How old would a BBQ sauce need to be to NOT USE IT?

[buckytom]

Find that annoying person at the office who drives you crazy and give him a taste. If he does not show up at work the next day then put it in the trash

gb, the sauce you sent me is pretty good. do i really have to ship it back?

if it were sealed, like by water bath or steam canning, i wouldn't hesitate to use it, even after 4 years.
but opened in the fridge, i'm not so sure. is a few bucks of sauce worth you getting violently ill?

 

[GB]

Oh oh did I send the wrong sauce? I had better check the one I am eating

I was watching Good Eats the other day and Alton was talking about making pickles. He said that most nasties can not stand acidic environments like vinegar, but some can and will live and multiply in it. Since it is so inexpensive and easy to make I would toss the 4 year old stuff and just make a new batch. Chances are you would be fine eating the old stuff, but why risk it?

 

[ironchef]

Glad you didn't get sick, but anytime you eat any type of food that has been in storage without any real safety measures you're basically playing roulette.