Archive:Quick Questions on food safety / sell by / use by dates

pigpen

Unless it has a revolting pong I'd eat it.. just by the aroma you'd know if it was beyond eating.

If I bought meat from the butcher I'd expect it to be fine in the fridge for the best part of a week.. they only keep the meat chilled in a shop they don't usually freeze it.

dogcat_2

I think I'd smell it, look at it, sometimes it sort of changes colour the longer its been around. Then If all was ok I'd eat it!

Nikkisun

OK - so digging around in my cupboard I have discovered a pack of cup-a-soups with a best before date of sometime in 2007!!

Does powdered soup really go off or will it be ok to eat?

2009ismyyear

Fairly sure it'll be fine if unopened. The 'best before' means literally that - it's best before that date but will probably be Ok way after. Completely different from more perishable things that have a 'use by' date.

I'd try one - you'll soon tell if it looks/smells dodgy :-)

Debt_Free_Chick

Dried food can't "go off". Worst that can happen is that it will taste stale and unappetising.

Nikkisun

Thanks - have packed it for my lunch tomorrow - worst that will happen is i'll have to come home from work sick!!

Reverbe

I wondered this yesterday with an asparagus one but it was rancid in that the bits were grey tho not as old as your packet tho... Let us know how it is

Debt_Free_Chick

telboyo wrote: »

Who knows? It may have been in the butchers for 1 day or 1 week, if it was stored in a cold fridge it will probably be alright. Some people reckon that meat that has been "hung" for a month or more is better, does any one know at waht temperature meat should be hung?

Meat in a butchers has almost certainly "been there" for a week or more - but it rather depends on the butcher.

Generally, the whole carcass is stored in a cold room - this is part of the hanging process. Hanging meat is done to the whole carcass - you can't/don't joint and then hang. Well, you can to a very limited degree, but a good butcher wouldn't do this - they hang the whole carcass.

We've rather forgotten about hanging to a great degree - I'm pretty confident that none of the meat sold in supermarkets is hung in the traditional sense.

Hanging serves three important purposes - it allows the meat to dry slightly. If you compare a well-hung joint from the butcher with one from the supermarket, you'll find that the butcher's joint doesn't ooze loads of blood. In contrast, the supermarket joint sits on a sodden "sanitary towel" :eek: and still leaks blood when you take it out of its plastic cage :eek:

Secondly, hanging "matures" the meat .... it improves the flavour, partly as the drying process removes moisture and therefore concentrates the flavour. But also as the meat is starting on its long decomposing journey (and it is long!).

Thirdly - again as part of the decomposing process - hanging tenderises the meat as the dense fibres begin to break down.

Beef can safely be hung for 35-40 days - but you'll not find it hung for that long. I understand that the good old EU prevents beef from being hung for more than ....??? not sure, but I think it's 33 days. In general, you'll struggle to find a butcher who hangs beef for more than 28 days.

Lamb - I think 21 days is about the norm.

Pork - is not hung for too long

Chicken/Turkey - for a few days, if you're lucky. Probably no more than a week.

Game - varies

It's vital that you understand that hanging a whole carcass in a cold room is nowhere near storing a cut joint in a fridge and you should not attempt to store a fresh joint in the fridge for too long (2-3 days).

A traditional butcher who cuts a joint for you will deliver meat which is more fresh than the supermarket. The supermarket has the joint delivered in its packaging - so work back ..... from the delivery time, the packing, the delivery time from abbatoir to butchery etc .....

I reckon that the joint on your supermarket shelf today was probably butchered a week ago - yuk! :eek: And it hasn't been "hung"!

Finally, be wary of supermarket claims of "matured" meat. Usually, this is a joint which has not been hung at all, but left in a vacuum pack for a week or more, where it nastily marinates in its own blood (see above for the clue: it's not dry!!). For this reason, don't store supermarket meat for too long - buy it to use pretty much immediately and certainly within 48 hours.

But - as others say - don't religiously throw meat away after 48 hours - sniff and taste.

I would smell it and then taste it to see if it was ok before i wasted any other ingredients with it it. If you don't want to eat raw meat fry a little bit off it and see if it is ok.If you wake in the morning feeling fine the meat is probably ok

Good advice, IMHO

kezz

Sorry, I couldn't think of a better title. Hi, I made a pan of mince and veg for tomorrow's diner but have accidentally left it on the hob with the lid on so it has taken ages to cool. A couple of hours :eek: Do you think it will still be safe to put in the fridge to eat tomorrow or will it be swimming with bacteria? I am so forgetful lately.

stilernin

kezz wrote: »

Sorry, I couldn't think of a better title. Hi, I made a pan of mince and veg for tomorrow's diner but have accidentally left it on the hob with the lid on so it has taken ages to cool. A couple of hours :eek: Do you think it will still be safe to put in the fridge to eat tomorrow or will it be swimming with bacteria? I am so forgetful lately.

As long as you reheat it to piping hot, it will be fine.