Ground beef with sell by date of Aug. 28??

[Tiramisu]

It smells fine, I think. I made it into patties and they are now on the grill. But I'm having second thoughts.

[EKS]

I wouldn't use it, but then, I try to use ground beef within a day of purchase, so I may be extreme in the other way.

[NotSoObvious]

It smells fine, I think. I made it into patties and they are now on the grill. But I'm having second thoughts.

 

I would think it would be more than fine. If it smells and looks fine, I'd eat it. That really isn't very far past the sell by date.

[NotSoObvious]

OK. Maybe not.

 

http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/meatinrefrig.html

[luvnlattes]

I wouldn't. It's 4 days past the sell by date and ground beef turns quickly. I have a friend who went ahead and used some hamburger because she said it smelled fine, but within a few hours the entire family was sick.

 

I'd ask myself what's more important, to not waste the meat or to not be sick over the long weekend?

[Truscifi]

If it looks and smells okay, I would just make sure it is thoroughly cooked - VERY well done. But I would still use it.

[Mergath]

I would eat it myself, but I wouldn't feed it to any children.

[Starr]

Isn't the eat day different from the sell day?

[Snickerdoodle]

I am the one who posts almost every time that I would eat the food on a "would you eat this" thread.

 

Except this one.

 

NO WAY. Toss that sucker.

[Tiramisu]

Well. Dh is out. Unfortunatley, there are no big kids around to watch the little ones. I am inclined to chuck these burgers into the trash, and replace with ones made from fresh meat, without telling dh. He'll eat anything, but I have a history of GI issues, and I spent all last week stuck inside with a sick kid. I don't want more illness.

 

Thanks, everyone, for saving our weekend. ;-)

[tammieb]

I'm well known in our parts for being frugal (aka, CHEAP!!!). I coupon, shop clearance racks, and LOVE manager's specials on meats!! But........ hamburger meat past the sell by date would be something even I'd toss!

 

If you are going to use it, as mentioned before, make certain it's cooked COMPLETELY. Absolutely no pink!

 

Let us know how it turns out.........

[freeindeed]

I wouldn't eat it, but I'm really picky about things like dates on food.

[DarlaS]

Not in burgers since I don't really care for them well done. If I were using it in a sauce where it would be crumbled and browned first and then simmered in high acid ingredients (tomatoes, garlic, onions...), I'd probably feel okay about it.

[Tiramisu]

UPDATE: Dh and the dog each ate a hamburger and have had no ill effects. :)

 

The kids and I still aren't touching them.

[ElizaG]

I think the standards on those food safety sites are for ground beef that's packaged in regular supermarket meat trays or butcher paper. It typically has to be used within a day of purchase IME, or it gets nasty.

 

If it's the vacuum sealed kind (sold in square packages with the black plastic backing), it's designed to keep a long time. A scarily long time. :tongue_smilie: The "use by" date is sometimes 2 weeks from the purchase date. In that case, we've eaten it a couple of days past the printed date, if it looked and smelled fine. And conversely, I've also thrown out meat before the date if it seemed a bit off. Maybe it sat out too long on the way home, or our fridge or the store fridge wasn't keeping the temperature right.

 

With fresh meat, I think your senses are the most reliable guide.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Eleanor

[Lanny]

We do most of our grocery shopping in a very small supermarket. We began shopping there because of the excellent quality of their Meat. For a long long time, I bought the least expensive Ground Beef they had ready to go. It is in a metal bin (I can't think of the word, as I type this) and you tell them how much weight you want and they get it. Recently, 2 or 3 times, my wife was not happy with the Ground Beef they had ready for sale. Last week, she wanted to make Lasagna, and I had the butcher take a regular piece of beef and grind it up for her. Cost us twice as much per pound, but worth it. :D

 

They also sell 3 cuts of Chicken (apparently from very large Chickens) in the Meat department. They are VERY strict about the dates. Yesterday, when I bought 2 cuts of Chicken, the sign on the wall said that shipment of Chicken had arrived yesterday, and what day it will expire. In several days.

 

I am glad that your DH and your dog are OK! :001_smile: You and your kids probably would have been fine, had you eaten that meat.

 

Fresh dates are very important and I do pay a lot attention to them. One thing that can happen, with things that have been refrigerated in a supermarket, is that someone takes something, and then does not buy it. Sometimes I see cold things that have been abandoned, somewhere in a supermarket, or at the cash register. Once, I bought something that had apparently been abandoned like that, :glare: and my wife sent me back to the store with it. I'm much more concerned about refrigerated things that have been abandoned, than the possibility of using something after the expiration date. Also, from time to time, the refrigerators where supermarkets keep milk, cheese, etc., etc., go bad and the food can go bad.