How long does Italian sausage stay fresh in refrigerator? archived

Surprisingly, not very long. Apparently raw pork in a normal 40 degree over stays in fridge for two days.

I have bought ground italian sausage meat a couple of times recently and the sell by dates were a week or two out from when I made the purchases.

What boomie said. I don't think I've ever used fresh sausage past two days in the fridge.

boomie said:

Surprisingly, not very long. Apparently raw pork in a normal 40 degree over stays in fridge for two days.

+100

Ugh. That's what I thought I'd heard....
I once asked a butcher why they didn't have any ground pork ready to go. He mentioned it's tendency to spoil quickly.

Thanks, I am tossing it even though it "seems" fine.

Could you freeze it if you aren't planning to use it right away? I've done that and it defrosts pretty quickly.

It' already 5 days old. :-(

Is it past the 'Sell By' date. I would think it would be fine 2-3 days past that. If there is a 'Use By' date then anything after that would be risky.

You're probably better off just going to the store and buying some more. No need to risk everyone getting sick.

I bought it from the butcher at Whole Foods. No dates.

Irvington_Pirate said:

You're probably better off just going to the store and buying some more. No need to risk everyone getting sick.

My mother's motto: When in doubt, throw it out!

Hmmm I'd give it the sniff test to see if it smells sour and then most likely chuck it even if the sniff test comes up clean. But at least if it smells sour you might feel better about chucking it.

How about taking it back to Whole Foods and getting refund, on the basis that the butcher should have marked the package with a "use or freeze by" date? And I do think the butcher should have done that. Usually, it's automatically printed on the label. WF is pretty good about giving refunds.

Sorry @Elle Cee, that makes absolutely no sense to me.
He is a butcher. He sold me some meat. I did not use when I originally planned to use it. How is it the butchers fault? Do you return over-ripe bananas as well?

My understanding is that one of the reasons expiration dates are placed on packages of meat, poultry and fish is that spoilage is not as evident as it is with, say, bananas. I may be wrong, but my impression was that expiration dates are required on packages of meat, poultry, and fish, among other products.

Elle_Cee said:

My understanding is that one of the reasons expiration dates are placed on packages of meat, poultry and fish is that spoilage is not as evident as it is with, say, bananas. I may be wrong, but my impression was that expiration dates are required on packages of meat, poultry, and fish, among other products.

Spoilage is absolutely evident with meat by the look, touch and smell.

But not by sight, as it is with a banana.
eta: oh wait. You said "look". No it's not, unless it's r-e-e-e-e-a-l-l-y stanky and turning green.

drummerboy said:

But not by sight, as it is with a banana.
eta: oh wait. You said "look". No it's not, unless it's r-e-e-e-e-a-l-l-y stanky and turning green.

It's not as obvious as a banana, but spoiled meat does turn color.

There's a difference between pathogenic bacteria and spoilage bacteria. The first can infiltrate a perfectly fine looking and smelling animal product. That's why we have so many cases of food-borne bacterial illness.

From Wise Geek:

"It is important to note that there are two different groups of bacteria that affect refrigerated meat. The first, pathogenic bacteria, make us sick, while the second, spoilage bacteria, make our food go bad and stink up our fridges. By sight, smell and taste, you cannot identify whether a meat is harboring pathogenic bacteria, unlike meat contaminated with spoilage bacteria."

Here are the label requirements from the FDA:

Labeling for Meat and Poultry
Retail food establishments that process and package meat or poultry in a form that is
not ready to eat, are obligated by Federal regulation to label the product with safe food
handling instructions. USDA issued final rules on August 8, 1994 requiring all raw meat
or poultry products have a safe-handling label or sticker or be accompanied by a leaflet
that contains information on proper handling and cooking procedures.
The intent of this requirement is to ensure that all consumers are alerted to the fact that such products
may contain bacteria and that food safety hinges upon their thoroughly cooking the
product, regardless of where they obtain the products. That is, the labeling would exist
if they obtain their meat and poultry at an establishment that handles only prepackaged
and prelabeled products or if they obtain their meat or poultry at an operation such as a
supermarket with a meat processing operation or from a small neighborhood butcher.

My cat is generally spot on. If he shows no interest, I chuck it. Wanna borrow him?

zucca said:

My cat is generally spot on. If he shows no interest, I chuck it. Wanna borrow him?

Clearly the way to go in this case.