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04/28/2006 11:24:13 AM · #1 |
How long can tings be kept in teh fridge?
I think lunch meat is 3 days...
So what about these items (once opened of course)
grape jelly.jam
mayonaise (or other condiments)
pickles
olives
bacon
hotdogs
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04/28/2006 11:30:30 AM · #2 |
most all of those should have an experation date on them, and if not, call the 1800 number on it and they will be able to help you determin my the skew number on the product,
I work for ConAgra foods and we get calls like that all the time.
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04/28/2006 11:32:22 AM · #3 |
Rule of thumb: If you don't remember buying it, it smells odd or looks odd.... toss it out! I'm so paranoid about old food!
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04/28/2006 11:35:35 AM · #4 |
My mother and grandmother are both sorta' old fashioned, waste-not-want-not types, and after growing up with them, here's my take on it:
lunch meat - this is good for about a week
grape jelly.jam - virtually forever. Or at least several months
mayonaise (or other condiments) - same, several months (I've done this)
pickles - should be good for a few months
olives - this I don't know, but would imagine to be similar to pickles
bacon - shorter, only a week or so, I would think
hotdogs - same as bacon
Of course, this is assuming it's all been in a standard, cool fridge, and not left out at all. Oh, and that the meat is just in the fridge, and not frozen. Frozen, it can of course last far longer.
The general rule of thumb is, smell it. If it looks okay (no fur growing on it) and smells okay, it's probably okay to eat. Once things start looking discolored, runny, or fuzzy, toss 'em. And if they smell bad, toss 'em
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04/28/2006 11:46:36 AM · #5 |
| A good resource that I use now and then: How to Store Food Safely (PDF) |
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04/28/2006 11:52:57 AM · #6 |
I for one never have to worry about things of this nature. I have the "good fortune" of sharing this home with my spouse and daughter who are obsessive about due dates.
They check them often...they check them regularly... and just to be safe... will throw out everything a day short of the expiry date...
Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.....but I do feel ever so safe.
Ray |
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04/28/2006 11:55:08 AM · #7 |
Anything with a high sugar, vinegar, or salt content will last for quite a while before going bad... depending on how you define "going bad". I lived with my grandmother for a while and was amazed at how long things stuck around.
Jelly will last forever, however, the color will not--especially if it's homemade like we did in Alabama.
Mayonaise has eggs in it so it won't last that long if not refridgerated.
mustard, ketchup, pickles, and all of those type items will last quite a while, like 6-months without refridgeration... the olives even longer due to the extremely high salt content.
Oddly enough, there is a way to preserve bacon with salt so that it will last quite a long time... I mean a few years... Have you seen the bacon you don't have to cook? prime example, but don't try this if it hasn't been properly preserved. |
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04/28/2006 12:20:00 PM · #8 |
I just get paranoid at times...
this past week:
had milk go VERY sour 3 days before the expiration date.
bought a pack of hot dogs at walmart. i looked for a date there but didn't see it - at home i opened it and say the date - tomorrow. Yep, 1 day left on a sealed preocessed meat...so it's good for?
2 jars of olives with gray/black matter in there (mold?)
We often, too often, throw out expired canned goods (soups mostly).
Things i didn't know (from that pdf link)...
It's good for:
fruit juice, opened - 7 to 10 days
butter, still sealed - in fridge 12 weeks.
deli meat and cheese - 2-3 days (i knew that but this confirms it)
eggs - by their expiration date (i've ignored this one most of my life)
bacon and hot dogs, opened - 7 days
hot dogs unopened - 2 weeks
you can freeze milk for up to 3 months...never thought of freezing milk.
How about fruits?
I keep my apples in a fruit bowl on the counter...it says NO to this, and they should be in the fridge...2 weeks out of season, 2 months in season
strawberries in the fridge - 2 days.
Fruits and veggies are all over the board on how long you can keep them
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04/28/2006 12:28:02 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
deli meat and cheese - 2-3 days (i knew that but this confirms it)
eggs - by their expiration date (i've ignored this one most of my life)
How about fruits?
I keep my apples in a fruit bowl on the counter...it says NO to this, and they should be in the fridge...2 weeks out of season, 2 months in season
strawberries in the fridge - 2 days.
Fruits and veggies are all over the board on how long you can keep them |
This sounds strange to me. Deli meat and cheese will keep a lot longer, especially chesse. It's a bacterial process to begin with. When it starts to mold, cut off the bad part and eat the rest. At least that's what we've always done with it.
And fruit? Fruit is bad when you pick it up and it feels bad. When you cut into it and see that it's bad. Myself, I wouldn't ever follow the experation date on it.
For that matter, experation dates are more often "sell by dates", and whatever it is may last well beyond that. Obviously, not true for everything, but for many.
Maybe I'm just old fashioned
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04/28/2006 12:34:13 PM · #10 |
My father always refused to throw out anything. I have seen him eat lunch meat that was green and stinky.
He'll pick the mould off whatever it is, then eat the rest.
He made my stomach do flip flops many times, but he never got sick doing it!!
