Using out of date minced beef

[Monty27]

So the sell by date was 24 August. It was tbf slightly discoloured. It smelled fine.
I cooked it Bolognese style for yonks. A couple of hours probably, adding ingredients and stirring as I went along.
It tastes lovely but my picky 23 yo DS refused to eat it as he knew it was ood.
Would you?
Tia

I just scrape mould off cream cheese as well

Have never had food poisoning. Although maybe one day my body will just turn into one giant toxin!

Steak is not the same thing as mince!

@OrangeCakecrisp The meat wasn't mouldy though. It was just discoloured.
That can happen for number of reasons.
For example bacon goes greenish, but it's ok. Ham changes too and it's ok. Chemical reactions.

I wouldn't eat the discoloured beef rare, like in a tartare steak (shouldn't be from mince anyway), but if there is no smell or stickiness whatsoever, why not cook it.

It's not like bacteria can read and start it's works on a midnight of the printed date.

Keep your fridge temp right, store things properly and you will be surprised how long some things can last. My fridge was the best investment ever. Everything lasts ages in there. I have not thrown anything away in years.

Hehe fair enough @MustardScreams

No, the sniff test doesnt work for meat either.
"Keep in mind that just because there isn’t a rotten smell doesn’t mean it’s safe — sorry. Bacteria could be lurking within meat that isn’t “rotten” and having you regret the fast food burger you ate for lunch in a whole new way".
www.today.com/food/how-tell-if-meat-has-gone-bad-t104469

There has also been a few cases of chicken factories who change the use by dates, making your chicken or mince go off earlier than the use by date. I find chicken mince smells rank if I leave it to the day of the use by date.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/29/warning-supermarket-chicken-sell-dates-investigation-finds-breaches/

It's not like bacteria can read and start it's works on a midnight of the printed date.

I know, but when it comes to meat I think it’s best to be cautious - as others have said the bacteria can be present well before it begins to smell and can multiply fast, which is why there’s a use by date rather than a best before - I would probably give it another day but not 3 like the OP has. I’m by no means super strict when it comes to things like this (I scraped some mould off he top of my jam this morning and happily ate the rest), but I don’t think it’s worth taking risks with raw meat.

@Aroundnabout1

Always check the sell-by date, and don’t forget to factor in how many days it will stay in your fridge until you plan on cooking. A good rule of thumb is two days past the sell-by date as a cutoff. Also, if you find yourself with ground meat that has gone past the sell by date by more than a day or two, just cook it (but never cook it if it smells bad). Cooked ground meat will stay good for a week if properly stored.

I would have eaten it if cooked as you did.

That wasn't supposed be all bold. Sorry.

I buy most of my meat from the butchers and if I've had it a while, I rely on smell, feel and looks to decide if it's still ok to eat.
We just had a pantry under the stairs with a tiled floor when I was growing up so whilst I love my 2 big fridges, I'm not reliant on sell by dates and will make a decision based on common sense and experience.

I did this last week with mince that was 3 days out of date and it was fine. No smell and it wasn’t slimy. We survived.

I'm from a family of butchers so I'll always go with my nose over the dates. As PP said it's to stop you suing them.

Going right off the subject....quorn mince can be used from frozen,tastes fab and is healthier and no worries about eating rotting meat.
I agree with your dc I would not have cooked that for a meat eater in my family.water
Hope you are ok after doing so.💛

Going right off the subject....quorn mince can be used from frozen,tastes fab and is healthier and no worries about eating rotting meat.

It also gives massive number of people violent reactions...

Damn it. "Violent vomiting or diarrhea reactions"

I eat everything regardless of date. As long as it smells ok - it's fine.

Quorn mince gives me violent shits.

Years ago our nephew worked for Sainsburys. He said all the sell by dates were actually 2 days later than was stamped on the packs.

Conversely, no matter what the sell by date is, if it doesn't look or smell right we don't use it. Which is why the chicken I opened yesterday with the 29th August sell by date on that looked a funny colour and smelt a bit off is going back!

I have the stomach of an ox and always eat out of date good and rarely throw anything away. I freeze any leftovers I can't eat the next day.

I would have smelt it and instinctively known if it was ok to use.

I wouldn't have used out of date mince because mince is a higher risk product for food poisoning than for example a beef steak due to the way it is processed as it has a higher surface area. I would only use in date mince.

That said you reduce the risk as much as possible by cooking very thoroughly.

I'd have eaten it and not given it a second thought! That said, I hate food waste, drives me mad when people witter on about dates, you can see and smell if something is going off. Use common sense!

In the absence of a cheap handheld toxin detector, and based on years of never having been ill from food, I’ll continue to employ the sniff test and common sense.

@MissB83 you’ve misunderstood the guidance. You shouldn’t eat mince raw or undercooked for this reason - cooked well it’s fine.

@ElizaPancakes I understand the guidance fine thanks, I used to work in food standards!
The higher risk is due to the fact that the food might not be cooked at a high enough temperature. I doubt most people measure with a meat thermometer.