Bacon Sell By Date

HappyMJ

Bacon is made by preserving in salt brine. It can last a lot longer than the best before date on the packet.

mazza111

Don't think it will last that much longer though, that's 5 months..... nah, wouldn't be me taking the chance.

eleanor73

August??? I will eat most things and never look at dates but even I wouldn't go there!

LadyCoupon

If it was me, I wouldn't have even asked, it would have gone straight in the bin. I know some eat things past their dates, but I don't.

Linda32

jimd-f wrote: »

of course you can use it.
i regularly freeze bacon and have some thats been in the freezer for around a year.
i don't see what the issue is.

Yes so do I although not a year, more like 3 weeks, I use it all by then.

In the freezer is very very different to 5 months out of date in the fridge.!!!!

geordie_joe

Linda32 wrote: »

But what I mean is, it must need to be really pretty acurate if it says a full date not just a month and year.

No, it doesn't need to be pretty accurate, in fact it can't be accurate at all.

The law says it must be, in the manufacturers opinion, the minimum amount of time the item will last for.

Food lasts for different times depending on how you treat/store it. So the manufacturer will assume the worst, because they don't know how the consumer will treat/store it. For example, when you take it out of the fridge in the supermarket they don't know how long it will take you to put it into your fridge. Will you rush how and have it your fridge within ten minutes? Or will you wander round the supermarket for an hour, then go shopping for shoes and have lunch in a cafe. Then forget about your shopping and leave it in your car boot for a couple of hours after you get home?

They also don't know if you have your fridge on it's coldest setting or it's warmest.

They really don't know what you are going to do with it, so assume the worst and put the absolute minimum date they can.

Also it is in the manufacturers interest to have as short a date as possible on it, because they want you to either eat it or throw it out, so you buy more.

nesssie1702

rachbc wrote: »

the whole point of turning pigs into bacon is to preserve it - so it lasts ages. Secondly the vacuum packing keeps the nasties out - so yes, I'd open it, sniff and use it seems ok

Vacuum packing does not keep the "nasties" out. Anaerobic bacteria will grow in vac packs, so bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum (which can kill) will grow unless there are factors present that will prevent it.

Tamsin_Temrin

Thanks for the replies - I think the reason I kept missing checking the date when cleaning fridge is that it looked absolutely fine. Its all pink and lovely.

As it is Best Buy brand its probably stuffed with preservatives and stuff, and probably not full of nasties, but Ive thrown it.

I dont risk it with tins or anything else but this just looked so fresh. Wasnt there a story about meat being repacked with new use by dates? It makes me think about buying meat

Swipe

I'll normally eat anything that's out of date (within reason) but there's no way I'd consider bacon from last August.

HappyMJ

nesssie1702 wrote: »

Vacuum packing does not keep the "nasties" out. Anaerobic bacteria will grow in vac packs, so bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum (which can kill) will grow unless there are factors present that will prevent it.

That is why one of the ingredients in bacon is sodium nitrite. That will help prevent that bacteria from growing.

Tamsin_Temrin wrote: »

Thanks for the replies - I think the reason I kept missing checking the date when cleaning fridge is that it looked absolutely fine. Its all pink and lovely.

As it is Best Buy brand its probably stuffed with preservatives and stuff, and probably not full of nasties, but Ive thrown it.

I dont risk it with tins or anything else but this just looked so fresh. Wasnt there a story about meat being repacked with new use by dates? It makes me think about buying meat

Bacon doesn't have a use by date as such as it's a cured meat. It can last for a long time. Tins can be used years after the best before date. They are preserved in an oxygen free environment in a tin. There is no reason to throw them out at any time.