spaghetti sauce that's opened --

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I work for a food manufacturing company (yes, we bottle a lot of the pasta sauces you are probably talking about).

I just called the lab manager to get a verification. He said 7 days tops.

BTW, the codes on the side of the lid, called day codes, are not telling you when the product will expire. Those are put on there to give you the production dates in case of product recall. We are required to day code everything in 2 hour increments. If it turns out that an ingredient is bad or adulterated, we have to be able to find every jar that was packed with that ingredient.

Some items will have an expiration date posted on the lid/box/etc. but those are because that particular brand wants it listed; it's not really going to go from good to spoiled on a particular date while sitting on the shelf in the store. More often than not, items will lose flavor and companies to do want their old product with less flavor out there because they want repeat business.

that is not really completely true either! some of it is true, some not. when there is...actually I am a food chemist and I just do not want to go into this, I will just say when there is a use by date, do it...if there is a shelf life date, on the side somewhere should have a date as to how long AFTER it is open, then you listen to that! this is not posted for profit, it is what I test in the lab to see how long a product will last!

and I have worked board of health, industry inspection,and supervisor in Lab in food production. for years now.and serve safe certified and HACCP certified...and I could go on and on, but I have work to do now.

 

[mykidsand_i]

When I took my food training course so I could sub at our schools kitchen- all tomato items/ tomato based and sauces NEED to be labeled and THROWN on day 7. The tomato based items have a high acid content and cause nasty bacteria to start growing after 7 days of being open. The exp. date isn't there to tell you anything but how long it WILL LAST ON THE SHELF, UNOPENED...

 

[kaytieeldr]

I work for a food manufacturing company (yes, we bottle a lot of the pasta sauces you are probably talking about).

I just called the lab manager to get a verification. He said 7 days tops.

Good to know - thank him for me! I'm JUST reading this thread now (after 11 PM), otherwise my suggestion would have been "call the manufacturer" . But Pakey did even better

The tomato based items have a high acid content and cause nasty bacteria to start growing after 7 days of being open.

Now, that surprises me. I'm NOT doubting you at ALL - after all, you're the one with the training . It just seems to me acid would retard or prohibit bacteria from growing.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I think I would toss a jar of sauce that I didn't use up in a week.

I'm usually pretty good about cleaning out my pantry but I got a real shocker tonight! I was having some minor stomach issues earlier today but started feeling better by dinnertime. I looked in the pantry and decided a nice bowl of Cream of Wheat would be great. I started heating up the water and got the box out of the pantry realizing I hadn't had any in a long time. So I checked the "best by" date on the box. It said 9/97!!!!! Have I really had it that long? I showed it to my DS11 and told him I'd had that box of Cream of Wheat longer than I've had him! No, I didn't eat it. Yes, I tossed it!

 

[pixiewings71]

so tomato based, does that include salsa?

 

[N.Bailey]

so tomato based, does that include salsa?

If vinegar is on the ingredients list, you're probably safe. I don't have salsa here, so I can't check any label.

Vinegar, salt, lemon, lime, etc.... these are preservatives that extend shelf life.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

tomato sauce is a week tops. Salsa...fresh, no longer then a week, and the processed you can go up to a month!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

so tomato based, does that include salsa?

That is a good question. I am glad I read this thread. I thought it was 2 weeks and not 7 days.

 

[TinklednPants]

I've never used a jar of tomato sauce so I couldn't say for sure. But for fresh I wouldn't go beyond a week.

 

[mykidsand_i]

salsa is different because of the 'vinegar, lemon, lime/acid' mix. Fresh salsa has a low vinegar content, so it goes bad in a matter of days...processed salsa is good longer, but it all depends on the place it's made. Sometimes, the jar of salsa will say "best consumed after _____ days of opening" or something along those lines. Spaghetti sauce sometimes has those dates too.

I'm no where close to a pro at this stuff- It was only a 2 day course...but I had to take it in order to be a sub for our school kitchen, It has been very helpful in my daily life too, because I learned A LOT about food that I didn't know before! It scares me now what some people do sometimes with food!

 

[lovesmurfs]

www.stilltasty.com

Whenever I have a question about food, I start there.

 

[bookgirl]

I freeze my leftover sauce, gravy, broth and pesto in ice cube trays. I store them in ziplocks in my freezer and whenever I need a serving I take out two cubes and either put them in the micro for 30 seconds or plop them right down on my hot pasta.

Works out great. But make sure you mark your bags. All the cubes of the same color look identical. Salsa and spagetti sauce are not interchangable BTDT!

 

[pixiewings71]

If vinegar is on the ingredients list, you're probably safe. I don't have salsa here, so I can't check any label.

Vinegar, salt, lemon, lime, etc.... these are preservatives that extend shelf life.

I'll have to check the ingredients on the can, I usually just open it and toss the can and store the salsa in a different container. Thanks for the info tho, I'll definitely check!

tomato sauce is a week tops. Salsa...fresh, no longer then a week, and the processed you can go up to a month!

I love to make homemade but only with fresh tomatoes so in the winter we eat canned. Yes, it's canned, not jarred. It's really good tho, my favorite kind from a can, or jar. In the summer when I make it it never lasts more then a day so I don't worry about it then, just the canned stuff and this thread made me think.

