cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/45430198
This big bottle of spicy hot ketchup from Spain says it only lasts 1 month in the fridge after opening. Is the label lying?
- If yes, then an asshole designed the label.
- If no, then the ketchup is a crappy design because a family must be large and has to eat burgers, fries, and meatloaf every day to get through 560g.
Ketchup on the US market would be loaded with sugar and preservatives. But Europe and maybe the rest of the world is more inclined to have a higher proportion of pronounceable ingredients and fewer of them.
There is sriracha ketchup in the US which is shelf stable even after opening. Hot spicy foods are often that way, so apparently there is enough sriracha in that ketchup to keep it stable without refrigeration. Yet the cayanne pepper spiked ketchup from Spain is said to struggle to hold up even when refrigerated.
Basic safety from a company who wants to avoid lawsuits, you’re paranoid.
Basic safety from a company who wants to avoid lawsuits, you’re paranoid.
A Spanish company is hyper-paranoid about unlikely lawsuits? I think not. Maybe if they were selling it in the US. I’ll take your vote as a label problem, and thus asshole design. Though I suppose the label could also be due to incompetent lawyers (crappy design).
Also you say it’s sold in Spain, which I dont believe. Try again.
MADE in Spain, not sold in Spain.
“Unlikely lawsuits,” famous last words.
Not in Europe. You’ve apparently not been outside of the US. Lawsuits aren’t a thing here. Class actions don’t even exist in the EU. Each person injured must sue individually, and there is no tort option to cover their court costs. Everyone loses. Even if you win a judgement, it’s merely a ceremonial win.
I’m French you idiot. You know fuck all about laws in France.
then you should know better.
You’re factually wrong (source: my friends who are lawyers). Stop the spam, it’s cringe now. Also there is a form of class action in France.
In a lot of good brands in NL these days they just write “Look, smell and taste before you throw away” I think thats a pretty good waybto check if something is bad. A Best Before date can give an rough estimation when you should start to check the food before using it.
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Says the bottle is from Spain.
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The bottle label is written in French.
In Europe, we have these laws to make food safe. If you eat something after the date, it’s on you. You can’t held liable for food poisoning a company if you left something open for more than a month.
Also: you can just buy a smaller bottle? If you can’t finish that bottle in a month, then it’s not the format you should be buying.
- Says the bottle is from Spain.
- The bottle label is written in French.
And? Are you saying Spanish ketchup is not exported? That the part of the label showing a Spanish producer is a lie?
In Europe, we have these laws to make food safe. If you eat something after the date, it’s on you. You can’t held liable for food poisoning a company if you left something open for more than a month.
Citation needed on refrigerated ketchup being unsafe after 1 month.
Also: you can just buy a smaller bottle?
Not hot ketchup.
And? Are you saying Spanish ketchup is not exported? That the part of the label showing a Spanish producer is a lie?
No, I’m just saying that it’s difficult to establish that’s Spanish ketchup when there’s nothing in the label saying so.
Citation needed on refrigerated ketchup being unsafe after 1 month.
https://www.foodtimes.eu/consumers-and-health/tmc-and-expiration-date/
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/safe2eat/food-date-labelling
TL;DR: Depending on the food, it has a “use by” and a “best before” date.
“Best before” is for food quality, while “use by” is for food safety. Several tests are made to every product to determine what’s the time window in which they are considered “always safe”.
Not a food safety expert, but I work on the food industry. Every product has a different “use by” date because each product can become dangerous after a different amount of time. If there are tests showing that under certain conditions, ketchup becomes unsafe after one month of its opening, then the “use by” is a month after opening it.
Other products have a “use by” date much shorter, others longer. But it always depends on the lab tests they do.
No, I’m just saying that it’s difficult to establish that’s Spanish ketchup when there’s nothing in the label saying so.
You can’t see that the label is cropped?
Citation needed on refrigerated ketchup being unsafe after 1 month.
https://www.foodtimes.eu/consumers-and-health/tmc-and-expiration-date/ https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/safe2eat/food-date-labelling
Try again. First link is restricted access. 2nd link says nothing about ketchup being unsafe after a month in the fridge.
“Best before” is for food quality, while “use by” is for food safety.
We are talking about a “use by” date. Hence why it is either an asshole design or crappy design.
You can’t see that the label is cropped?
Mate, I do not know every single ketchup label/brand. I am just saying that I can’t deduce from that label the ketchup is Spanish.
Try again. First link is restricted access. 2nd link says nothing about ketchup being unsafe after a month in the fridge.
Try the archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20250617162550/https://www.foodtimes.eu/consumers-and-health/tmc-and-expiration-date/
We are talking about a “use by” date. Hence why it is either an asshole design or crappy design.
As I said, “use by” means there was a lab test in which the ketchup was deemed unsafe after a month opened. “Use by” dates are conservative in their duration because they must guarantee the food is safe for that amount of time under all normal circumstances.
I am just saying that I can’t deduce from that label the ketchup is Spanish.
What’s the point? Why do you care? Hence why I said “And?”
Try the archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20250617162550/https://www.foodtimes.eu/consumers-and-health/tmc-and-expiration-date/
Still nothing there about refrigerated ketchup only lasting 1 month. Citation still needed.
As I said, “use by” means there was a lab test in which the ketchup was deemed unsafe after a month opened. “Use by” dates are conservative in their duration because they must guarantee the food is safe for that amount of time under all normal circumstances.
They can just as well say “use by” one day later with that logic. It’s still a dick move.
Just like pills that expire in 1 year which actually take 10 years to decay. They want to sell you stuff and obviously marketing works wonders on you.
What’s the point? Why do you care?
I don’t care. I just pointed it out, you seem to have taken it personally.
Still nothing about refrigerated ketchup only lasting 1 month.
From the article:
The Hygiene Package in turn gives wide latitude to operators in the responsible management of food safety. In general and specific terms, with precise reference to:
(a) compliance with microbiological criteria for food products;
(b) the procedures necessary to achieve the objectives set to achieve the purposes of the
this regulation;
© compliance with food temperature control requirements;
(d) maintenance of the cold chain;
(e) sampling and analysis’. (7)
The determination of the shelf life must therefore come based on appropriate tests (both accelerated and forward), to be framed within the framework of HACCP manuals. These should provide, where appropriate, for the use of accredited laboratories for the specific tests to be carried out. Therefore, referring to industry best practices and international standards that may be applicable to the analytical methods adopted.
Again, companies run lab tests to determine this because they can be held liable for lack of food safety. You should find that ketchup company and ask them to provide the tests that marked the product is unsafe after one month opened.
I don’t care. I just pointed it out
What’s the point in pointing it out?
you seem to have taken it personally.
Why would you say this? Make sense. You’re wasting people’s time by pointing out random shit without having a point. It’s this time-wasting threadcrap that’s the problem.
But that gives you too much credit. You wanted to try to suggest that I don’t know French from Spanish and where the ketchup comes from. That’s why you “just pointed out” the red herring.
You should find that ketchup company and ask them to provide the tests that marked the product is unsafe after one month opened.
That’s not what happened. By your own admission, they tested at the 1 month mark and quit. Law is not the point of contention. An asshole can be simultaneously legally compliant.
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The vinegar and natural acidity of the tomatoes will keep it from going bad for months.
Ignore the “best by” dates, and expiration dates, and trust your nose.
Did you know that milk and eggs were pretty much the only foods that had an expiration date 30 years ago? Then, Budweiser started their marketing campaign on “born on” date, and that was picked up by the food industry as a whole as a “best by” date, and now every damn thing including salt has a date on in. It’s 99% bullshit. The purpose is to prompt you to consume more.
