# How long can I keep this?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-i-keep-this/479877>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 5, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-i-keep-this/479877 "2009-01-05T00:50:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-i-keep-this/479877/1 "2009-01-05T00:50:41Z")

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BBQ sauce, that is. In the refrigerator. I have 4 bottles, all about half used, don’t know how long they’ve been in there exactly…they look and smell all right. How long do you keep bottled sauces and salad dressings?

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**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-i-keep-this/479877/2 "2009-01-05T03:26:46Z")

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Is there a Use By date on the bottles? Is the sauce discolored – darker than usual?

If they look and smell okay, they’re probably okay. Isn’t there a lot of acid in tomato-based products, inhibiting bacteria? Mom always said ketchup etc. never goes bad. But mom had a lot of tummy upsets. 🙂