I don't know either. They do say do not refrigerate. I looked in the Wilton store web page to see if the description says anything about that, but it doesn't. Maybe you should go to Wilton.com and ask there.
If I may ask, what do you use them for? I found them to be very hard to squeeze and maintain pressure. I used to buy the red ones only so I didn't have to make red ... but now I just make the red bc.
I found them hard to use, too. It's so hard to squeeze them enough for the icing to come out and decorate at the same time. Plus, I felt like I could never get it all out. I only buy black now, for when I just need a quick outline or something so I don't have to make black. But I don't use it from the tube - I squeeze it into a parchment bag and use it that way. I've also used those squeeze cans and those are really hard to use, too, and that taste HORRIBLE! They were on sale at Party City for 50 cents so I got a bunch, thinking I could use them whenever I just needed a little bit and didn't need to make red or black or whatever. There's a reason why they were on sale! They are impossible to use! Once again, I found myself squeezing what I could into a parchment bag, but it was so hard to squeeze that nozzle for morethan a few seconds.
Oh- back to your question - I don't think you need to refrigerate them, even after you open them, cuz there's nothing in there that will go bad. I'm not sure I'd keep it for years or anything, but maybe a couple months?
That icing goes bad very quickly. I had a tube I used, then tried to use the remainder later in the week and it was NASTY! It stunk, too. Do not save what you have left over, it is just trash. It gets all crusty and unusable, too. It's just gross.
I also put it in a piping bag to use it, don't use it out of the tube. I use it when I need red or black, but I am also getting to the point where for red I'm gonna just use BC.
Thanks everyone. I had the same problem sweezing the tube. I didn't think about transferring to an icing bag to make it easier on the hands. I bought them for my FBCT since it takes so much black to color homemade icing. I didn't try my black americolor yet hopefully, it doesn't take so much black like Wilton colors.
I didn't find that they crust. I don't know if it's the weather or the ingredients. When I made my FBCT I decided to freeze it overnight to see what would happen, and it turned out ok to me. After I placed it on the cake I noticed later during the day the tube icing remained soft.
Thanks again for the info.
Melanie
Hey Melanie - just a suggestion - next time you need to make black buttercream, try making chocolate and coloring it black from that. It tastes better AND it takes a whole lot less color! But I still use the store bought when I just need a little bit.
I'm like Pyxxydust, I only use the black for quick outlines and squeeze it into a piping bag and forget the tube. Best off luck to you!
When I use need black, I use Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge frosting. It's just about black. It tastes great. The only thing is you can't really do the star-fill in method with it because it's too soft. I have stiffened it with powdered sugar when I really needed to do stars; but prefer not to.
If you look at any of my pictures EVERYTHING that is black is the Dark Chocolate Fudge frosting.
I dont' know how long they last, but i used one to fix a cake last minute, then pitched b/c i thought they tasted nasty. I love my americolor...its awesome. I used it for all the black and red I've done and it doesn't take near as much and it doesn't change the flavor at all...which i think is pretty amazing.
I'm not sure how long they last either once they've been opened. I've tried storing the leftovers at room temp and in the fridge. Either way they end up tasting like old candy 
One good use for the tubes though is filling in designs. You can microwave the tubes until the icing flows (not too hot) and fill in designs quickly with it. It sets back up really smooth.
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