When opened eat within 3 days?

Lifeforms

There was a program I saw quite recently about things going off, and what did come up with that we are not sensitive enough to detect if it's gone off or not, in early dodgy stages.

There is a stage when things definitely look bad, and smell bad, but between that period there can be bugs that we don't detect, till it ends up coming back out both ends
I recall something about chicken being like that, as well as some other meats.

Things like supermarket sausages are highly processed foods. Usually the lower end of meat cuts, ie not the stuff we'd use in a roast presentable wise, as well as the time from slaughter to this processing, to manufacturing, to cooking (in the case of cooked sausages in boxes), packaging, boxing to then shipping to shops, to being taken home, left in a fridge under probably not the best of conditions (over loading, not allowing the cold air to flow properly).
Long story short I believe the once opened reports on "fresh" things like that, and wouldn't have touched them after the 3 days, this is the same with any kind of meat/cooked food product.

I don't always live on use by dates though. Same as cheese that is mouldy on the outside I will use, but only after I've cut off a huge area as the mould can go deeper than you can see/detect. Ideally you should throw it away, but meh, gotta play with fire sometimes!

welshee

I eat ham for snapping that is within the use by date but may have been open for 10 days as long as refrigerated when opened and i ain't dead yet !

Gulp.

adouglasmhor

I often see people buying meat that is obviously blown in supermarkets, the packaging is inflated and they still buy it and I presume eat it.

HappyMJ

Most things I'd eat a week maybe more after opening without worry. Always the smell test and the look of the product. Only exception for me is rice...I always cook rice fresh.

frugal_shopper_2

Cooked sausages keep for 7 days if kept refrigerated.

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Hmm we don't personally go past the 3 days, i think it has something to do with once the pack is opened it is no longer in a sealed germ free enviroment and the going off process starts once it hits air. I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong.
I've just had to throw bacon out which i opened last weekend for that reason. Smelt and looked fine but couldn't risk it.

Same for when you cook some meat yourself like a chicken, you have to use it up within 3 days.

You are partially right about the packaging but how the packaging affects the product varies according to the specific product & the packaging type.
For example a bag of cut salad leaves would of been washed in a chlorine solution 20 times stronger than is used in a swimming pool then rinsed & sealed in a bag with modified atmosphere packaging (ie. oxygen replaced with nitrogen). The chlorine would of drastically reduced the bacteria levels & the lack of oxygen significantly reduces the reproduction rate of the remaining bacteria. Once the bag is opened the bacteria can start breeding at normal rates again so the product spoils within 2-3 days.
A product like vacuum packed bacon (which will inevitably be full of salt to help preserve it) on the other hand has built in safeguards on the dates anyway, smoked bacon will last 1 week past the date if stored sealed & refrigerated, unsmoked will keep for 2 weeks past the date if stored sealed & refrigerated. Once opened smoked bacon keeps should be used within 7 days unsmoked within 14 days or either type can be cooked then refrigerated but should be used within 7 days.

The home cooked chicken you mentioned actually keeps for 7 days in a refrigerator not 3, this could change depending how it is cooked. Chicken on it's own lasts 7 days but for chicken in a sauce or a a pie or whatever else you have made the number of days is determined by the ingredient with the shortest shelf life.

Fire_Fox

I eat stuff all the time that has been around too long, I very very rarely get a stomach upset. The last time was several years ago: a takeaway curry that I knew I had not reheated properly but was too lazy to go back to the microwave, can't even remember when before that. You can keep your immune system including the gut flora healthy with a combination of nutrition (fibre, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids) and supplements (freeze dried probiotics). I am more cautious with chicken, prawns and rice tho.

Sausages are packed with preservatives, given they were in date they should be fine if they have been stored in the refrigerator in a clean sealed container. I'd be more wary if DS was very young or the sausages were expected to sit around in a hot room for hours before eating, but those are an issue regardless of date of opening.

lindseykim13

frugal_shopper wrote: »

Cooked sausages keep for 7 days if kept refrigerated.


You are partially right about the packaging but how the packaging affects the product varies according to the specific product & the packaging type.
For example a bag of cut salad leaves would of been washed in a chlorine solution 20 times stronger than is used in a swimming pool then rinsed & sealed in a bag with modified atmosphere packaging (ie. oxygen replaced with nitrogen). The chlorine would of drastically reduced the bacteria levels & the lack of oxygen significantly reduces the reproduction rate of the remaining bacteria. Once the bag is opened the bacteria can start breeding at normal rates again so the product spoils within 2-3 days.
A product like vacuum packed bacon (which will inevitably be full of salt to help preserve it) on the other hand has built in safeguards on the dates anyway, smoked bacon will last 1 week past the date if stored sealed & refrigerated, unsmoked will keep for 2 weeks past the date if stored sealed & refrigerated. Once opened smoked bacon keeps should be used within 7 days unsmoked within 14 days or either type can be cooked then refrigerated but should be used within 7 days.

The home cooked chicken you mentioned actually keeps for 7 days in a refrigerator not 3, this could change depending how it is cooked. Chicken on it's own lasts 7 days but for chicken in a sauce or a a pie or whatever else you have made the number of days is determined by the ingredient with the shortest shelf life.

I'm afriad 7 days for a cooked chicken is not right from what i have read.
http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html

HappyMJ

lindseykim13 wrote: »

I'm afriad 7 days for a cooked chicken is not right from what i have read.
http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html

Those figures are very conservative to account for the warmest fridge and poor handling. I'd double all of those figures.

lindseykim13

HappyMJ wrote: »

Those figures are very conservative to account for the warmest fridge and poor handling. I'd double all of those figures.

Out of choice though, i'm more concerned that there are people possibly reading this thread who will then go away and think it is perfectly safe to eat their 7 day old cooked chicken.

It is not adviced by food safety sites to keep cooked meats for more than 3-4days based on studies. I'd rather follow those-being someone who suffers from digestive problems i have seen the life long effects food poisoning can have on someone.

SUESMITH_2

i would eat the sausages no probs