The expiration date is for open or unopened. Food is required to have an exp. date according to the FDA. It is also for the manufacturer, the store has to toss it and buy more. Cream cheese will last for months in your fridge, open.
Children do not have a weaker immune system than adults do. I am not trying to sound mean, but I don't want your response to freak out the OP, or any one else. She added sugar to the cream cheese so it extended the shelf life 20x. Trust me, it was fine.
my rule of thumb is if I wont eat it I wont give it to my kid or anyone else.. If you wont eat it yourself, throw it away and tell your kid you will make some fresh frosting
I'm with kakeladi on this one. I went through the same thing recently. I had leftover cream cheese buttercream and my son wanted some for a brownie. I smelled it and swirled a spoon around and thought something might be a little off. Then I tried a tiny bit. Nope..... trash.
No worries. When you add as much sugar to the frosting as I am sure you did, it acts as a preservative.
Agreed. We've kept cream cheese frosting for a month or more and it's been fine, considering the expiry date of the cream cheese itself has not passed you should be fine (unless it smells or tastes off to you).
We did find some cream cheese frosting in a drawer in our fridge the other day, apparently we forgot about it...it was probably about a year old and it looked like a science experiment so we just tossed the whole container. 
Nature has a pretty good way of letting us know when we should toss stuff. If it smells bad or tastes weird, it's probably not good to eat.
I'd take a tiny taste and if it tastes ok to you, let him have it.
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