Aibu not binning ham after 3 days

[Hahaha88]

So, my ohs just told me he chucks ham away after its been open for 3 days, as per the info on the packet. I always keep mine til it's eaten as long as it's still within the best before date. I keep it in a resealable bag.
Aibu not binning it after the 3 day guide? It feels so wasteful. Granted I usually give out of date cooked meats to the cat but still.

I do the same. As long as it smells fine then I will eat it.

HIBU. It might have dried out a bit, but it will be completely fine to eat.

Isn’t ham cured so the salt will preserve it? Parma Ham states it is 24 months old on the packet! I’ve always eaten out of date ham with no issues.

Technically he's right.

Are you saying if you bought ham with a sell buy of end of March but you opened it beginning of March, you would keep it till its sell buy as it would be rank.

Though I think sometimes ham can be used past three days

Plus food waste is a MASSIVE environmental problem. People need to start using more common sense and eat the food in their fridges.

I didn’t realise you were supposed to bin it? If it’s in a resealable bag and still in it’s use by date then I use it, never thought not to.

Ham gets opened and is kept untill it's used. Its usually used within a week of opening. I'd never throw away after three days. As long as food looks and smells fine it gets eaten, i take no notice of use by or best before dates. It feels so wasteful to throw food that is fine to eat just because the label says so.

I use my judgement, if it looks and smells fine, if it's been a week since I opened it I still eat it. I genuinely thought that's what everyone did. I agree it just feels so wasteful not too

I dont really know as I dont eat it but ds and the cat have eaten it after 3 days with no ill effects.
Coming on to say I read your title as "Should I bin HIM after 3 days?" And thought you were being unreasonable lol

I'm with you OP. I always just use my nose! If it smells like ham, it's fine. If it smells a bit, you know, offish, give it to the cat. Our cat loves ham, beef, prawns, chicken pieces. He's a good judge too..... sometimes, even he turns his nose up, then I know I was right to chuck it .

@recklessruby haha!

I wish they would get rid of best before dates and have more sensible use by dates.

It's scandalous people throwing out perfectly good food.

I never throw it away after three days.

Ah see whilst I'd scrape a bit of mould off some bread so I could toast it, I probably wouldn't readily eat 3-day-opened ham. I wouldn't bin it, I'd make a toastie, cook with it or stick it in the freezer to spice up a macaroni or something.

I'd eat a home cooked ham for a week max after cooking, but then that's 7 days from first cooking.

I'd worry that a mildly cured ham (nowadays they're not as salty as they were in the days you'd have it hanging in your pantry for months) once open would be no less vulnerable to bacteria than any other cooked meat.

I would eat unopened ham 3 days after sell by date though, it's been packaged in CO2 and will be less vulnerable.

I had no idea you were meant to bin ham 3 days after opening 🤔 ah well, we aren’t dead yet.

A pig died for that ham. YANBU.

it gets used all week... nobody has died

Same goes for milk!

There weren't any best before dates or whatever when I was a child!
My family and I managed to survive by using common sense, which is sadly lacking these days...

We do The Cat Test. If El Moggo eats it, it's fine

@iklboo I've seen mine eat some seriously questionable things like, we'd be poorly if we relied on that lol

Best before is a quality issue and use by is a safety issue. Use by dates are calculated for safety of the food and should be followed. Air Bourne bacteria and cross contamination can contaminate food and this can multiple to dangerous levels before it smells off. You wouldn't smell e coli 157 but it causes plenty of I'll health a year and can, and does, cause kidney failure. Stick to the instructions. They are there for a reason. Buy less if you have it over the recommended times.

@lurker69 but people have and do

My lovely parents think that if a use by date is say 3.3.20 then it's safe to eat anytime before then after its been opened.It doesn't work like that!

500 people die from food poison a year in UK and 20000 are treated in hospital and another million cases a year suspected through GP data and self reporting. Most in the home.