Oh - by the way, of course I mean with the cover on tight.

I used to make ziplock packs of sauce and packs of equal sized cooked spaghetti then I could mix the two together for a quick supper (forgot I used to freeze them)
I wouldn't use that refrig jar after the next day

no more than 2 weeks from what i've read...as one person suggested, you could also freeze it...

I think it grows the "fuzzies" pretty quickly.

I have found the fuzzy ones too but truthfully it should last a pretty good number of days...even 4 or 5 fays shouldn't be an issue....

I've used mine after a week with no problems.

Gets even more crucial when one lives alone.

Something tells me that several local singles should get together for a pot-luck dinner, at least once a week!

I figure it should be good for at least a week.

(I get the feeling that I'm repeating myself).

ole joyful

Tomato things, because of the acid, can keep longer than some other things. It can be kept for at least a week. After that I would give it the smell test -- does it still smell the same? After that, heat it, and if it still smells good, use it.

Ok, I guess I've played with fire on a couple of occasions, then. The last time I opened a jar I did freeze portion sizes (and Yes, I live alone) so that I can take them out when needed and not leave a jar to die in the frige. But there have been times when I've heated some up that's been there .... well, longer than any of you have said is Ok.

I've wondered, now I know - thank you!

Suzieque

I would check on the jar itself... different brands have different ingredients and dif. perservatives levels (some have added meats, etc..)

I often wonder about how long opened salsa lasts... and what about opened cocktail sauce... I can't find any info on the jars.... Any ideas on those?

Since my daughter has now (twice) put an open jar back in the cabinet, just today I read her what it says on the (Prego) jar: "Promptly refrigerate unused sauce and use within 14-days after opening."

I always freeze unless I plan to use it with a few days.

The fuzzies have happened to me with opened jars of salsa left in the fridge for too long. I buy smaller jars now or use in DH's eggs and rice throughout the week.

I agree with others that you freeze in small bags.

Enjoy!
Dee

It's a good question for condiments as well.... ketchup, mustard, salad dressings....

I think it can vary depending on the temp of the refrigerator and how quickly an item is cooled to that temp (which I'd think would be more of an issue with cooked foods as they take much longer to become chilled).

I don't have any good answers. My general rule of thumb for things other then condiments is a week (more or less depending on the item).

Well, Duh! Why didn't I think to freeze stuff like that? I have a paranoia about things in the fridge more than a couple of days, which translates to a lot of things not being used...
what a great idea to freeze things like spaghetti sauce. I have had an "AHH" moment as the queen of 'finding herself' says...
Suzan J

I googled and found the vast majority of places recommend 5 to 7 days. I liked this site the best.

Shirley
(who often freezes things like this so I don't waste as much.)

Here is a link that might be useful: How long do they last?

I'm the same way, jarz. I don't keep anything in the fridge more than a few days. I even toss ketchup and mayo if they are more than a few weeks old. I know they are still good, but one time we went to a seafood restaurant at the beach, and the ketchup was in a squeeze bottle, and it had soured. Yuck!
Of course, it had been sitting on the table for no telling how long, and I keep mine in the fridge, but I am extremely weird about food. Freezing left overs is a better idea, like for spaghetti sauce.

When I clean my fridge, which I only do about twice a yeat, I dump out everything that's opened, including all the condiments, like olives and ketchup.

Being single I forget about my opened spaghetti jars too. Freezing is a single persons best friend. Once I reopened my spaghetti jar and when I twisted the lid, there was dry sauce on the rim and it cut me!! Bad! I couldn't believe I got injured by spaghetti sauce. So freezer bags for me from now on. Singles need smaller portions!

I wouldn't go longer than 4 or 5 days. I got really sick once eating week old spaghetti sauce and that's not an experience I care to repeat.

I just checked the thermometer in my fridge. It's 35F. No-meat sauce keeps about ten days.

Don't know about tomato sauce but this thread is certainly moldy and past the Use By date (last entry 7 years ago).

I have often wondered about the ketchup and mustard that is left on tables at a restaurant...heaven only knows!...especially when they just put more ketchup on top to fill it.

I think they quit topping off ketchup because of "explosions"?

Ketchup in our area must be much more sedate, Rob - cause I haven't heard of any "explosions" around this area ... (but I don't get out much) - (didn't, even seven years ago).

ole joyful

According to the date on the first post I'd say you've kept it far too long!!!

I do wonder why it is that commercial spaghetti sauce seems to last a relatively short time before getting "fuzzy" while commercial ketchup lasts months and months and months. They are both ostensible made from tomatoes, why the big difference?

I've noticed that my home-made, home-canned tomato sauce seems to last a few months in the fridge before getting "fuzzy", maybe the sugar and HFCS and other chemicals they add to the commercial sauce really promote mold growth.

fermentation causes it to spurt out on people. Kind of explosion.

Here's a good resource for anyone wanting to answer these kind of questions:

STILL TASTY - and this link is specifically for pasta sauce: http://stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/18362 

I would suggest you freeze the leftover sauce in user-friendly amounts so it doesn't get forgotten in the refrigerator and get wasted. Wasted food is the most expensive food we purchase! The problem with "how long" is all the factors that a generalization doesn't take into account. Such as:

1. At what temperature? Most people don't have any idea what their refrigerator temperature IS! Things will keep longer the colder the temperature is below 40°F than in the danger zone 40°F and warmer.

2. How often is it removed from the refrigerator, and how long is it left at room temperature. Both can affect the actual storage time.

