When I buy food it's at least a few weeks worth, and I bought some ground beef the other day with the intention of using it over a couple weeks. I have a couple questions regarding storage:
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I use about a pound of it a time, so I took it out of its wrapping, cut it up, and put the pieces into sealable plastic bags, wrapped in foil, and then stuck them in the freezer. Is this an acceptable storage?
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The sell-by date will be coming up very soon. However I was looking at this website which states ground beef can be frozen for 3-4 months. Is it safe to store past the sell-by date?
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More generally, is sell-by meant to be different than "use by" dates I also see on certain items?
Thanks!
Best Answer
(1) Yes, that's fine. If you use freezer bags, you don't need foil even. For longer-term frozen storage, vacuum sealed bags work better.
(2) Frozen food stored at 0°F (or lower) is basically safe to eat forever. Eventually, the flavor will be affected and you won't want to eat it (but it won't make you sick). Three to four months is reasonable in tightly-sealed freezer bags. Longer in vacuum sealed bags. The storage time is entirely a flavor thing, so you can get away with a little longer for strongly-seasoned meat (e.g., tacos) vs. lightly seasoned (hamburger). The sell-by date assumes storage at around 30°F (normal for refrigerated meat)
(3) I believe so, stuff should still be good a few days after the sell by date.