Is it Ok to eat meat

andyrules

that has been in the freezer since Nov 19th? It's a pre-packaged joint of beef from Tesco, and it says use within one month. Anyone know if this is just over cautious? Don't want to poison us all!

lil_me

19th November 2006 ? maybe be a little concerned, but I would still defrost it, make sure it smelt ok and if it did then eat it. Or did you mean 2007, then definately eat it.

Freezing as long as it's a deep freeze and not just an icebox preserves food, it keeps it at the quality that it was at. Over a year in there it might get 'burnt' from the freezer or dry a little, but as long as dealt with properly when fresh and cooked properly then it shouldn't poison you.

puss_in_boots_4

i would eat it .... but that doesnt mean anything ... i dont look at dates when in the freezer .... i usually defrost it and if it has too much freezer burn throw it .... if it only has a little cut it off .... good luck!!!

Farway

It will be fine to eat, Like puss in boots I ignore all dates in freezer.

The texture may not be quite as good as prime beef from the butcher, but let's be honest unless you have Heston Bloomingwhatsname around for dinner no one will taste any differance

Stephen_Leak

Welcome to the Use By Date Survivors' Club.

kippers

I'm always eating meat that says freeze for upto 1 month, ages afterwards and i'm still here to tell the tale.

binnie

Me too, I bet I have a few things lying in there since 1988, lol.

beachbeth

kippers wrote: »

I'm always eating meat that says freeze for upto 1 month, ages afterwards and i'm still here to tell the tale.

Me too! And I have a super sensitive stomach and have to be really careful what I eat. I have eaten things from the freezer and then realised they're a couple of months after the use by date and even Ive been ok!

Just make sure it smells and looks ok and cooked properly and you should be fine.

allIcouldwishfor

If you know your freezer hasn't been subject to any power-cuts/door-left-open-by-kids/fuse-blew-while-you-were-out kind of incidents, I'd say use it!

I thought from the title this thread was going to be a debate about the ethics of non-vegetarianism. Should have known better!

thriftlady_2

Keeping meat and other food in the freezer too long does not cause food poisoning. As others have said it can lead to a certain loss of quality depending how long it's been there.

The link between food poisoning and frozen food is to do with defrosting raw food then refreezing it raw, or in not letting certain foods defrost or freeze properly so that bugs have an ideal environment in which to multiply.

I would most certainly eat meat that's been frozen for over a month, like others I don't take notice of freezing dates -stuff from a butcher doesn't come with dates on. Likewise my veg comes from a farmshop and therefore my swede doesn't have a use-by date on it either

LuciferTDark

I had some Salmon in the freezer that I bought in November 2006 & cooked 3 days ago, I'm still alive I think