How long does deli meat last?

[nkjzmom]

I have deli sliced turkey from July 23rd and am wondering how long it is good for. One week....2 weeks....5 days.....I have no idea!

 

[Beth76]

Definitely bad. Ham and turkey don't last too long, 4-5 days maybe. Some other things like salami and pastramil last a bit longer. I would keep nothing more than a week.

 

[Laurajean1014]

No more than 3-4 days on Turkey, Chicken, etc.

Now, if you buy the good brands like Hummell, Russer, Boar's Head and Thuman's - they last about 3 days tops. These items do not have any preservatives or added water, so they are fresh and there do not last.

If you buy by the lb. ask to have them give you 2 1/2 lb. packages to keep the air away from the product. Or, go twice a week.

 

[icebrat001]

4 days

 

[MrSpencer]

....not too long if I have any say in the subject....

 

[monarchsfan16]

4 days. Ask Monkeyboy what can happen if you keep it longer

 

[Poohbear123]

What everyone else said, also, it depends on HOW FRESH it was when they opened it at the store. Next time, pay attention to how big the Ham/Turkey is when they slice it, if its from the beginning, that means they just opened it. If its smaller, that means its been exposed to air for about 1-2 days. You can ask for them to open up a fresh one, if you do not like the looks of the peice they are cutting from.

 

[Albertan mom]

I had cut a food safety guide out of a magazine once. It says:

Cold cuts-3-5 days
Opened Bacon-1 week

Chinese Food 3-4 days
Pizza 3-4 days
Cooked Chicken, meatloaf 4 days
Fish 2 days
Beef roasts/stew, ham, pork, lamb, veal 3-4 days
spaghetti sauce 3-4 days
All salads made with mayo (tuna, chicken, egg, potato, pasta, coleslaw) 2 days

Canned fruit, canned frosting 7 days
Jars of baby food 2-3 days
Pudding 1-2 days
cheese 2 weeks
opened yogurt 7-10 days
opened cottage cheese 10-15 days
opened sour cream, cream cheese 2-4 weeks
opened condensed or evaporated milk 4-5 days

bbq sauce, mayo, salad dressings, salsa, mustard, pickles, ketchup 3 monthes

 

[totalia]

Eww. Its bad. Throw it out. I worked in a Deli for a year. It will last anywhere from 4 days to a week depending on how its packaged and if its in the right temperature. After that, its garbage.

Oh and keep in mind that just because you think it was cut the day it was packaged doesn't mean that it was. It could have been cut up to two days before you finally buy it.

 

[Nancy]

Smell it, if you pass out you know it's bad!

seriously, what everyone else said 4-5 days max.

 

[nkjzmom]

Smell it, if you pass out you know it's bad!

Thanks folks!! We usually do the smell test first then the "Is it slimy yet?" Usually deli meat just doesn't even last that long in our house. I guess I bought too much. Just as a side note, it doesn't smell any different than when I bought it. What about bologna? Still the 4-5 days?

My Grandpa buys a lb. or 2 and then freezes half...but it just never looks right after that.

Albertan mom....thanks for the list. It's going on the inside of one of my cabinets.

 

[HappyChickie]

If mayo and mayo based dressings last forever in the jar how come it only lasts for 2 days on a salad?

 

[totalia]

Bologna too. It will last longer frozen but only about 2 weeks before it becomes freezer burnt (no matter how well its wrapped).

Smell doesn't neccesarily matter. Sometimes the smell doesn't change. But that doesn't mean it won't make you sick if you eat it.

Mayo and the like will only last two days out of the jar because it is out of the jar on its own. There are bacteria in the food that will cause it to go bad faster. The jars are specially sealed to allow it to keep longer INSIDE the jar. Oh and they don't last forever either. If it changes color, its garbage (in the case of mayo, usually white to yellow). Its also garbage if the smell changes. No matter what the date says on the jar.

Lol. Never thought working in a deli would come in handy. I hated that job with a passion. Apparently its useful though.

