To ask if 'use by' date on meat changes once it's cooked?

[CityCommuter]

This random topic came up in conversation this evening with a friend... she says that if use by date on raw beef (never frozen) is today and it's then cooked it will therefore last for a few more days as it's like new again and that the same applies to lamb, pork/ham but not to chicken or fish... I thought a use by date meant it had to be cooked and eaten before that date? Can anyone tell me the facts on this please!

There won’t be any bacteria in the inner part of a cut of beef, which is why you can eat it rare. It’s absolutely fine to eat for a few days after cooking.

@Ninkanink

There won’t be any bacteria in the inner part of a cut of beef, which is why you can eat it rare. It’s absolutely fine to eat for a few days after cooking.

Really? Ok!

But that wouldn’t apply to a rare burger would it (not that you’d want to eat that cold)

No because with mince the beef has been broken up.

Yes, once cooked you have three days to eat it. I thought everyone knew this!?

@MistyMorns not me and to quote Michael Caine 'not a lot of people know that'!

You buy a chicken and it has three days left on it.

You cook it on its use by date (still safe) and it can be cooled quickly and refrigerated for three more days.

You can take the cooked chicken and make another dish using it as long as it's properly cooked, and this too can remain safely in the fridge for another three days.

You get 9 days on a chicken if it's treated properly.

I was always taught the rhyme

Pease porridge hot
Pease porridge cold
Pease porridge in the pot 9 days old.

If food is reheated properly and stored properly it's safe. If it's out of the fridge for 24 hours it must be brought up to a rolling boil for 10 minutes. Or reheated thoroughly in an oven.

It can then remain without refrigeration again, as long as it's brought to a rolling boil for 10 minutes the following day.

This came from my grandmother who was a cook in service in the 1930's in London. The didn't waste anything!

This link actually says that food shouldn’t be cooked after the use by date.

@beautifullymad very interesting post and 9 days of food from a chicken! Now that's even better that a traditional Mumsnet chicken which provides 4 family meals!

It’s fine to cook meat after the use by date if you know what you’re doing. What do you think people did before we had printers to print out fancy things on packaging? They used their noses/eyes and common sense to judge whether it was safe to eat.

@ScarlettDarling

This link actually says that food shouldn’t be cooked after the use by date.

But it can be cooked on the use by date. I'd still use my nose before trusting a printed date. It can change depending on how long it took from supermarket to fridge.

@Ninkanink

It’s fine to cook meat after the use by date if you know what you’re doing. What do you think people did before we had printers to print out fancy things on packaging? They used their noses/eyes and common sense to judge whether it was safe to eat.

Yes of course they did, I get that. It’s just posters saying that cooking somehow ‘resets’ the use by date. The link from the food standards agency suggests that’s not the case.

Cooking does reset the date.

Agencies have to be careful on cooking advice because there are so many numpties about.

@beautifullymad yes it could be cooked on the use by date but that link says it shouldn’t be eaten after the use by date. Must admit, I am terrified of food poisoning so am ultra careful with these things. I know lots of people are far less careful and have no problems.

I eat things past the use by date anyway. Its a guideline, not a "this product will go off at 12.01am" sticker.

Cooking does reset the clock, 3-4 days off chicken, beef etc. You can also freeze it.

The date is an educated estimate on how quickly the meat is likely to go off. If I opened a pack of chicken and it stunk to high heaven I wouldn’t eat it even if it had a week to go on the use by date. By the same token, I’ve cooked chicken that was a couple of days past the date, and steak that was a week over. If it’s been hung for 21 days it’s likely going to be just fine more than a few days past the date.

It's the same with freezing. You can freeze meat raw, then once you cook it you can freeze the cooked meal again. But you can't re-freeze uncooked meat that you've defrosted.

Your friend is correct, good for another couple of days.

[quote ScarlettDarling]@beautifullymad yes it could be cooked on the use by date but that link says it shouldn’t be eaten after the use by date. Must admit, I am terrified of food poisoning so am ultra careful with these things. I know lots of people are far less careful and have no problems.[/quote]
Cooking kills the bacteria in a food. The use by date is to tell you that the product will reach its maximum level of bacteria that can safely be killed by cooking.
Once you've cooked it properly you've killed the bacteria that would have given you food poisoning.
This is why it can then be stored safely and eaten up to three days later. The bacteria will start to rise very gradually again but not to unsafe levels in those three days.

I've just reached day 7 of my 9 day chicken and the whole family are well.

My chicken was in the fridge on its use by date. I roasted it and used the breasts for a meal.

Cooked quickly, covered and stored in the fridge. Three days later I boiled it up for two hours to make stock, picked the chicken off the bones and made a hearty chicken soup. That we ate that night and I've stored the rest for tomorrow.

I'll reheat it very well. It's what I've always done, we are always well and it saves a lot as I can buy a huge chicken to feed many.