Last Sunday I bought a couple of pork shoulders for sausage from
Costco. I got busy, though, and they stayed on the bottom shelf
of my fridge until yesterday (Friday) evening, at which point
they were four days beyond the "sell by" date. They were sealed
in plastic (I think the name for this kind of packaging is Cry-o-
vac).

When I opened the bag, I noted the typical sort of "sweet" odor
associated with this type of packaging, but somewhat stronger
than is typical. The meat itself held the odor, even after
rinsing with fresh water. There was no discoloration or other
off-odors, and just a little sliminess (something I've also
seen with this packaging), just the plastic-bag smell.

I went ahead and ran it all through the Porkert for the first
grind, and froze it. I've been assuming that it's going to be
okay, but I thought I might check with the experts....

Anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
================================================== ======================
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny....'" - Isaac Asimov

Mark Shaw wrote:
> Last Sunday I bought a couple of pork shoulders for
> sausage from Costco. I got busy, though, and they stayed
> on the bottom shelf of my fridge until yesterday (Friday)
> evening, at which point they were four days beyond the
> "sell by" date. They were sealed in plastic (I think the
> name for this kind of packaging is Cry-o- vac).

The "sell by" date is just that...a sell by date. The meat doesn't
automatically expire after the sell

What was the temperature in your refrigerator? Was it contantly below
40°F? If so, you will be fine. If the door was opened and closed a lot,
or left open for a period of time, you might have a problem.
>
> When I opened the bag, I noted the typical sort of
> "sweet" odor associated with this type of packaging, but
> somewhat stronger than is typical.

Cryovaced meat will smell stronger. It's the nature of the packaging.

>The meat itself held
> the odor, even after rinsing with fresh water. There was
> no discoloration or other off-odors, and just a little
> sliminess (something I've also
> seen with this packaging), just the plastic-bag smell.

Sounds pretty normal to me.

>
> I went ahead and ran it all through the Porkert for the
> first grind, and froze it. I've been assuming that it's
> going to be okay, but I thought I might check with the
> experts....
>
> Anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks.

My opinion is that it will be safe unless the 'fridge door was open lots
of times and the nominal temperature wasn't kept below 40°.

BOB

"Mark Shaw" > wrote in message
...
> Last Sunday I bought a couple of pork shoulders for sausage from
> Costco. I got busy, though, and they stayed on the bottom shelf
> of my fridge until yesterday (Friday) evening, at which point
> they were four days beyond the "sell by" date. They were sealed
> in plastic (I think the name for this kind of packaging is Cry-o-
> vac).
>

I've done that often. Never had a problem.

BOB > wrote:
> Mark Shaw wrote:
> > Last Sunday I bought a couple of pork shoulders for
> > sausage from Costco. I got busy, though, and they stayed
> > on the bottom shelf of my fridge until yesterday (Friday)
> > evening, at which point they were four days beyond the
> > "sell by" date. They were sealed in plastic (I think the
> > name for this kind of packaging is Cry-o- vac).

> The "sell by" date is just that...a sell by date. The meat doesn't
> automatically expire after the sell

> What was the temperature in your refrigerator? Was it contantly below
> 40?F? If so, you will be fine. If the door was opened and closed a lot,
> or left open for a period of time, you might have a problem.

I'm running 38F, and the door doesn't get a whole lot of
use (no teenagers in my house, for example).

I'm assuming I'm fine. I'll go easy on the first batch
of sausage or two just to be sure, though - having had
food poisoning once, I'm not anxious to repeat the
experience to any degree greater than necessary. The
hallucinations are great fun, but the digestive-tract
issues are not....

Thanks for all the opinions.

> My opinion is that it will be safe unless the 'fridge door was open lots
> of times and the nominal temperature wasn't kept below 40?.

I think you mean "above," right?

A final note: I've gotta say I really love my new Porkert
#12. I'd been running my meat through my Kitchenaid
mixer's grinder attachment, and there's just NO comparison.
I went through 13+ pounds of pork in no time flat.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
================================================== ======================
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny....'" - Isaac Asimov

Your mother in law busy this weekend???

Mark Shaw wrote:
> BOB > wrote:
>> Mark Shaw wrote:
>>> Last Sunday I bought a couple of pork shoulders for
>>> sausage from Costco. I got busy, though, and they
>>> stayed on the bottom shelf of my fridge until yesterday
>>> (Friday) evening, at which point they were four days
>>> beyond the "sell by" date. They were sealed in plastic
>>> (I think the name for this kind of packaging is Cry-o-
>>> vac).
>
>> The "sell by" date is just that...a sell by date. The
>> meat doesn't automatically expire after the sell
>
>> What was the temperature in your refrigerator? Was it
>> contantly below 40?F? If so, you will be fine. If the
>> door was opened and closed a lot, or left open for a
>> period of time, you might have a problem.
>
> I'm running 38F, and the door doesn't get a whole lot of
> use (no teenagers in my house, for example).
>
> I'm assuming I'm fine. I'll go easy on the first batch
> of sausage or two just to be sure, though - having had
> food poisoning once, I'm not anxious to repeat the
> experience to any degree greater than necessary. The
> hallucinations are great fun, but the digestive-tract
> issues are not....
>
> Thanks for all the opinions.
>
>> My opinion is that it will be safe unless the 'fridge
>> door was open lots of times and the nominal temperature
>> wasn't kept below 40?.
>
> I think you mean "above," right?

Yes, that's probably what I meant, unless I was trying to type "nominal
temperature *was* kept below 40?. "

Either way, I'm glad you caught the real meaning.

>
> A final note: I've gotta say I really love my new Porkert
> #12. I'd been running my meat through my Kitchenaid
> mixer's grinder attachment, and there's just NO
> comparison. I went through 13+ pounds of pork in no time
> flat.

One last thought...had this been me, and knowing my refrigerator and my
door habits, I'd fo ahead and do the whole batch and feel that I was
completely safe.
You might try going he
http://www.ask-a-butcher.com/
and ask Steve the same question you asked here. He is one of the best,
and is a retired butcher, back when a butcher meant he had to know about
meat and meat safety.

BOB

BOB > wrote:
> You might try going he
> http://www.ask-a-butcher.com/
> and ask Steve the same question you asked here. He is one of the best,
> and is a retired butcher, back when a butcher meant he had to know about
> meat and meat safety.

Done. He thinks I'm fine, but concurs with me that going
easy on the first batch of sausage is probably wise. Nice
guy, by the way.

Thanks.

--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
================================================== ======================
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny....'" - Isaac Asimov