I freeze my leftover sauce, gravy, broth and pesto in ice cube trays. I store them in ziplocks in my freezer and whenever I need a serving I take out two cubes and either put them in the micro for 30 seconds or plop them right down on my hot pasta.

Works out great. But make sure you mark your bags. All the cubes of the same color look identical. Salsa and spagetti sauce are not interchangable BTDT!

 

[mafibisha]

Ok heres another question

I bought two bags of frozen veggies to make barley veggie soup (yummm)- about 2 weeks ago. The bags are still cold but not frozen, so should I toss them? The bag says to keep frozen. I intended to make them the next day but life is just super hectic lately.
Ack, why do I do this? I hate throwing out food but I know I probably should? Or not? What do you experts say?

 

[mykidsand_i]

When in doubt, go by the 7 day rule. Think of it this way. EVERY SINGLE thing that goes into the fridge in a "food service fridge" MUST be used with in 7 days of being opened/exposed/leftover...so on. They do that because it's NOT SAFE to let it go longer (that's what I was taught)...spaghetti sauce, 7 days (NO LONGER!!!), leftovers from dinner go in the fridge, EAT THEM with in 7 days, cooked meat, 7 days, uncooked meat (sometimes less than 7 days depending on the meat!) Of course, there's the things like 'condiments' and pickles and things like that- they last longer. When an item that is ment to be kept frozen, unthaws- the 'status is changed' and must be used with in a reasonable time or it MAY start to harbor bacteria. And, if it doesn't hold bacteria, then the 'stability' of the product changes and it tastes horrible- or has a bad texture or consistancy.

the main food 'storage' rules I was taught in my training course (in no particular order at all!):

-7 days in the fridge! All prepared food, all food that has 'changed temp' from how it is origionally stored.
-NEVER, NEVER, NEVER keep cold/cool food out past 4 hours! NEVER. I've seen several people do this and get ill. Some things should be put back into the fridge before that 4 hour mark (milk, egg products)
-Don't put steaming hot foods into the fridge. Example: a big pot of soup that you've just turned off the heat under should not go in the fridge until it's cooled down a bit. When you put hot foods into the fridge, it warms up the temp. of the fridge.
-LABEL EVERYTHING. Label with the date you opened it, if it's more than 7 days old, throw it (prepared foods, not the condiments/pickles)
-if you change the temp of a food- like your case where you took veggies out of the freezer- use it asap, but definately before that 7 day mark.
-NEVER EVER EVER EVER take food out of the freezer, defrost it, then freeze it again. That is NOT SAFE. This is another one that has been DRIVEN into my head since last year in EVERY food safety class- but people still do it.
-say you make tacos one night...then, you put the taco meat in the fridge with the date written on it. After day 4 of it being in the fridge, you take that taco meat out and you're going to re-use it for something else. You bake it in a mexican lasagna. Then, there are left overs from Mex. lasagna. YOU STILL NEED TO USE THE ORIGINAL DATE THAT THE TACO MEAT WAS MADE when you put the left overs in the fridge- NOT the date that the lasagna was made.

So, not to throw out a ton of info. or make anyone believe that I know a ton about all this- I only help out in the kitchen at the school when they need me to...but those are the big ones I learned about in food safety and storage training, which EVERYONE must attend once a year even to be allowed into the kitchen area at our school.

Not everyone believes in these things to be 100% true, but in food service, this is what I was taught. If we do it any other way, we'd get a BAD score on our health inspection.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

What about Heinz ketchup? Does it need to be refrigerated? How long can it last inside and outside the fridge?

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Ok, I just want you all to know that I opened a new jar of sauce today and put the rest of the jar in two separate freezable containers for next time! (It's just DH and I so we only use a little at a time.) Otherwise I'd be using that same jar over the next month, never knowing that the expiration date only counted before it was opened! Thanks guys!

 

[N.Bailey]

What about Heinz ketchup? Does it need to be refrigerated? How long can it last inside and outside the fridge?

Ketchup in the perfect example to show that expiration dates aren't as meaningful as the conditions in which a product is stored. An opened bottle of ketchup stored in your pantry (some people don't like cold ketchup) has a shelf life of about 5 weeks, give or take. And let me stress, if you've got bad ketchup, you will know it (used to work in the restaurant business). In the refrigerator however, it will last 6 months (and probably much longer than this in reality). I've never had ketchup spoil at home and it's always stored in the fridge and I've never kept track of when it was opened.

Regardless of what you're talking about, everything (well, they say vinegar for example will never spoil), has a shelf life. Storage is the most important variable to making it last as long as possible. Canned goods should be stored in a cool, dry area of your home. Temperatures above 65 can literally cut the shelf life in half (unopened products). That's probably no big deal for most of us, but if you stock up to take advantage of sale prices, it could be very important to you and your family.

My MIL cans the best peaches and pears every year. I've served them to people and they always say, these are the best _______ I have ever had in my life. They are GOOD!! For my family, it's almost imperative that we store them properly if we don't want to toss them in the garbage (and my MIL stores them for years and they're still good). I don't get enough to get me thru years!

 

[traces7]

www.stilltasty.com

Whenever I have a question about food, I start there.

Thanks for this link. I always wonder about some foods and probably end up throwing stuff away too soon, but I always figure, better safe than sorry. This website has helped already!