Food safety

babyshoes

Personally, I would have opened it for the sniff test, then cooked it and frozen the cooked bacon if you are planning to use it in something cooked anyway.

meritaten

open the pack and wash it under the tap - they always smell a bit funny in vacuum packs! now leave it a few minutes - go back and smell it - does it smell ok? does it look ok? if both answers are yes I would go ahead and cook it in your usual way.

valk_scot

No. That's too long for me. I'd have a think about it if it were one week but that's more like what...three and a bit?

Owain_Moneysaver

It should have been cured in brine for about 10 days so if it's been vac sealed and in the fridge it should still be okay.

That assumes it's proper gammon. If it's reconstituted trotters with added water I wouln't like to risk it.

Mrs_Chip

Should be fine, like meritaten said, open it and wash it. If it smells ok cook it. If it tastes ok, eat it!

I often find unopened vac packed bacon lurking at the back of the fridge, it's always ok weeks after use by/sell by date.

meritaten

after many years in retail - I can say that vacuum packed foods are often 'good' weeks after their shelf life. usually they are 'preserved' before being packed and the producers ERR on the side of safety by many weeks. as do producers of tinned goods! though it can be years in thier case!
our mums, grans and ancestors didnt have use by or sell by - they used their eyes, noses and common sense! in this day and age food producers are extremely cautious about how long items will last............hence the frenzy in the whoopsy section. canny shoppers know that the items are perfectly good to eat either straight away or when their eyes and noses tell them its time.

Valli

Open and check, like Meritaten says. I'd risk it if it smelled ok.

sunnyone

We had smoked bacon sanwiches for breakfast today use by the 13 Nov and that is definatly not the "oldest" bacon we have ever eaten, we all have compromised immune systems yet we havent ever had any ill effects!

Kevie192

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Well, it's just as well that I haven't eaten meat in the last 20 years or I could have killed myself by now! Thank you, I didn't know that.

Very true... Most of the 'smoked' bacon you get in the supermarket these days isn't smoked at all, it just has smoke-flavoured chemicals added to it!

moments_of_sanity

Thank you to everyone for your posts, I have opened the packaging, washed, left and checked it again and it looks/smells absolutely fine so am going to risk it..........if I don't come back on here and post again it means it wasn't good to eat and I have killed us all !! :rotfl: