Flax seed oil with a 6 month shelf life. Makes sense?

Today I was at a market and passed by an organic / fair trade store and decided to buy some flax seed oil. I bought a 700 ml bottle, pretty cheap and was quite excited about it because applying regular almond oil under my eyes has helped my dry eye condition, and I thought organic flax seed oil might be even better, because it has more omega 3.

When I got home and read about flax seed oil I realised that it goes rancid very quickly, ranging from hours to a week, the latter if refrigerated. Now, the bottle I got was not refrigerated. It doesn't even say it should be refrigerated. It says "best before 6 months from date of manufacture", which is 28 October, already more than a month ago.

Does that mean this oil is rancid? It doesn't smell or taste bad at all.

Should I refrigerate it now? I probably will, but I am puzzled why the manufacturers don't say anything about this. The organisation that makes this is the most trusted and oldest non-profit organisation in the country in the area of organic farming, fair trade activism, etc. It is surprising that they would sell something toxic.

Should I be using this oil on my skin or ingesting it (which I don't plan to do anyhow)?

I know the obvious answer is that the manufacturers are ignorant, and that the oil must be rancid already or will turn so soon after I open the bottle, which I did just now. But holding the bottle in my hand I find that hard to believe.

I would appreciate any thoughts on this.
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