Oh and suggestion... if you buy deli meat... have them freshly slice it in front of you tossing out the first slice they take off (refuse to take it).

Packaged and presliced (the stuff in the little bins you see in the deli fridge) will go bad sooner and may even have been from up to two days before.

Remember, its for your health.

Aww man. 2:30 am and now I want a sandwich and have no meat for it. Grrr

 

[N.Bailey]

It never lasts us long at all. When ham gets slimy, it's time to toss it. At that point, it doesn't smell bad, but ewww, I wouldn't eat it. Hubby would though!!!!!!!

Anyone know how long the meat lasts at the grocery stores? It's hard to believe they go through that much of it in such a short period of time. Does it last longer if it's not been sliced or something?

 

[hppy2bhome]

I'm on the lower side when it comes to deli meat.

It get tossed after the 3rd day.

christina

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I have deli sliced turkey from July 23rd and am wondering how long it is good for. One week....2 weeks....5 days.....I have no idea!

My husband was a deli buyer for a large supermarket chain and the max he will keep any deli meat is 3 days. He is very picky since he is well versed in food saftey. It is not worth it to chance eating bad food. After three days it it goes to Shadow!

 

[huckster]

Please read
I am trained in this area for the State of Michigan
lunch meat
should never be kept longer then 3 ays
roast beef and chicken products are really only good for 24 hours
all these hours can be shorted by other factors such as
leaving it on the counter for 1/2 hour more
trip around the store as it sits in your cart,
trip home
how long you take to put in fridge.
buy in smaller portions
you can freeze lunch meat in a air tight freezer bag
fyi cheese (not soft imports) good for 7 days.
hope this helps

 

[Pop Daddy]

about 5 min if Im in the house

 

[callahanjulie10]

Not as long as I think it should! Everytime I purchase lunch meat, it seems to have that "slimy" film on it the next time I use it. I am not a big lunch meat fan though so maybe it is longer than I think after that first sandwich! YUCK

 

[totalia]

I worked in a grocery store at the deli. Actually, one slab of meat usually doesn't last long. Alot of people come through and buy it. We went through at least two slabs of day. However... the grocery stores preslice their meat quite often. That means that, yes it can have been there for a couple days. That why I say to tell themto cut it right in front of you.

The meat is in special wrappers and can actually last months in those wrappers. There is a date on the wrapper used in grocery stores that the buyer can't see. Usually the store goes through so much of it though that its restocked almost every day.

Also, at a suggestion, if you want say... 150 grams (not sure what yall use in the US) tell them to break it down into three packages of 50. Usually a 50 gram package is enough for two sandwiches (sometimes more if your stingy like me).

Freeze the rest. Then you can pull them out of the freezer to thaw as you need it. And you can keep it up to 2 weeks instead of just 4 days. Its also not such a waste of money if you have to throw some out.

If the meat is slimey, its garbage. No if's, and's or buts. You need to throw it out. DO NOT EAT IT. The bacteria on the food has grown significantly and could make you very sick.

Personally, I keep it 4 days. Then I won't eat anymore of it.

Remember, grocery stores are NOT the healthiest places in the world. I know it would seem otherwise. But, just like other retailers, they are in this to make money. That means its up to you to be very careful what you buy from them for YOUR health.

For example.. the store that I worked at also sold rotiserie chickens and the like. They'd cook and sell the chickens one day. Then they'd stop selling the chickens and put them in the fridge. The chickens would be kept for up to a week in that fridge as the store slowly pulled the meat off them to put them in the chicken pot pies they sold. To me thats just EWWWW.

And people were known to get sick off the chicken pot pies because of that. But the store wouldn't take resposibility for it. And the deli manager would lie to people and say they didn't reuse the meat. Though, I'm hoping my store was the exception to the rule because we also kept the meat past the due dates on the wrappers and, at the deli managers direction, we sold it first.

It may have been made that day but the ingredients may have been kept longer than is healthy to keep the stores costs down.

Your much better to just buy the meat (keeping careful close watch on it so you don't get cheated) and cook it at home.