To think you can't buy a fresh turkey a week before Xmas and expect it to keep?

[SparklyChristmasCandle]

I was always taught that if you buy fresh meat from the supermarket, regardless of the use by date, that if you're not going to eat it within a day or so, it's best to freeze the meat.

I've seen loads of news articles about fresh turkeys bought on 19th that have gone off. I wouldn't want to keep a fresh turkey that long.

Good for you , a lot of people don’t have a large freezer - it should be fresh til it’s use by date , the consumer is not at fault

It should be perfectly fine, if refrigerated or whatever the storage label says, until it's use by date. That's the point of the use by date after all.

If they've followed the storage label then it's definitely not their fault.

I would unwrap it if it's in plastic but tbh I agree OP.

I wouldn't keep fresh meat for 6 days tbh. 3 days probably. Imo the problem often lies in the fact that people don't actually store it properly. Yes, they put it in a fridge, but is the fridge the right temp? If it's being open often it might not be and I assume it is open often because people host, munch, prep etc.. Or if it's really old.

I was always taught that if you buy fresh meat from the supermarket, regardless of the use by date, that if you're not going to eat it within a day or so, it's best to freeze the meat

I would never freeze meat if I was planning to use it before the use by date. I'm not a fan of freezing meat, it seems to change the taste/texture, no matter how you defrost it.

But then why give a use by date?

Not everyone has a freezer big enough and the alternative is risking not getting one by going to the apocalyptic supermarkets on Christmas Eve.

Luckily I'm having solo Christmas this year by choice and I'll be making a spag bol later

I wouldn't freeze meat days before its use by date if I knew I was going to use it. But I also wouldn't buy something like a turkey almost a week before Christmas either. We got ours on the 23rd and the use by is tomorrow.

YANBU and the amount of people that stuff the fridge to capacity so air can't circulate and they don't lower the temp down the turkey won't be the only thing off by Christmas day in those conditions. I bought my crown frozen and defrosted it on Monday and it's as good if not better than a fresh Turkey i dont think they store them correctly in the supermarkets either or during transit

YANBU. I know not everyone is able to get out Christmas Eve/day before to pick up a turkey, but I personally wouldn't risk a week old turkey regardless of use by date - it would require too much careful storage for my limited knowledge.

@Celebelly due to other commitments I did my shopping on Friday. My turkey also has sell by tomorrow. I guess yours just sat in the open supermarket fridge being taken in and out by people examining it for the 3 days after I bought mine... Not sure that makes it any more likely to be fresh up to its use by than mine.

I agree, in that poultry often seems to smell off before the use by date these days.

I was always taught that if you buy fresh meat from the supermarket, regardless of the use by date, that if you're not going to eat it within a day or so, it's best to freeze the meat.

Where do you think it sits in the supermarket until the useby date? They don’t freeze them until someone wants to buy it.

Where do you think it sits in the supermarket until the useby date? They don’t freeze them until someone wants to buy it.

Yes I know what you're saying, I'm not saying I'm definitely right, just that's what I've always been told. Whether it's because they're generally stored better in the supermarket fridges, or they're usually sold well before the date.

I'm just always surprised that people are surprised a turkey has gone off after being sat in the fridge for a week.

I think it probably gets sold before the use by date. The customer either buys it and cooks it, puts it in the freezer, or has the problem we’re discussing here. I know of multiple instances of chicken breast being off before the use by date.

Most fresh turkeys in the supermarkets had a use by date of 26th.

Whether I picked it up on the 19th or the 23rd wouldn't make any difference as it's usually the same turkey just that it sat in a different fridge.

YANBU

just that's what I've always been told.

Unless it’s by the world’s leading expert in fresh turkey preservation then just do your own thinking!

I'm just always surprised that people are surprised a turkey has gone off after being sat in the fridge for a week.

If it’s before it’s use by date then they are right to expect it to be safe until then. Of course it’s surprising that it goes off before then.

Mine was ordered in, not off the shelf, so no idea how long it's been where and when!

I suspect the conditions in the supermarket are rather better than your average domestic fridge.

But can confirm it's not off and is in the oven

I'm just always surprised that people are surprised a turkey has gone off after being sat in the fridge for a week.

Supermarkets shouldn't give them long use-by dates if they're not going to keep for that long. I bought our meat on the 22nd and it had a date of the 26th, but if it had said 29th, I would expect it to be perfectly okay to cook on that date.

The consumer is not at fault for following the manufacturers instructions!

I suspect the conditions in the supermarket are rather better than your average domestic fridge.

I have seen piles of turkeys on shelves with the ones at the front sticking out

I suspect the conditions in the supermarket are rather better than your average domestic fridge.

I wouldn't. I used to work in major supermarket chain and there are all sorts of rules about how long fresh food can be on the stacking cages before it goes into a fridge, or in an online shop trolley before being stored in a refrigerated van.

They were always ignored. Those turkeys etc than you buy from a supermarket are in and out of fridges more there than at home.

Arghhh posted too soon.

Sticking out way beyond the shelf. My fridge has its door closed most of the time with the temperature shown on the front.

But use by means use by.... If it's a use by the 28th, then it should be fine until that date, irrespective of whether it's been stored in a supermarket fridge or one at home.

It's hugely wasteful to chuck meat after you've had it a couple of days when it's nowhere near the use by date. And it's not unreasonable for people to be upset when they have a product which has gone off already when the sell by date is still not here yet.