pack date vs sell by date

Toploader said:

This help?

http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/pack%20date!opendocument&startkey=pack%20date

http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/Pages/sellbydates

Click to expand...

SmokinOkie said:

Pack date is just that, when they packed it. You use that date to help determine sell by date.

Different meat will "last" for different lengths of time, such as pork. If I know one, I want to know pack date. Meat markets have been known to "change" the sell by date.

On brisket (beef) I'm not sure of the FDA requirements, but if you use that as the kill date, you can figure out the max days to age your briskets.

One caveat. The dates are VERY subjective and depend on the meat being held at proper temps the entire time. But, if you leave them on the counter for 1/2 a day or you bring them home at room temp and leave them there for hours, all of those will shorten the time it can be for the "sell date"

I'm not sure of the calculations for "sell by" but someone will pop in with the info.

Russ

Click to expand...

SmokinOkie said:

As I said, I don't know how they calculate "sell by" right now (have notes somewhere at home) hopefully someone else can chime in.

What were you looking at, beef or pork or chicken?

Beef has a longer sell by date, but pork/chicken have substantially less. I wouldn't buy any pork that was more than a few weeks, maybe 2 at most.

Problem is that on pork/chicken they will store them around 28 degrees and according to the USDA, that's "fresh" not frozen.

If you're buying anything a month old, I wouldn't without know who you're buying from.

Inspect the meat and see what it looks like, check the cryoseal, the look of it.

Click to expand...