I know, I know—you’ve lived by the sniff test your whole life. You open the jar, take a deep whiff, and if it doesn’t smell like a crime scene, you proceed. But here’s the kicker: your nose is a terrible scientist. It can’t detect the invisible bacteria that are throwing a rave in your sauce after day six.
One time I sniffed a jar of Prego that looked fine but had a tiny white fuzz on the lid. I thought, “Eh, it’s just lid dandruff.” Spoiler: it was mold. I spent the next morning apologizing to my toilet. Moral of the story: trust the calendar, not your nostrils.
What About Unopened Prego? (The Apocalypse Sauce)
An unopened jar of Prego is basically a time capsule. It can sit in your pantry for 12 to 18 months past the “best by” date, as long as it’s cool and dark. That’s longer than some celebrity marriages. But even then, if the jar is dented, rusty, or looks like it survived a bowling alley fight—toss it.
Pro tip: if the lid is bulging or the sauce shoots out like a geyser when you open it, that’s not a pasta dinner—that’s a science experiment gone wrong. Step away. No amount of garlic bread can fix botulism.
