Bobby, I don't think anybody can give you the reassurance you want to hear. Who would want to be responsible for encouraging you to eat something that will make you sick?

When you poured the sauce into the pot, your sense of smell told you that something was wrong. Then, you checked the expiration date and tried to rationalize away your suspicions. If this is a brand you've used before, then you're familiar with how it should smell. On some unconscious level, your brain is warning you of danger. Human beings have survived for thousands of years because they trusted their instincts and senses to distinguish edible foods from unsafe ones (although they can sometimes be fooled). If it were me, I'd throw it out.

However, I think those bright orange bubbles are normal; they're just colored from the tomato sauce.

Sue

Bobby:
I agree with Sue and second the motion.

If you didn't brown the meat,you could rinse everything out and start over.
You don't neccessarly need a lot of tomatoes for Beef Stew.
Sometimes I just put in 2 tablespoons of ketchup and make a Brown Gravy.

I even add 2 tablesspoons of Chicken Soup Base.
Lou

Bobby, I learned a lesson many years ago as a young bride from my MIL that I never forgot--When in doubt, throw it out!

Maybe that would be best, it's better to waste the food than to be super ill!

Nope, I take what some folks here would say are a lot of risks, but I'd toss it.
BTW, I wouldn't have put tomato sauce in a beef stew, but that's me.

I don't think going bad would make the tomato sauce get more acidic.

How big a batch of beef stew is it? Two cans of tomato sauce sounds like way too much unless you are doing a cauldron full. Often I use some tomato in a beef stew but I don't use it for all the liquid. For a couple of pounds of beef, I'd probably use a few tablespoons of tomato paste or maybe half a 15 oz can of sauce.

I used one pound of beef to two cans of sauce... and one can of beef stock. I like it to be kind of like chili.... I want the sauce to be red and thick. The soup is quite thick... not liquidy at all! I used corn, carrots, 1 onions, garlic, thyme, 3 potatoes, 1 basil leaf, salt, and pepper... so I'm sure there was something in there that reacted with the tomato sauce to make the orange bubbles.

I found out that my tomato sauce was fine. I was just being paranoid. I went to the store and bought more of the same brand. Opened it up and the brand new one smelled the same as the one I had in the pantry. I think I'm used to smelling tomato sauce after it's been cooked and mixed with other ingredients and since I haven't worked with it in a while, I forgot what it should smell like. I didn't want to waste the "test" sauce, so I put it in a sandwich bag and froze it... will it still be OK to use in things?

The sauce should be fine frozen for a few months. Good idea to get another can to check!

Red bubbles sound normal to me. Most tomato sauce smells acidic, at least to my nose. I don't think I've ever had a commercial canned product go bad--food spoilage isn't really as common as it was 30 years ago.