\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. This article has been viewed 515,308 times. As long as you know the signs and are on the lookout for spoiled food, you can keep yourself safe while eating and handling meat! In this case, follow cooking instructions carefully and throw the meat out if you notice signs of spoilage. The Advantages Of Using A Butcher If You Love Eating Meat. In case you let meat at room temperature with no cover, the bacteria density will multiply two times compared to when it is refrigerated and sealed. Color changes are completely normal for fresh meats, so it is better to know a couple of different ways to help you tell if the steak has gone bad or not. Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve. Its trash! If it smells like rotten and rancid, then discard it right away. Red meat, poultry, and seafood all exhibit different spoilage signs. Store the Meat at the recommended temperature, which is around 40F. 2. A Look at the Science, Meat Temperature: A Guide to Safe Cooking, Eating Meat for Weight Loss? Like any other old, spoiled food, bad meat can make you sick. Another way to check your ground beef is by conducting a touch test. of Health and Human Services, Ultimate Guide to Cooking Meat: Best Ways to Get Juicy, Tender Meat + How Long to Cook Meat For, How to Check if Your Bacon is Spoiled (And How to Keep it Fresh), How to Keep Flour Weevils Out of Your Pantry, How Long Does Ham Last? When you remove the meat from the sealed pouch to rinse it, if it has a strong smell and the meat feels sticky or slimy, then there is a good chance that it has spoiled. Step 3: Wipe Down and Sanitize the Freezer [12] Freeze any beef if you don't plan on cooking or eating it right away. Red meat and steak can last on the fridge for 3-5 days. Never taste food to determine its safety! The scent changes due to the increased growth of spoilage bacteria, such as Lactobacillus spp. Spoiled red meat has a distinct, pungent ammonia scent. Ground beef stored at room temperature for more than two hours activates harmful bacterias. Again, it's most likely because it thawed at some point, or was already bad before going in the freezer. As meat goes bad, it usually takes on grayish undertones. As for the use-by-date, if it is June 15th, you need to cook or freeze the meat by that date. Anything in between these two ranges is in the Danger Zone and will start to develop bacteria. So, if you have a dry age steak, then you should use different methods to tell if it is bad or not as the smell test may be easily mistaken. Lets say you left raw ground beef in the fridge for 7 daysif the meat still wasnt 3 days past its sell-by date (or showed any signs of spoilage), it would still be safe to eat. Sell-by and expiration dates are additional guidelines for determining whether your ground beef is good (7). If you're not sure whether a meat is spoiled or not, throw it out to be safe. Return it to the retailer where you purchased it and ask for a refund! Thaw it using your microwave and not the kitchen counter. It may not be safe to eat. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. First thing: Fresh meat, like fresh fish, has no smell. So, it is essential to place your ground beef inside a fridge or a freezer before the two-hour time limit. If the contamination is bad enough, you have vomiting and diarrhea to look forward to. Freezing can further extend its shelf life. Be sure to carefully read the product label when buying ground beef. Also, if the ground beef has any areas that are tinted white or blue, this can indicate . Check the color and expiration date of the meat. Ground meat to be frozen for up to 4 months. Meat has a natural moist feel to it, however this is a clean feeling. But, even though these two bacteria are killed with heat, there are still toxins remaining in the meat. Outbreaks of infections related to these bacteria occur fairly frequently in the United States (1, 3, 12, 13). If you dont notice a funny scent but still see signs of spoilage in color or texture, its still safest to throw it away, as pathogenic bacteria cannot be smelled (6). Spoilage and pathogenic bacteria may both affect ground beef. This would be impossible to see unless it was found during the cutting process. Returning it! If you can see or feel with your fingers a slimy film on the surface of the steak, then it is a sign of spoilage. This helps prevent spoilage. This doesnt indicate spoilage. With over ten years of experience, she specializes in catering, event planning, menu development, meal planning, and food business operations. If the meat smells sour or unpleasant, its probably bad and you should discard it. Avoid fish with scales that look like they're flaking off. Slime is pretty grim in any situation, but it's a particularly bad sign if it's on your steak. However, since grinding the meat exposes more of its surface to air, spoilage organisms have more space to attach to it. How long does ground beef last in the fridge? As a result, you can become sick and even die if you eat a bad steak. However, the duration of time meat can be kept at this temperature depends on the product. How long the meat was left to hang prior to being butchered and packed can also affect the shelf life of the vacuum sealed meat. The most common sign people know to spot a spoiled steak is the change in color. If it smells rancid, strong, or unpleasant, the meat has probably gone bad and should be thrown away. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Freeze any beef if you dont plan on cooking or eating it right away. Some butchers like to age the meat by hanging (see our article here about aged beef) it prior to packing. Avoid eating meats with broken seals or liquids seeping from the package. However, not all red meats have the same color. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Signs that you've eaten contaminated meat include: abdominal cramping, bloating, gas and nausea, according to Mayo Clinic. A spoiled steak will have a potent scent that no longer smells like usual raw meat but has an ammonia-clad aroma, somehow like a cheesy-like smell. Also, home domestic refrigerators vary greatly in how cold they keep food depending on the setting, and the temperature can even differ by a couple of degrees between the top of the refridgerator to the bottom, and the front of the refrigerator to the back. Air Exposure The second reason that causes food spoilage is air exposure. Many healthy foods can be stored long-term without spoiling. The best way is to smell and look at the ground beef: signs of bad ground beef are a sour smell and a slimy texture; discard any ground beef with an off smell or appearance, do not taste first. Slimy or Sticky. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
\n<\/p>

\n<\/p><\/div>"}, Online portal combining food safety information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/7e\/Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-11.jpg\/v4-460px-Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-11.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7e\/Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-11.jpg\/v4-728px-Tell-if-Ground-Beef-Has-Gone-Bad-Step-11.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"