I'm in the process of moving (to Columbus, OH) and I'm trying to pack up all of my cake stuff (good ideas for packing welcome!)

Anyway, I'm wondering if some of my ingredients are still good - you know, those ingredients that don't have a date on them. Such as sprinkles.... do sprinkles go bad? Do you need to throw them out? When?

And cocoa powder - does that go bad? Or chocolate? I know chocolate can bloom so it gets white spots, but I think it's still good for eating, right?

Hope some of you know because I have no idea! I'm just a hobby baker, so I don't get to bake as often as I would like and have some ingredients I haven't used up yet. Certainly don't want to keep them around if they are bad!

Maybe I'll throw out the super old ones..... but I can't seem to find anything on Wilton's site for their sprinkles... can anyone else?

For sprinkles I've seen when they've started to "bloom" like chocolate does, the coating gets pale and splotchy. Would throw those out but otherwise they should be okay.

For sprinkles I think if they are stored properly (cool, dry place, in airtight container which I prefer to be dark to prevent color change) they have indefinite shelf life.

For cocoa powder is the same as sprinkles. (beside the color change)

For chocolate, when you see the white bloom on it, it does not mean it is rotten, but it means the cocoa butter seperation which happens a lot if you keep chocolate in refrigarator or freezer. You can still eat it, but it is not pleasant any more, and since I am a chocolate lover I want the true taste and feel of chocolate in my mouth (it has to be worth of having the extra calorie).
I personally do not eat the bloomed chocolate.
I think you can still use it for baking.

For me, I've noticed the color starts to change a little. I always taste test them to make sure mine are okay.

Now, c'mon! Get yer behind here. We're waiting for you! LOL