3. How often is it contaminated from a spoon, unwashed finger wiping the rim off, wiping the rim off with a used dishrag, etc..... where mold spores can be introduced to the jar.

Agree with lucille, a quick risk/reward thought leads me to always toss anything questionable. There's no reason to take a chance (as far as I'm concerned). If you are bothered when discarding spoiled food, remember next time to use such items sooner.

I know this is a thread from the dead... Revived! But I had to say, it's amazing thatthat my sisters and I all made it out alive. Our mother never once ever in our lives put the mayo in the fridge, it was always on the lazy Susan in the kitchen cabinet along with the mustard, ketchup, pickles, olives etc. This in the heat of South Louisiana. She also always had a little can of condensed milk sitting besidebeside the coffee pot in the kitchen it would be put in the fridge at night and takentaken out the next morning for the day. I have no idea how long it lasted. Once I learned mayo should be refrigerated I asked her whywhy she doesn't, she pointed out that in the store it's not refrigerated.

We never got sick or died so she said it must be OK. Lol. Got to love mom!

By the way mine is always in the fridge with the restrest of the stuff that belong there and I do regular clean outs, just did one yesterday when the cleaning lady was herehere. I do need to clear out the freezers, I amam bad about putting inin the freezer but not taking out.

If it doesn't have mold on it it's safe to eat IMHO. Seriously, I've eaten yogurt from the refrigerator well past its expiration date and it was fine. I've never had food poisoning.

My guess for the ketchup vs. tomato sauce is the vinegar in ketchup.

Fran,

Bacteria can grow when mold does not. I think you have been lucky; as well, there is always a little bit of 'give' on expiration dates, which are not the same as opened items in the fridge. Of course, your choices are your own, but I think keeping certain items too long is a gamble, and my choice is that it is not worth losing that particular gamble, to me.

One of the more amusing myths out there is about mayo. People still rant about "No mayo in potato salad in warm weather!!!", when the potatoes and eggs are actually the bigger culprits in people getting sick from picnic salads.

As far as refrigerating/not refrigerating many things people also need to keep in mind that once you open something the clock is running, whether refrigerated or not. Refrigeration can often extend that life but not forever. And the other problem is there's often contaminants put into the containers that will cause premature spoilage issues. If there's a little left and you're not going to use it in a couple days, and you don't want to freeze it, then toss it.

The only kind of mayonnaise that is tolerable for warm weather is where the eggs in it have been pasteurized. Most jarred mayonnaise is pasteurized nowadays. You can home pasteurize eggs, if you want to make your own. Mayonnaise is also an excellent medium for breeding bacteria that have been introduced after the eggs have been treated, so if the potato salad is mixed with dirty (bad bacteria filled) hands, and left to sit in the sun, it's not any of the ingredients themselves that are the source of the taint, but the mayonnaise sure helps the bacteria to breed!

Yoghurt is preserved milk. It can last for a very long time if kept cold and sealed, and be perfectly fine.

With all of these things, it's a matter of circumstance and judgment. Children, elderly and people with compromised immune systems or delicate guts should err very far toward caution. Food you're feeding to guests should always be the best and freshest you have both for quality and for just in case. Like, I always open a new jar of mayonnaise when making chicken salad for a big group rather than risk exposing them to whatever might have been on my knife last week and transferred to my open jar.

For home use, however, especially without little kids and elderly in the group, use a little sense, and use good practices with food handling. When there's a drip on the jar, do you wipe it off with your finger? If so, is your finger cleaner than a paper towel? Usually, it's going to be the towel, but there are scenarios when the finger might be cleaner. Either way, know that touching the working end of the bottle with anything is going to introduce bacteria...so is it the kind of thing that will fight foreign bacteria, or grow it? Is it going to linger in the fridge or get used up fast? Will you know who's going to find and eat it, or do you have random friends and all rooting around in your fridge? Is it worth letting the drip get the top all gummed up, not to wipe it?

Being too clean can also be a problem. Your immune system needs things to attack, and was designed to survive mildly tainted foods. Dying of food poisoning used to be very common, but so was dying of anything. It's amazing what healthy people used to be able to get away with eating. I have a number of health issues, but I've never gotten food poisoning from something in a jar or bottle that had been in my fridge awhile without seeming off or moldy, nor has anyone in my family. I did get food poisoning once at a major league baseball game from a salad bought there that likely wasn't kept cold enough before sale.

I'm definitely not too clean....one of my hogs just bit almost halfway thru my thumb and I never even put any kind of antibiotic on it...just wore a bandaid for a couple of days....I never get sick or get an infection from my many bites, etc. But, like I commented in this post long, long ago....I am weird about food. I don't throw it out because I think it might be spoiled. I throw it out because I know if I put it in the fridge, I probably won't use it and it will sit there and get in the way and probably will end up growing "fuzzies". Since I learned long ago that I am not apt to use up a left over in a day or so, I just throw them out now.

you people are soft .... last night i had opened sauce out of the fridge that had been in there for about 4 months. It was delicious with my tortelini which was also about a month past due date... i've never felt better, or more well fed!

Regarding the title of this post, at this point that sauce is DEFINITELY not safe! ;)

tasmyth and associates

you people are soft .... last night i had opened sauce out of the fridge that had been in there for about 4 months. It was delicious with my tortelini which was also about a month past due date... i've never felt better, or more well fed!

You gambled and apparently did not lose. However, those who choose not to gamble with their health are not 'soft'. There is no need to taunt those who choose a more conservative path when it comes to food safety for themselves and their families.