To say that people who put their tomato sauce/ketchup in the fridge are plain wrong.

[Salmotrutta]

They just are.

There is no need.

Similarly, the deluded people who put eggs in the fridge are wrong.

Eggs are best left at room temperature.

Fact.

And don't get me started on butter...

"I don't understand the competitive laxness over food hygiene. Keeping things cold slows down bacteria growth. Keep it in the cupboard, bacteria will grow faster. I prefer not to have to finish the bottle in a week or to eat it when it tastes odd so I keep it in the fridge. Ketchup has less salt in it than previously so bacteria grows faster. It's quite simple."

I totally agree.

I don't see it as laxness I see it as personal taste. DS wants his cupboard temperature. Fine by me.

I put ketchup in the fridge after learning during food hygiene training that un-refrigerated ketchup is thought to be the leading cause of salmonella in this country...

There's a big difference between a preference for room temperature ketchup and swaggering around laughing heartily whilst chewing on some green chicken and flicking the V's at the idea of food hygiene.

I just follow the label. Tiptrees for example advise keeping their sauce in the fridge as there are no preservatives. For the same reason I keep jam in the fridge.

I put ketchup in the fridge most of the time because that it tells you to do that on the bottle and I presume that the manufacturer must have a reason for it. I didn't really think it was necessary considering how much vinegar is in it though so I'm a bit alarmed to hear that it is a leading cause of salmonella. We do go through it quite quickly though so hopefully it has been okay.

I have just looked it up and the reason that it must now be stored in the fridge is because it contains less salt and the preservative sodium benzoate than it used to. The vinegar slows down the bacterial growth but it still grows. It is alright in the cupboard for a couple of weeks though I think.

I don't refrigerate. YANBU to think you don't have to but YABU you think their is no need, especially in the summer months, especially as it's recommended on the labels. From Heinz itself:

Q: Do I need to refrigerate Ketchup?

A: Because of its natural acidity, Heinz® Ketchup is shelf-stable. However, its stability after opening can be affected by storage conditions. We recommend that this product, like any processed food, be refrigerated after opening. Refrigeration will maintain the best product quality after opening.

I await a visit from the Condiment Police...

Those of you who keep opened jam in the cupboard, aren't you confronted with a fuzzy layer of mold every time you go to spread it on your toast?

Everything goes in the fridge once it's been opened.

I don't eat jam but that goes in the fridge here as does pickle and chutney .

But ketchup, sauces, pickles are preserves. The clue is in the name.

Yeah they're preserved all the time the bottle/jar is airtight. Once it's not it's no longer preserved, it's just food in a jar.

Can't get my knickers in a twist over this anyway, who cares man.

You don't have to. Nobody's going to come round and make you. But it should be kept in the fridge if you want to minimise your chances of food poisoning and rank-tasting ketchup. I don't find it difficult to do. But you make your own choices!

at "Condiment Police".

If only I'd put "lighthearted" in the title...

It's ok Salmo, when the inevitable knock comes I will get DH to keep them talking at the front door just long enough to hurl the ketchup into the fridge door.

Oooh look, there's a wee !!

Happy St David's Day!

Lol- ketchup in the fridge is non-U.

I mean that someone would seriously consider ketchup storage habits a marker of social class.

It's because the UC don't care, isn't it. They put on their threadbare tweeds, fetch their antique bubbling ketchup from the pantry and climb into their battered 800 year old Landrover for a drive round the estate.

But starting a thread boasting about how laid back you are for storing your ketchup against food hygiene advice means you do care, aha!

I suppose that if you are a social climber you need to gen up about ketchup storing- but if you want to climb it would be a good idea to find out if they have ketchup in the first place!

Oh shit it's lighthearted! OAP, you need to get MNHQ to edit the title.

Whoops. I don't know if you are past pension age, OP, apols if that's inaccurate.

The tomato sauce lives in the fridge here, as does any other jars and bottles that have been opened. It's too hot here to leave opened jars in cupboards.
Eggs go in the fridge too or the bloody things will hatch if left on the bench in summer.

I loathe ketchup. DC and DGC love it, and always ask for it when they visit (about once a month). After I had thrown away 2 bottles that were 3/4 full, but had grown green fur, I started to keep it in the fridge - the bottle that's in there now is about 2 years old and still going strong
Win - win