My turn to ask if this is safe to eat

[plain jane]

Dh and I went to Costco on Tuesday (!) and purchased a large, fresh pork loin roast that dh was going to cut down into smaller meals and freeze- cubes for stir-fry, one large roast and some steaks, etc. He was supposed to do it the next night. I reminded him every night but it never got done until an hour ago. :glare: So, it had been in my fridge since Tuesday!! :glare: The "best before date" on the package said October 1:001_huh:, but I have never heard of being able to store fresh meat for longer than a few days in the fridge.

 

I'm leaning towards simply throwing it all out or leaving it for just dh to eat. It's $30 worth of meat but to me, it's not worth the food poisoning risk since it spent 5 days in my fridge. Dh insists it's safe but I'm scared to feed it to the kids. FWIW, we don't normally eat pork so this is new to me.

 

What says the Hive?:bigear:

 

ETA: The pork was fresh and came sealed in a vacuum sealed plastic. There was no processing date on the packaging material, just the best before date stated above. I've done some reading that says vacuum sealing can prolong shelf life but have found other articles that say that vacuum sealing meat actually increases the amount of resistant bacteria. :001_huh: I don't know what to do.

Edited September 20, 2009 by plain jane

[ChristusG]

I'm paranoid about food poisoning....that's not something I want to experience. I would throw it out. That's strange that the date says Oct 1. I've never heard of a date that far out for meat. Wonder if it was a mistake?

[plain jane]

I'm paranoid about food poisoning....that's not something I want to experience. I would throw it out. That's strange that the date says Oct 1. I've never heard of a date that far out for meat. Wonder if it was a mistake?

 

That is what I keep wondering but usually Costco is pretty dependable for things like that and I've always heard nothing but good about their meat dept's.:confused:

[Peri]

Was it frozen solid when you got it? If it was frozen rock solid then it might have taken a couple of days to defrost in the fridge. If that's the case then it hasn't gone bad yet. If it was defrosted though when you got it then I would toss it as well.

[plain jane]

Was it frozen solid when you got it? If it was frozen rock solid then it might have taken a couple of days to defrost in the fridge. If that's the case then it hasn't gone bad yet. If it was defrosted though when you got it then I would toss it as well.

 

It was a fresh roast to begin with. Never frozen before, but we were going to cut it up to freeze.

[kiana]

Was it irradiated or something? That might explain the useby date.

[plain jane]

Was it irradiated or something? That might explain the useby date.

 

I asked dh and it was in a vacuum sealed plastic but other than that I think it was just a plain 'ole chunk of meat.

[jenn-]

I've never had problems with Costco meat when I wait until last minute to use it. The cryo pack makes it last longer as it isn't being exposed to air. It is up to you what you want to do with it, but I would eat it.

[LauraGB]

Pork freaks me out, more so than almost any other raw meat. I would open it up and if its slimy - even a little bit, or if it smells even a tad "off", I would toss it. Check it over and see if there is anything starting to get a greenish tint. If not, and it was sealed well, I would wash it really well and cook it. But make sure you cook it all the way through so you'll kill anything that might have been starting to brew.

[newbie]

I am thinking there is a three day rule.

[plain jane]

Pork freaks me out, more so than almost any other raw meat. I would open it up and if its slimy - even a little bit, or if it smells even a tad "off", I would toss it. Check it over and see if there is anything starting to get a greenish tint. If not, and it was sealed well, I would cook it, but make sure you cook it all the way through so you'll kill anything that might have been starting to brew.

 

Darn. Dh cut it up and froze it while I was out this morning. I don't know what the meat was like.

 

I haven't eaten pork in almost a decade so it's pretty foreign to me. I know to be leary of chicken, thanks for the heads-up on pork too.

[LauraGB]

Darn. Dh cut it up and froze it while I was out this morning. I don't know what the meat was like.

 

I haven't eaten pork in almost a decade so it's pretty foreign to me. I know to be leary of chicken, thanks for the heads-up on pork too.

 

You can do it when it thaws, too. Freezing just preserved the growth :D.

[Lolly]

The king of meat says it is fine. I trust him. I would even let the kids eat it without worry.

[Tap]

The packaging is what makes the meat last longer. The meat is fine. Since it wasn't handled raw at multiple locations, the amount of introduced bacteria, time ate room temp, and general mishandeling has been minimized. It was cut, packed and labeled at the processor. All that Costco had to do was put it in the cooler, and put their own tag/date on it.

 

I am Picky, but this wouldn't concern me. If it was a Styrofoam tray and shrink wrap....I would wonder, but not in a sealed bag.

[Tree House Academy]

It is FINE. We have done the same thing. If the meat wasn't slimy and turning really brown, then it is fine. If the use by date is not until Oct. 1, then you are likely fine anyway. We wont' talk about the preservatives they put in it to make it good until that date though......

[H.S. Burrow]

The king of meat says it is fine. I trust him. I would even let the kids eat it without worry.

 

The packaging is what makes the meat last longer. The meat is fine. Since it wasn't handled raw at multiple locations, the amount of introduced bacteria, time ate room temp, and general mishandeling has been minimized. It was cut, packed and labeled at the processor. All that Costco had to do was put it in the cooler, and put their own tag/date on it.

 

I am Picky, but this wouldn't concern me. If it was a Styrofoam tray and shrink wrap....I would wonder, but not in a sealed bag.

 

 

:iagree:Whenever I buy pork roast and pork loin they are vacuum sealed and usually have a "best buy date" waaay out from the date of purchase. I usually divide mine into meal-sized portions and freeze.

 

They are fine. Honest. :)

[Lovedtodeath]

stilltasty.com says that fresh pork roast lasts 3-5 days. That would most likely include roast that is in the flimsy meat counter wrapping, so you should be good IMO. It would also be affected by where in your refrigerator you kept it (the top is cooler).

[Jennefer@SSA]

The packaging is what makes the meat last longer. The meat is fine. Since it wasn't handled raw at multiple locations, the amount of introduced bacteria, time ate room temp, and general mishandeling has been minimized. It was cut, packed and labeled at the processor. All that Costco had to do was put it in the cooler, and put their own tag/date on it.

 

I am Picky, but this wouldn't concern me. If it was a Styrofoam tray and shrink wrap....I would wonder, but not in a sealed bag.

 

:iagree:

[Peri]

It was a fresh roast to begin with. Never frozen before, but we were going to cut it up to freeze.

 

I wouldn't eat it.

[DarlaS]

Was it perhaps injected with some kind of solution? That would preserve it quite a bit. Many of the sealed pork roasts are.