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Shelf life of refrigerated cryovac meats

MilitantSquatter

MilitantSquatter

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Just a general question....

When I buy meats in cryovac at a Costco or Restaurant Depot they generally do not have the typical "sell by date" seen on packaged meats that you would see at a grocery store... My limited knowledge tells me that meat in cryovac can stay fresher longer...

How many days in advance would you feel comfortable storing cryovac packaged meat in a cold refrigerator before opening up to use it hoping that it will be fresh when opened ?
 
Thanks Kevin... I recall that... but I'm not looking to age the meat...

Just looking to get a rough estimate on how long it can stay in the fridge from the date I buy it to the date I use it as is,out of the package.
 
According to Servsafe rules, 7 days for cooked food if the food is kept at the proper temp. Nothing in the rules that I remember for uncooked. BBQJoe?
 
As far as I can recall there is no rule on how long fresh meat can be refrigerated before it must be tossed.

This is probably due to all the different types of processing and packaging methods.

Some meats are aged so long, that mold actually grows on it, and it is cut off just like they do with cheese.

Bacon and corned beef might last forever.

Cryovaced (Sic) meat is supposed to be free of oxygen, therefore it is harder for the meat to oxidize and break down, and it is also hard for bacteria to grow.

I know that a week in the fridge is generally no problem with cryo'd brisket.

The best advice would be to use your senses. Smell, and sight.
 
From
http://www.foodsafetysummit.com/content.php?s=MR/2004/02&p=11

"By selling products in low-oxygen packages — which often have a shelf life of between 21 to 30 days, depending on the product—and high-oxygen packages—with a typical shelf life of between 10 and 15 days—retailers can display meat and poultry longer and thus reduce shrinkage.Store-cut meat typically has a three-day shelf life."
 
Rockaway BeachBQ said:
From
http://www.foodsafetysummit.com/content.php?s=MR/2004/02&p=11

"By selling products in low-oxygen packages — which often have a shelf life of between 21 to 30 days, depending on the product—and high-oxygen packages—with a typical shelf life of between 10 and 15 days—retailers can display meat and poultry longer and thus reduce shrinkage.Store-cut meat typically has a three-day shelf life."
Click to expand...

Now that is an interesting statement. And I agree with it. We've used nitrogen (as it displaces oxygen, thus retarding oxydation) in the electronics industry for many years. If it's good enough to keep my gold wire from rusting, it's good enough for me to eat. Yes, fresh is better but, reality dictates some common sense.
 
I don't know if this information is 100% correct, but the health inspector told me the other day that the environmental packaging ( Nitrogen or co2) Was going to be outlawed. Like what they do at wallies.
 
thanks for all the info..

Still not sure why there's no law requiring the packaged on date to be labeled on the cryo'd meats...
 
In NY, if you buy meat from a retail establishment, they are required to date cyrovaced meat. The retail store, Stop and Shop, your butcher etc, is required to date it based upon when they purchased it.

If you bought your meat from say Restaurant Depot, it is considered a wholesale establishment and they are not required.

Here's some of the rules about pork....

Section 240. Length of storage period

1. No person or corporation shall keep or permit to remain in any refrigerated warehouse or locker plant any article of food beyond the time when it is sound and wholesome and fit to remain in storage. If any article of food is found to be fit for immediate consumption, but unfit for further storage, such article of food shall at once be re-moved from storage and not again stored. No article of food shall be kept or permitted to remain in any refrigerated warehouse for a longer aggregate period than twenty-four calendar months, except by order of the Commissioner. Upon evidence satisfactory to him that the food is sound and wholesome and fit for further storage, the Commissioner may, in his discretion, grant an extension of the storage period. He may, in his discretion, cause any articles of food to be examined to ascertain if the food is sound and wholesome and fit for further storage.
Click to expand...
 
Vinny,

Before I went on vacation on 8/5, I picked up a cryo-vac 3 pak of ribs at Costco. I asked the guy behind the glass if it had been frozen and thawed when placed out. He said that they had not been frozen and they would keep for a month is refrigerated. Being the sceptic I am, I placed them in the freezer 'till I get to them. Yea I know, I don't know why I bought them then...
 
I'd trust beef to last awhile. But never pork. I don't care how well it's packaged it doesn't last long in the fridge.
 
Thanks for the info BQ - I'm hoping they are referring to frozen meat in that excerpt when it mentions being stored in a refrigerated warehouse up to 24 months !!

Ever since my "fishy ribs" last month at Grill Kings that I'm chalking up to a bad batch.... it's been screwing with my head...

I'll be off to Restaurant Depot & Costco tomorrow evening to pick up my contest meats for this weekend... I'm keeping em in the back of my fridge with the temps lowered with my fingers are crossed that everything is fresh come prep time when they come out of the coolers....
 
Re-refrigerated, Time and Temperature

The use by dates on raw meats are for quality controls only. There is no requirement by U.S.D.A. for expiraton dates. Only Re-refrigerated, cooked potentially hazardous foods must be date marked. When kept at 41 degrees, a cooked brisket may be re-refrigerated for 7 days. At 45 degrees, the same brisket may only be kept for 4 days.

Crovac packaging helps reduce oxygen, which sustains shelf life.:tongue:
 
Range Rattler said:
The use by dates on raw meats are for quality controls only. There is no requirement by U.S.D.A. for expiraton dates. Only Re-refrigerated, cooked potentially hazardous foods must be date marked. When kept at 41 degrees, a cooked brisket may be re-refrigerated for 7 days. At 45 degrees, the same brisket may only be kept for 4 days.

Crovac packaging helps reduce oxygen, which sustains shelf life.:tongue:
Click to expand...

You, fellow Texan, need to head on over to Cattle Call and intoduce yourself:grin:
 
Resurrecting this old thread- I'm headed to Restaurant Depot today to pick up meat for cooks in the next couple of weeks. I'm not worried about brisket, or the pork for Wed and Thurs, but how about pork for the 14th? Any wisdom?
 
It will probably hold if it is cryovac'd.
If in doubt, freeze.
 
The date that the meat was cryovaced should be listed on the outside of the cardboard case it comes out of. I have seen this on cases of IBP and EXEL ribs. I ask the person handling the meat if they can find it for me and they usually have no problem unless the case was thrown out.

I recently heard someone talking about aging briskets for 30 days in the fridge while still in the cryovac at 34 degrees before he cooks them for comps. He also said that you could age them to 30 days and then freeze them until you are ready for them as well.
 
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