Condiments: how long it lasts

3 foodsChecked 25 Oct 2026

Sauces, pickles and spreads raise one question more than any other: does the jar need the fridge once it is open? These pages separate what the official sources say about safety from what they say about quality, because at least one extension chart notes that refrigerating some commercial condiments after opening is about quality, not safety. Each number links to the USDA FoodKeeper entry or the university extension page it comes from, with the date we checked it. When two sources give different times for the same cell, both appear and the stricter one comes first, and an uncovered cell says Not stated.

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