sachets of sauce from cafes etc - expiry dates?

[joko]

shouldn't these have expiry dates on?

or will they last indefinitely?

people nick them and stick them in a cupboard and they could be there for years.
or the cafe tops up the containers before they are empty, making the bottoms ones be there for ages.

they are also never refrigerated.

so shouldn't they, by law have dates on?

thanks

[WendyS]

In my experience, people who nick sachets of sauce from cafes do so to save a few pennies but when they get them home they almost invariably never use them and throw them in the bin because it's too much trouble to hunt down scissors and open them, so it's probably a waste of moneh printing "best Before" dates on them anyway.

[country_boy]

I only nick Heinz Mayonnaise from Sainsburys cafes and they don't last long!!! I don't think anyone who nicks them is worried about dates! The box probably has the date on so legally covers it I guess.

[country_boy]

What about sachets from BK, MacD etc - do they have dates on? I bet loads of people have left over sachets in their glove compartments for ages that they use later, getting nice and warm in the summer! Probably just me then!!

[ermintrude35]

...the best before dates are printed on the boxes, they do not need to be refrigerated , you only refrigerate sauces once thay are opened, they are there to be used in the cafe, if customers remove them , then it is up to them how they store/use them by....

[joko]

i realise that ermintrude - but the fact is people do take them - better to warn them that potentially poison them.

i have seen some with dates on, but not many.

i'd have thought it would protect the manufacturers somewhat as unscrupulous cafe owners may be using old stock, and the customers wouldn't know

[Dee Sa]

my pal's husband saved all the ketchup sachets for yonks, then when he got bored he squeezed them into the ketchup bottle, as he crossed the kitchen to put the bottle away he tripped, the bottle smashed on the floor , his language was rife but he never took extra sachets again.
Hope you read this David.

[sue11]

I own a Subway sandwich bar and did for a while have sachets of sauce for our salad range. The boxes had the dates on, but staff are supposed to use FIFO (first in, first out) and rotate stock . Customers did used to nick our stock and if there are any out there that are reading this - RETURN THEM IMMEDIATELY!!
By the way I heard that last year the most common cause of food poisoning was from ketchup that people stored in the kitchen cupboard, so my advice would be to refridgerate all your nicked stock anyway!