"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...


Bell Jar wrote:
> Thanks everyone, DH grilled them and they were fine
> IMO they should not only have a sell by date, but a USE by date. I know
> that if it is frozen that would change, but it would be more simple.

A use-by date would be pretty useless as there is no way to tell how
meat will be handled once it leaves the store...

ahh .. good point.

in fact there is no
way to know how each store handles meat either... about all the
consumer can do is keep blind trust, and move to another store when
they get ripped off with spoiled meat and then where does that end. I
still would like to see the idea I came up with, some ten years ago
now, that all foods requiring refrigeration contain a tamper proof
chemical sensor in it's packaging that would indicate when an item has
been exposed to less than ideal temperature and for more than a safe
amount of time... would probably add no more than 2¢ to the price of
each package. With today's technology it would be extremely simple but
you know that the food industry will fight it to the death.

That is a very good idea, it would help people like me that are always
unsure of meats.

So we're
stuck with stupid sell-by dates, the food industry has all the power
and the consumer essentially has none. Anyway, the day is coming soon
when all fresh meats at the retail level will only be sold in the
frozen state... poultry is almost there now... of course this cuts back
on wasted product for the food industry but screw the consumer royally
by relagaing them to what for all intents and purpose is meat
tantamount to petfood.

Sheldon