Posted 20 April 2023

Expired Pataks sauce safe to eat after BBE?

Just noticed I've got a jar of Pataks Vindaloo jar of cooking sauce that's around 3 weeks past its best before date.

Is it safe to consume without any health effects, other than perhaps the taste may not be as it would be when opened well within BBE?
Community Updates
SaturdayGigs's avatar
New Comment

31 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. PS5's avatar
    Yes, Best Before End is advisory for quality / taste.
    Use By is for safety.
  2. jco83's avatar
    Best Before dates aren't the same as Use By dates. I'm sure it will be fine (edited)
  3. Headnogood's avatar
    As an anonymous poster on a deal website, with zero responsibility for what happens next …….. you’ll be fine, go for it.
  4. Adster's avatar
    I had a block of cheese that just seemed to never go mouldy. Obviously once it got a few months out of date nobody dared eat it. So it stayed in the fridge, minding its own business and never getting mouldy. That was until one day 7 or so years later we were VERY drunk and hungry, there was no other cheese in the house and a dare was issued...

    It was insanely strong, but tasted surprisingly nice.
    Ferris's avatar
    How did you manage that? Guessing it wasn't cheddar, which starts going green the moment you look away from it for a second.
  5. thatwasclose's avatar
    Author
    Thanks everyone for your replies

    If I don't report back here tomorrow .....
    CalmerChameleon's avatar
    ... you might have been sent to hospital after falling into korma eating out of date sauces?!
  6. tcf's avatar
    Had a six-year out-of-date tin of baked beans last month. Absolutely fine.
  7. CalmerChameleon's avatar
    Sauces usually have so much salt, sugar or oil (or a combination of any of those) that they won't go off (if air sealed) for a long long time after the bbe date. Of course, use your common sense. If it smells or looks off, don't eat it!
  8. HonourableGentleman's avatar
    We've had a rummage in the cupboards recently and anything a year past was chucked out, everything else was kept.

    Out of date Angel Delight (6 months) was not nice.
    turtles1's avatar
    Watched a film with a similar title once.

    Was alright tbf.
  9. sm9690's avatar
    Well the OP hasn't reported back so maybe it's not safe to eat
  10. Mr.Plow's avatar
    Vindaloo.....I'd be surprised if there weren't any side effects (edited)
  11. charleaward81's avatar
    Don't do it, you will end up so sick, especially after 3 weeks. Once the date expires the little nanobots inside the sauce start working overtime to make it taste yakky, doesn't take them long nor ally within 24 hours of date expiring after they have finished with the taste they then move onto the next phase of the dastardly plan, usually start of week 2 the little buggers then start to make evil little nanites that when you ingest them they make their way to your stomach and start attacking your little army men that were happily going about their way mushin up your food and pushing it down a tube to make way for more food but as the evil little buggers start to slaughter and kill them off it, the decomposing bodies of your little army men will start to make you feel sick and unwell

    Safe to stay it's best not to eat 😁
    innocent's avatar
    Vindaloo itself kills 99.99% of germs 👀
  12. Magda2's avatar
    it will be absolutely fine to eat. I have eaten food with out of dates much longer than these with no ill effects.
  13. DaveG46's avatar
    Try it you'll soon find out 😁
  14. jonnyholywoodni's avatar
    As they say in India " get it India"
  15. innocent's avatar
    Safe as houses. Enjoy.
  16. wpj's avatar
    We tend to have a guessing game when fishing in the recesses of the cupboard. A few years is fairly common.
  17. bozo007's avatar
    Taste and smell will tell you.
  18. Nikita_Percival's avatar
    It will be absolutely fine. Loads of places sell stock gone past the date. I have one near me and was selling chocolate 6 months past the date and not a problem at all (edited)
  19. louiselouise's avatar
    Best before dates are just a worst case scenario advisory, it's not as though food decides to go mouldy at the strike of midnight.

    I'd be more cautious - obviously - with things like fresh veg, fruit, meat, fish, dairy etc but if you're unsure, sniff it, then taste a little. As it's a jar sauce you'll be fine using it for some time after its suggested date.
  20. Ferris's avatar
    Used a jar of jalfrezi sauce with a date in 2019 the other day. Was delicious!
  21. C0mm0d0re_K1d's avatar
    BBE is guidance. As long as its still airtight and the lid hasn't gone rusty, it'll probably be 99.99% fine.

    You can see if the seal has gone, as the top of the lid will move if pressed. When you open it, you should hear a pop sound as normal. Look at it, smell it to make sure.

    You'll be cooking it anyway. Just make sure its heated up and throughly cooked through. Taste a tiny bit, in the unlikely event it tastes bad, bin it.
  22. HellRazer's avatar
    Don't do it you'll turn into an Indian.
  23. Saeed's avatar
    You got nothing to loo-se
  24. d2rry's avatar
    Just add lots of extra chilli and balsamic vinegar!

    i.e. if you can still "taste" it, its not a proper Friday night Vindaloo!

    Seriously BBE is only mainly about flavour not much else!
  25. devi123's avatar
    Oh yeah you'll be fine. I work in food dev - you have plenty of time to use it! Think about what's in it - lots of fat and acid and salt.
's avatar