Kitchen

[whatsmyname]

Hi Everyone,

Do you think it’s okay to use a can of tomato sauce with a best by date of 11/15/23 to make chili? I didn’t realize the date before I went to the grocery store. I googled but really can’t find a straight forward answer. TIA

[RedTop]

@whatsmyname 
Yes; no concerns whatsoever as long as the can isn't rusty or leaking.  

[Kachina624]

@whatsmyname   Yes, 8 recently read that those dates are for retailers and indicate the date at which the taste, appearance and texture is at its best.  They may decline with time but  it has nothing to do with safety.

[Nonametoday]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@whatsmyname   Yes, 8 recently read that those dates are for retailers and indicate the date at which the taste, appearance and texture is at its best.  They may decline with time but  it has nothing to do with safety.

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@Kachina624 

according to a university that specializes in what we used to call home economics and agriculture, tomato-based products are the only things that should be disposed of on the "exp date" as it is totally acid and can go bad much more quickly.

[Kachina624]

@Nonametoday   When tomato products go bad, it's pretty obvious.  The cans swell and the top becomes convex.  I've actually had a can of tomato paste explode in a cupboard.  What a mess that was.

[Nonametoday]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Nonametoday   When tomato products go bad, it's pretty obvious.  The cans swell and the top becomes convex.  I've actually had a can of tomato paste explode in a cupboard.  What a mess that was.

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@Kachina624 

I mentioned that to the person I was speaking with at a meeting about recipes and this person was from the university giving advice on products to use and not use, etc.  She said no, that's not necessarily true although you certainly would not want to use those.  So I don't know.  I just follow the experts' advice until I prove them wrong.

[redbird]

I have a chart I got from the internet.....says it is from the greater Pittsburg community food bank...which lists how long food can be consumed after the best buy date.Tomato sauce is good for one to two years after the best buy date according to the chart. If it says best by you are fine. If it says expiration date toss it. They are two different things. I hope this helps.

[Nonametoday]

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@redbird wrote:

I have a chart I got from the internet.....says it is from the greater Pittsburg community food bank...which lists how long food can be consumed after the best buy date.Tomato sauce is good for one to two years after the best buy date according to the chart. If it says best by you are fine. If it says expiration date toss it. They are two different things. I hope this helps.

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@redbird 

That's what I was saying, the lady said if it says expiration date, toss it, especially tomato products.  She said many other things were fine for a year or two past the sell-by date and some were good for months after the exp date (and she gave us a chart).  She also said that some things after the sell-by date would become weaker in taste, i.e., spices and that though usable, they would not have the same strength of taste. I am pretty bad about tossing things when they are not used.  I have a son who is a great cook and he will use them for 2-3 years.  He's a good cook and he's also stingy.

[loriqvc]

@whatsmyname - I agree with the majority of the posters here: If you open the can and the sauce looks or smells bad, don't use it; otherwise, you should be fine. As noted, the acidity of canned tomato products can sometimes prevent them from being good for as far past the marked date as other canned goods, but they should still be fine for a few extra months.

And I can add input based on my own recent experience—last summer, I couldn't find the tomato sauce I liked at my local grocery store for a few weeks, and they told me it was being discontinued and marked the remaining cans down to half price. I was surprised and sad, so I bought a whole bunch of it with an expiration date of last October. Well, it turns out that the company was just tweaking the label format and the sauce returned to the shelves just after the beginning of the year, which is great. And I am still working my way through my stockpile of that October sauce with no issues at all.

Hope everything goes well with your chili! 

[ILOVEDOGS]

@whatsmyname You're joking right?