How long does ketchup last

Keep an unopened bottle in a cool, dark pantry, cap tight, out of the sun. FoodKeeper prints ketchup, cocktail sauce, and chili sauce together: the pantry is 1 year. The bold number is one year. The fridge is Not the usual place. The usual place for a closed bottle is not the fridge. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed in that cell. A sooner date on the bottle wins. Date types are on the use-by and best-before guide.

After opening, wipe the lip. The note says these sauces are safe at room temperature. Refrigeration on the label is for quality, so the flavour stays fresh longer. That split sits in the use-by and best-before article. The pantry cell is No time is printed for this cell. No opened room-temperature day is printed. The fridge is 6 months. The bold number is six months. This page does not split ketchup off cocktail sauce and chili sauce and write it a separate day. A tomato on the counter is not this bottle. Tomatoes have their own page. If you are still unsure, the still-safe tool asks from the short end of the chart.

Get perishable food into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking it or bringing it home, and within 1 hour if the kitchen is above 32°C (90°F). USDA FSIS and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry both publish that cutoff. A closed deep pot stays warm; a shallow box cools.

A chart is a window, not a verdict on the container in your hand. A sour smell, a slimy surface, or mould means it is finished, even on day one. This page is not medical advice.

• Mould on the surface, in the neck, or under the cap. Wiping the neck does not rescue the bottle.
• A yeasty, alcoholic, or sharp fermented smell. Vinegar’s own smell is not that.
• A shift toward dark brown, or water that will not stir back into the sauce.
• Bubbles that keep rising, or a cap that pushes up. That is gas, not freshness.

A duller red in an older bottle can be quality. Mould is not quality. This page does not tell you to taste your way to an answer.

FoodKeeper prints no freezer time for this line. The unopened cell is No time is printed for this cell. The opened cell is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a freezer day for ketchup, and it does not invent a separate day for cocktail sauce or chili sauce. A bottle frozen at −18°C (0°F) can split, and the glass or the plastic can crack. USDA says food held continuously at −18°C (0°F) stays safe. That sentence is not a printed ketchup time. The months other foods get are about quality. This row has no month.

A thawing note is for a food with a printed freezer time. These cells have none. This page also does not write a recipe for thawed ketchup.

Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Do not refreeze a portion that has thawed. The ministry states the same rule: thaw frozen food in the fridge and take out only what you will eat.

• Opened ketchup is unsafe unless it is in the fridge. The note says these sauces are safe at room temperature after opening. Refrigeration on the label is for quality. The pantry cell is No time is printed for this cell. The fridge is 6 months.
• Cocktail sauce has a day of its own. FoodKeeper prints ketchup, cocktail sauce, and chili sauce as one line. This page does not invent a ketchup-only day. The unopened pantry is 1 year. The opened fridge is 6 months.
• The freezer keeps a bottle for the pantry’s year. The freezer cells are No time is printed for this cell and No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. The bold pantry number is one year, 1 year, and that year is not a freezer time.

The windows assume a generally healthy household. Pregnancy, young children, older age, or a weakened immune system are reasons to keep the shorter figure, to skip raw or undercooked food, and to reheat leftovers until the centre is steaming. USDA’s figure for reheating leftovers is 74°C (165°F).

In pregnancy, for young children, in older age, or with a weakened immune system, do not taste a doubtful bottle to decide. Mould in the neck is not a spot you wipe off. Heating a mouldy spoonful does not undo mould. Ketchup is not the tomato on the counter, and it is not mayonnaise. This page does not add a day of its own.