"Sheldon" <PENMART01@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1191717256.842685.98230@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 6, 5:04?pm, "Janet B." <nos...@cableone.net> wrote:
>> "jmcquown" <jmcqu...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
>>
>> news:5mqa59Fepat0U1@mid.individual.net...
>>
>>
>>
>> > Sheldon wrote:
>> >> On Oct 6, 1:29?am, "Default User" <defaultuse...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >>> jmcquown wrote:
>> >>>> Glasswalker wrote:
>> >>>>> Hey all.
>>
>> >>>>> Just wondering how long deli meat can be expected to store in the
>> >>>>> fridge? I'm talking about meat (in this case salami, pastrami, and
>> >>>>> pepperoni) sliced and purchased from the deli in the local
>> >>>>> supermarket. This deli in particular wraps the meat with some
>> >>>>> paper, and then puts it in a zip top bag with a slider zipper.
>>
>> >>>> Read the "use by" date on the package.
>>
>> >>> What package? He's talking about stuff purchased from the deli. I've
>> >>> never seen any dates on those.
>>
>> >> You never will. If they have a scale that generates a weight/$$ label
>> >> it will also print the date of sale, but not a use-by date.... pre-
>> >> packaged, factory sealed cold cuts are labeled with a *sell*-by date
>> >> but not a use-by date. Even fresh meats have no use-by date, only a
>> >> sell-by date. But then Jill is different from the rest of us, she has
>> >> a butcher buddy who fills her personal needs.
>>
>> > You're just jealous because you never thought about asking the butcher
>> > to
>> > grind meat for you. At any rate, I don't buy cold cuts. I despise
>> > cold
>> > sandwiches. But I'm pretty sure at the deli they can slap on a sticker
>> > that
>> > says "use by".
>>
>> I would think the supermarket/deli would be opening themselves up to a
>> liability lawsuit if they did that. A 'use-by' date only applies to the
>> unopened package. In this case the unopened package would be the entire
>> hunk of bologna or cheese or whatever that the deli cuts from. Depending
>> upon when they cut into the primary cut, how quickly it is being sold and
>> how it was handled, as Sheldon says, the clock is ticking.
>
>
> Even the cold cut chunk the delis slice from have no use-by date, they
> have a sell-by date. A use-by date is synonymous with an expiration
> date, it's reserved for drugs. Some foods do have a "best used by
> date", but that's a huge difference from "use-by". But you won't find
> a best use-by date on foods that can spoil... carbonated beverages are
> marked with a best used by date, but that only refers to quality
> issues, not safety issues.
>
You are right, I stand corrected.
Janet