bear in mind those date are to protect the seller and maker, they have no
real relationship to how long you can use a product, Lee
"Michael OConnor" > wrote in message
...

> I've got salad dressing, not as old as your stuff, but about 3 years
> old. Bottled Caesar, and bottled 3 cheese ranch. I don't want to use
> them because they are so old, and I don't want to throw them out. So
> they just sit there. I started making my own vinagrettes, so didn't
> use them.

I remember about 15 years ago I was at my parents house and went thru
their refrigerator and noticed they had bottles of salad dressing in
there that had expired ten years before. Totally grossed me out.

The oldest food item I have in my fridge is a bottle of lemon juice.
The expiration date on it says 2009 but I've been using it
sporadically and it still tastes fine. I guess because of the acidic
nature it will last a long, long time.