Message edited by author 2006-04-28 12:34:42. |
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04/28/2006 12:46:49 PM · #11 |
ok since I'm the expert here on not cooking I can tell you that a pizza CAN last up to and maybe a day more then a week on a coffee table with it growing. I can also tell you that the date of expirey is only for those with a weak stomache and meat take at least 3 weeks to go bad in the fridge. If you need proof I can go shoot some of the flatmates stuff as he hasn't been home for about that long. Milk you have to smell. If it smells like rotten feet then don't drink it OR use it for coffee. Cheese will only become blue cheese (altho I find that nasty). Beer 3 months then should be consumed or poured out.
edit to add:Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
So what about these items (once opened of course)
grape jelly.jam
mayonaise (or other condiments)
pickles
olives
bacon
hotdogs |
jelly/jam takes years
mayonaise - don't use it, have it or eat it just cuz its nasty as well
pickles - NEVER and can prove this.
olives - I believe they are the same as pickles
bacon - if it says oink oink then you'll have to re-kill it before eating
hotdogs - again just something you shouldn't consume unless drunk/hammered of lie too
Message edited by author 2006-04-28 12:49:56. |
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04/28/2006 02:05:00 PM · #12 |
A couple of comments:
Expiry dates are the store's sell-by dates. I save a lot of money by buying stuff the day before expiry, when the stores mark it way down. They don't do this for extreme perishables like milk and eggs, but you can find great deals on lunchmeats and fresh meats, for example. The sell-by date is VERY conservative, for obvious reasons.
How long things will "keep" in a refrigerator is very much dependent on how cold the refrigerator is. It must be kept to at least 40 degrees fahrenheit, and I keep mine at 38 degrees or so. I also have a "butcher's pnatry" in my refrigerator for storing meats, with a separate temperature control, and I keep that at 33 degrees or so, just above freezing. Processed meats in that compartment last for at least a week longer than they do in the general storage area, so temperature makes a big difference.
A good general facts page on food safety: How Temperatures Affect Food
Robt.
Message edited by author 2006-04-28 14:05:46.
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04/28/2006 02:17:08 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
How long can tings be kept in teh fridge?
I think lunch meat is 3 days...
So what about these items (once opened of course)
grape jelly.jam
mayonaise (or other condiments)
pickles
olives
bacon
hotdogs |
Been a chef for 25 years so maybe I can help.
Grape Jelly - Forever - high acidity and fruit products can never hurt you unless they get contaminated with already spoiled protein products.
mayonaise- If commercial then indefinatly as it has an inhibitor in it. If homemade, then about a week.
pickles - forever as they are in a salt or sugar brine which preserves them
Olives - see pickles unless black olives canned in water. Then about a week if in the liquid, one day if drained.
Bacon - Indefinately. Bacon will show a rainbow color and become somewhat slimey as it goes bad. If you rewrap in plastic and press out the air it will keep for two or three weeks easily.
Hot Dogs - About a week. They will actually develop an off smell when they start going bad. They actually won't hurt you if they are a little bad but they begin to taste funny and discolor.
Hope that helps and thanks for the comments you've left on my pics in the past
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04/28/2006 03:05:37 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by idnic:
Rule of thumb: If you don't remember buying it, it smells odd or looks odd.... toss it out! |
Criminy that's almost everything in there!
Well ... actually ... thinking about it, I only have condiments in there. I'm a fat person with a thin fridge. :( |
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04/29/2006 12:05:44 PM · #15 |
I too worked in the food industry for a few years before I came out here. I will confirm much of what has already been said...
Refrigerators are wonderful things.
Watch that Mayonnaise though. The more shelf stable it is, the more likely it is to harm you healthwise rather than being off.
With oils, rancidity is a staged thing with the most nutritive parts of the oil being the most reactive, hence the quickest to be destroyed. Go figure. Mayonnaise is a tricky one because everyone always says that it contains eggs and egg cholesterol is HDL or 'good' cholesterol. While this may indeed be true, Mayonnaise is made with the WHITES of eggs which DO NOT contain cholesterol. These egg whites are then mixed with oils which often are processed in ways that are unhealthy.
My mother always used to buy Miracle Whip instead (it's also got a MUCH lighter taste than Mayo) and it will go off after a month or so in the fridge... It has a date on it if you care to go by such things.
Mayonnaise manages to be creamy in a natural way and if made by hand can actually be quite healthy.
As to your milk, I wouldn't worry about that too much. It's probably 'gone off' long before you can taste the difference. Again, the step of becoming 'bad' is chemical and has to do with the oils and in that case, proteins as well.
As to cheese, yes, it is a bacterially cultured product, and yes, it's cured at room temperature (or warmer for better cultivation), but that doesn't mean that it's completely impervious to becoming unhealthily infected by bad bacteria.
