Merguez sausages 1 day out of date - will we be ill?

[BellissimoGecko]

As the title.

Just eaten Merguez sausages. Well cooked, but I noticed halfway through meal that the use by date was yesterday.

In France. DH didn’t check the date before cooking them 🙄🙄 Will we be ill??

Don't be daft. They don't suddenly go from fine to poisonous on the stroke of midnight. 🙄

If they smelled and tasted fine they’re fine. That’s what our senses are for, to help us judge things like this. The dates on all food are always very conservative, they’re a guide not a rule, you can make a judgment for yourself.

But Merguez sausages have a very short date -made on 6 July, eat by 10th. Not the same as English sausages? They are very spicy, so hard to smell if anything is off.

We’re travelling tomorrow, to make things worse. Ffs.

It’ll be fine. If you bought in a butchers there wouldn’t be a use by date . If they smell ok, not slimy and taste ok and you’ve used within a reasonable time frame it’s all good. ( it’s not like you bought them weeks ago!)
As a PP said - it’s not like they will turn toxic on the stroke of midnight!

I'd have eaten them happily knowing they were over the date if looked and smelt okay.

They’ll be fine

How did our ancestors ever survive..l

They're sausages, it's not the same as things like chicken and fish.

Don't worry!

You’ll be fine. I tend to rely on smell rather than dates.

If you didn't notice an off smell, they will have been absolutely fine.

Sausages are probably worse, minced meat so possibility of contamination all the way through, not just on the surface that is the only bit that might have been handled/exposed on chicken or fish. So saying they will be fine, and too late now so not worth worrying about.

It's a Merguez sausage, being out of date is the least of your worries when eating one of them.

@dogcatkitten shhh, don't alarm OP!

But yes too late now fingers crossed

Cumin and harissa spices are all natural preservative. Presumably they have been in the fridge since purchase?

They were in date 7 hours ago. I really wouldn’t worry AT ALL.

And even if we do accidentally eat some gone off meat, raw chicken or whatever, we don’t automatically get ill.

You'll be fine. (If it makes you feel any better I've got all my Food Hygiene certificates and training!)

What do you do if you buy from the butcher or fish monger? They don't put use my dates on.

Of all the things that concern about our future, people's inability to use any kind of critical thinking is one of my biggest worries.

Do you genuinely think they’ll just go off on the stroke of midnight? 🫣

Yeah, thanks. I’m emetophobic.

My ability to think critically is just fine, but I’m not always logical around food.

And we need to travel all day tomorrow. If we didn’t, I wouldn’t be as concerned. But I’m running through all the scenarios - what if DH is not well enough to drive, etc?

Yes! There is no built-in micro-chip that 'expires' them, and therefore generates harmful bacteria into them at midnight!

Good grief, of course they will be alright. I find it so odd that people flap about this sort of thing