Beef mince past use by date - bin it?

helen21_2

bargainqueen wrote:

I'd make a spicy chilli and if the family have a reaction, blame it on the spices

OMG always try it out on the kids first :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

helen21

apprentice_tycoon

bingo_bango wrote:

Whilst this is true, you should never keep the meat for this length of time AFTER it has been jointed. Sitting in the fridge is not the same as hanging the beef. TBH, I would rarely use mince more than 24 hours after purchase, and I'm a time served butcher. You CAN use it, but the risk of food poisoning becomes greatly increased in minced meat after 24 hours. Whole joints will have a slightly longer shelf life.

True, it's because of all the cut surface areas in mince that are exposed to the air - a carcass is still 'sealed'

Rave

The Hormel foods guidance page reckons that minced/ground been has a shorter shelf life than whole cuts of beef; it's also full of warnings about not eating out of date meat. I'd probably have thrown it away too- but I'm always a bit perplexed as to how the guidance can be that heating food to 75C for five minutes kills all the bacteria, and yet you shouldn't risk out of date meat. Surely it'd be safe if you used it to make something like stovies and pressure cooked it for half an hour? Or in a shepherd's pie that will be in the oven for an hour?

Bennifred

Cooking may well kill all the harmful bacteria, but it doesn't get rid of the toxins which have been produced already by those bacteria. Definitely bin mince afer use-by date.

Curry_Queen

I'm one of these people that only ever uses dates as a guideline as to when I should use something up. I use my eyes, nose and mouth to tell me whether something is fit to eat or not, and have often eaten stuff well past it's sell-by-date and have never yet had a proper dose of food poisoning

What did people do before our wonderful supermarkets started stamping dates on everything? Natural foods don't come with a date stamped on them so people had to use their judgement as to whether to eat it or not

Rave

Bennifred wrote:

Cooking may well kill all the harmful bacteria, but it doesn't get rid of the toxins which have been produced already by those bacteria. Definitely bin mince afer use-by date.

I know that Botulism toxin is destroyed by heat- are there others to worry about too?

Edit: apparently there is one other to worry about, Staphylococcus Aureus, which prioduces a heat stable toxin.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/poison.html

honey

purplepatch wrote:

Thanks everyone

Have decided to bin it, much as I loathe throwing food away. As apprentice tycoon says, I doubt I'd enjoy my dinner that much knowing that it might be dodgy.

Is there an icon for the opposite of :money:- not much of a top moneysaver today!

I could do with one of those icons too! I had to throw a whole free range chicken away yesterday because it went out of date on Saturday! I'm still annoyed now but it wasn't worth the risk.:mad:

Walks away muttering: I must be more organized, I must be more organized.

purplepatch

honey wrote:

I could do with one of those icons too! I had to throw a whole free range chicken away yesterday because it went out of date on Saturday! I'm still annoyed now but it wasn't worth the risk.:mad:

Walks away muttering: I must be more organized, I must be more organized.

Sorry to hear that, but nice to know I'm not alone

Petal_3

My OH started his working life as a butcher and he says that although it probably wouldn't do you any harm it wouldn't taste very nice. However, my Pa (who's 83) regularly eats food that's well out of date - you should see the contents of his fridge :eek: I NEVER accept food when I go round there......euuggghh!

arkonite_babe

Curry_Queen wrote:

I'm one of these people that only ever uses dates as a guideline as to when I should use something up. I use my eyes, nose and mouth to tell me whether something is fit to eat or not, and have often eaten stuff well past it's sell-by-date and have never yet had a proper dose of food poisoning

What did people do before our wonderful supermarkets started stamping dates on everything? Natural foods don't come with a date stamped on them so people had to use their judgement as to whether to eat it or not

I'm exactly the same. I have been in a situation previously where I have opened a packet of ham, still well within its use by date and once I get a whif, euuuuch. No way, it goes in the bin. I trust my senses to tell me what's good and what's not.