Spoiled Meat

[bdoing]

I have a package of chicken breasts that I apparently forgot about in the back of my fridge, and the expiration date is Jun 29. Normally, I'd just toss it, but the chicken looks as good as new, whereas often you can tell it's after the expiration date within a day or two

Comments

[xhallucinationx]

I used to work in a meat department, which is informing my answer here. At the place I worked, expiration date was based off of when it was packaged, not by how old it was. I think the expectation was that people might leave it on the counter when they got home, or do other errands after shopping, and that was the longest we could guarantee it would stay good even if they mishandled it.

Stuff also has a lot longer shelf life than you see - for example, a box of meat could arrive, sit in the walk-in fridge for a few days, go into the display case for a few days, and then be marinated or burger'd or whatever the premade stuff was before it even got to the customer. There was nothing wrong with it and we never heard of anyone getting sick. I ate premade stuff that had been in the case a few days, then my fridge a few days and was fine.

I feel like expiration dates are also not as big a deal as some people think, and that sometimes "expired" food is more of a psychological squick than a real danger. I've drank milk on/past its expiration as long as it wasn't weird smelling, yogurt a couple weeks past date, etc. At a certain point it's just fortune-telling.

TLDR: So it could be that the chicken you got was super fresh when packaged and is still good. Do the sniff test and use your judgment, make sure it's thoroughly cooked, etc. If you don't want to risk it, don't.

Disproportionately long answer is disproportionate!

[bdoing]

Disproportionately long answer is greatly appreciated! :D

I knew that the dates weren't exactly DO NOT EAT AFTER THIS DATE OR YOU WILL CATCH CHLAMYDIA AND YOU WILL DIE but almsot two weeks past date made me raise my eyebrows.

It's nice to hear confirmation from someone who has actually put on the dates, though! Thanks!

[xhallucinationx]

Ten days past makes me a little cautious too, but I tend to trust the sniff test above all other. When meat goes bad, you can definitely tell.

Oh man, if it turns out bad I'm going to feel terrible now. :x