Usually, good bacteria is present in significant numbers that it 'crowds' bad bacteria out and does not allow it a chance to get a foothold due to water and food availability. However, under certain conditions, the bacterial culture can become spent, having consumed all of the food it can consume... Remember, once it has converted food, it excretes waste... this is how bacteria can turn milk into cheese or yogurt. Few organisms can survive by eating their own waste. Ever have a dinner of poo? Bacteria finds it equally unappetizing. On the other hand, we like bacteria poo (unless you don't like cheese or yogurt that is), and we are not alone. There are plenty of bad bacteria that like it too. When the primary culture dies off, the bad bacteria moves in.
The primary cause of yogurt and cheese going bad is starvation of the primary culture. You can actually stave this off by adding milk to yogurt and mixing it in gradually. This will keep it fed, happy and able to maintain good numbers. I wouldn't recommend this for a long period of time because of the ratios.
In this way, a single strain of bacteria can and indeed IS often kept going for multiple generations.
Cheese is usually affected in slightly different ways because it is not usually still active by the time it is sold. Other factors also apply.
Finally, the biggest eye openeer is eggs. In fact, eggs in most countries are not stored in the refrigerator... even hot ones!
In Costa Rica, as well as China and here in Taiwan (a tropical/temperate island with a significant summer heat) as well as other hot countries of Asia, I have personally seen eggs that are left out unrefrigerated. How could this be?
Eggs are actually very robust. They are intended to be fairly stable at room temperature or in warm climates. The reason for this is quite simple. The egg's insides are food. They are food for the baby chicken. You can even see the umbilical cord inside an egg that makes it work like a miniature, self contained womb. Unfertilized eggs will never grow, so that is what we generally eat. Hence, the food is eaten by us. Yum! On the other hand, if it were fertilized, that food would need to remain available for the baby chicken as it developed. This necessitates that the construction of the shell/membrane/albumen be highly resistant to invasion, especially by bacteria which are itching to get at the rich goodies inside.
The egg however is still somewhat porous. This complicates matters, and the result we see is that the egg insides loses water. It tends to shrink. The shell does not shrink, so the membrane will pull away from the shell and create an air pocket between the membrane and the shell.
This is NOT the way an egg starts out and is a sure indicator that an egg has been sitting around for some time.
Interestingly, if you buy eggs from a farm, you will notice that most of the eggs don't have this air pocket (this can depend a lot on storage of the eggs, humidity level in the air and overall health of the mother hen, although the last factor is highly unlikely as egg production stops in ill birds). It is only since the advent of supermarkets and major distribution networks that egg storage times have increased so in the western world.
I have dealt with this process quite closely and I will tell you that even the BEST commercial eggs will still have 7-14 days sitting around in a warehouse or in transit before making it to the stores. And that is if they are local. If you are dealing with a larger chain with a larger network of egg providers, you could be looking at 20-30 day old eggs WHEN THEY ARE PLACED ON THE SHELVES AT THE STORE. Typically a 3 week to 30 day stamp is placed on the egg carton as it leaves the egg packager. Dealing with a large chain, that can be as many as 3 or more nodes up the line from the store you shop at. If you notice eggs that have a 2 week date, I wouldn't be surprised if you sourced it back to the chicken, you were looking at eggs that are already more than a month old. THIS is why you need to refrigerate eggs.
In all my dealings with all the companies I dealt with in that field (over 200 companies in probably 15 different countries), the number one most heinous company I ever heard of was the Egg Board. They had the gall to impose a government enforceable surcharge on female chickens owned by any one individual that surpassed 99, REGARDLESS of their egg production or whether their eggs were being sold or not. And there was NO SERVICE RENDERED for the surcharge. It was just a surcharge. One local farmer had to slaughter 243 of his hens because he enjoyed having them around on the farm even after their prime egg-laying time had passed. They were just wandering around on his farm, not harming anyone, but he couldn't afford the ridiculously high WEEKLY charge. I can't recall the exact numbers but it worked out to a few hundred dollars a month...
The net result of that to the average consumer though is that while eggs haven't specifically gone rotten by a certain date, a fair bit of nutrition has been compromised by the time most people are eating their eggs.
If you patronize a local farmer, he will give you the straight goods on it and you will get better eggs for possibly less money. They will last longer too (although he will probably give you the same time estimate, just his standards will probably be higher).
You got the info on what was bad or good, now you know some of the why :). |
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04/29/2006 12:48:37 PM · #16 |
My husband isn't fond of my system of food disposal. His mother is notorious for reconfiguring old food into new dishes; therefore, he gets crazy and throws out brand new stuff. I usually don't discover this until its a crucial ingredient in the meal I am putting together!
Here's my food safety flow chart:
1. Look at it. If the texture or color has changed significantly or if something is growing on or in it, no good. If it still appears relatively similar to when it was bought, go to step 2.
2. Take a small whiff. If it you don't gag, take a medium whiff. If it smells suspect ask someone else to take a big whiff. If nobody gags go to step 3.
3. Touch a small piece to your tongue. If it's raw, cook it first and then take a small taste. If it's suspect, feed it to someone else (preferrably a different person than your taste whiffer). If they don't puke, locate the phone, in case you need to call 911, and then EAT UP! |
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