Ham Question (Use By/Freeze By Date)

[Mike in Roseville]

Hey guys,

I have a couple of fully cooked Kirkland master carve hams (in cryos) that have been hanging out in the back of my garage fridge for a few months. I knew the use by/freeze by was in mid November so I had planned to do them for Thanksgiving.

Well, I forgot to freeze them. :doh:

Just checked the date on them and it's Use By/Freeze By Nov 13...13 days ago.

They look fine, but wondering how I should play this?

Is the Use By/Freeze By a hard fast rule for fully cooked ham? Some people say 2 weeks past that date and you're ok.

Thoughts?

 

[bschoen]

With a cured ham, I would would not worry about a couple of weeks. Also, since spoiled meat stinks, you will know when you un-cryo it.

 

[Mike in Roseville]

Yeah, they look fine in the package but I’ll follow my nose.

 

[thirdeye]

I doubt your label lists the actual package date but hams usually have a long refrigerated shelf life. The farthest I've ever seen experts stick their neck out about 'city ham' expiration dates is 14 days and they always leave room for exception, if for example your fridge temp is >40° and has high traffic.

I can tell you that meat storage walk-in coolers I've seen are 34° - 36° which is perfect for slowing down the growth of bacteria, and this is why they can hold cases of meat for quite some time. Stores don't even print individual labels until they remove meat from the cases, and they base the 'use by' date on the date the meat was packaged (which is on the end of the cases).

I think you have a 70%+ chance that the hams will be okay, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looks or smell unless something really went wrong.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

[Mike in Roseville]

So they could still be spoiled even if they look/smell fine?

 

[Mike in Roseville]

Cut em...they look fine and smell like ham. No off smells whatsoever. Are we good to go?

 

[Mike in Roseville]

Calling an audible. Just read about how staph can live on hams without visual indication or smell.

Pulling out some vac sealed burnt ends.

 

[thirdeye]

So they could still be spoiled even if they look/smell fine?

Cut em...they look fine and smell like ham. No off smells whatsoever. Are we good to go?

Yep. When fresh meats or leftovers spoil they are a playground for bacteria multiplying and can look funky and smell worse. Cured meats are different. The curing process on meat has already radically reduced the level of bacteria once, but that does not insure some can't return over time. For ham the possible spoilage indicators could be a slightly sour smell, or a slick or slimy flesh. Often, the nice pink meat color will begin changing to a dull (or flat) grey color when ham has spoiled. Multi shades of pink in different muscles like this below is fine, grey is bad. Not noticing any of these things is a good sign.

 

[thirdeye]

Hey Mike, to recap what i was saying in your PM (and for the benefit of others following this thread).... Cooking spoiled meat (fresh or cured) may not kill all the bacteria, but it isn't guaranteed to make you sick. Many bacteria can be killed during the cooking process. For example, if you've made a boiled stew or soup and cooked your meat for a while, you may not get sick. However, heat isn't a guaranteed way to prevent food poisoning. This is because certain bacteria also release toxins. Even when you kill these bacteria by cooking them, their toxins will remain in the food and cause you to become sick.

What we know is, you are two weeks past the use-by date, so this is bordering on the accepted limit. Your ham does not appear to have any suspicious signs of spoilage. I'm assuming your beer fridge is colder than 40°, and since you didn't notice the hams they must be way in the back or on a lower shelf where it is coldest.

 

[Mike in Roseville]

Thanks for the insight, Thirdeye. Greatly appreciate it.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

However, heat isn't a guaranteed way to prevent food poisoning. This is because certain bacteria also release toxins. Even when you kill these bacteria by cooking them, their toxins will remain in the food and cause you to become sick.

Agree with this. Kill the bacteria but maybe not the nasties left behind.

However two weeks over on a ham shouldn't be a problem.

That date is to cover their @** more than it is to protect you.