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what happens if you eat expired bacon
Expired or bad Bacon can cause Salmonella poisoning. It is bad for our health to eat bad or expired bacon. So it is necessary to check bacon carefully before cooking. It may be refrigerated for about 1 week after expiration if it has been packed properly.
Taking raw bacon increases the risk of foodborne illnesses, like toxoplasmosis, trichinosis, and tapeworms. Bacon that is expired, or has gone bad, contains lots of bacteria and other germs, like salmonella, E.coli, Clostridium, or tapeworms, which can lead to food poisoning. If you eat bacon that has gone bad, it may lead to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, chest pain, and dehydration. Consuming bacon that has gone bad also increases your body temperature, and you may experience a fever, which is your bodys natural protection mechanism, and is an indication that something is wrong with your body.
Most people that have eaten bad bacon will experience mild symptoms such as an upset stomach, or maybe a slight fever. Eating bad turkey bacon, which has been left to rot or become rancid, may produce the same symptoms discussed above with pork bacon.
Any poor quality meat, including bad bacon, has an increased risk of containing large amounts of bacteria, including Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Bacillus, Clostridium, and Escherichia coli. If you are dealing with a slimy bacon, it is a sign of Lactic acid bacteria, which makes the meat greasy and indicates it is spoiled.
Bacteria and molds, which can turn bacon sour, may be in contact with the bacon once it is opened in its packaging. Bacteria and mold that can turn your Bacon bad, more than likely, attach to your bacon after you have opened the factory package. Instead, washing your bacon would expose you to cross-contamination, since bacteria would be spreading in the dishes and other food items that would be exposed to water from the bad bacon. It is best to get rid of bad bacon right away so that it does not contaminate any other meat products.
Since bacon is such a prevalent meat product, improperly stored bacon has the potential of going bad, knowing how to properly store bacon is essential for avoiding spoilage and food poisoning. While there are a number of factors that could lead to bacon going bad, you can help keep your bacon from going bad, even when you get it past the printing deadline, and maintain the quality of your bacon through its best possible usage. To prevent a scenario where the bacon goes bad too early for your expectations, you may want to put it in a freezer, but remember to wrap it up first.
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Cooked bacon should be wrapped in plastic wrap or foil, and then stored in an appropriate container before refrigerating. The amount of time that cooked bacon can remain outside is also less, so make sure you keep it refrigerated at all times to extend its life. Your cooked bacon will still be good a couple days later in the refrigerator, how you are storing it could reduce its shelf-life and make it unsafe to eat.
For slower, safer thawing, you can keep your frozen bacon in the refrigerator, where it is safe to eat for up to seven days. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends eating bacon up to one week after the expiration date, so if it is been frozen on the last day it is available, you will want to eat it up to seven days after it is thawed. The USDA recommends using dried-cured, chopped bacon within ten days when unrefrigerated, or within four weeks if kept refrigerated. Pre-packaged sliced bacon can be stored in its unopened, vacuum-sealed packaging in the fridge for up to one week after its expiration date.
Unsliced bacon slabs can also be wrapped with foil or placed in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for several weeks at a time. Uncooked, unopened bacon can be stored just the way it is, and if it is frozen, a package of foil can be wrapped around it to help keep it from freezing. Wrap the original package securely in plastic wrap or in heavy-duty freezer bags: Unopened bacon will last 8 months, and opened or cooked bacon will last 6 months.
| Bacon | Shelf Life |
| Unopened | 8 months |
| Opened or Cooked | 6 months |
| Properly Stored Unopened | 1-2 months |
Properly stored, unopened bacon will retain its best quality for approximately 1-2 months in the freezer, but it will stay safe past this period. Finally, vacuum sealed packages of bacon can last for longer under similar conditions in the freezer. Cooked bacon, which has been stored correctly, has a shorter shelf life as well, generally lasting about 4-5 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer. Bacterial infections and trichinellosis can cause symptoms of the stomach. Average Shelf Life Unopened bacon generally can last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and up to 8 months in the freezer.
Eating uncooked bacon may expose you to bacteria, as well as parasites, and may result in either bacterial infections or trichinellosis, also called trichinosis, a parasitic infection. Eating rotten bacon puts you at risk for food poisoning by various bacteria — including E. coli; Staphylococcus aureus; Toxoplasmosis gondii; Campylobacter; Yersinia, and Listeria. All the aforementioned bacteria can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain and fatigue – food poisoning is highly distressing at best, and absolutely dangerous at worst, so take no unneeded risks when it comes to bacon storage and handling. Bacteria on bacon surfaces can multiply, even if you keep your bacon in the fridge; cooking to 145 degrees F usually eliminates the bacteria and pests.
Because of the nitrate/nitrates process, and smoking, regular bacon should be safe at room temperature longer than the 2 hours we gave to the uncured meat, but 32 hours is just too long. Opened bacon, be it cooked, uncooked, or turkey bacon, is generally still safe to eat past its Use By date or Best By Date. An unopened package of bacon can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks after its recommended best by date, and it should be refrigerated right after you buy it (at about 4 degrees Celsius). Once opened, bacon can be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days–the best by date may have expired during this time, but it should still be safe to use as long as properly stored. If you choose not to use your defrostedbacon within 7 days, you can safely re-freeze it without cooking first.
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Cooked meats will mold if left too long in the refrigerator, so if you see tiny, vague, white or blue spots on the bacon, it is most certainly unsafe to consume. If you have somehow overcome the smell and taste of poor quality bacon and eaten it anyway, it will taste acidic or bitter, rather than that savory-umami flavor bacon has.
How long can you use bacon after the expiration date?
If all the necessary packing and storage requirements are satisfied, as detailed below, bacon can be kept for 1-2 weeks after the “sell by” date on the box. Bacon may be securely frozen for up to 8 months.
Can you still eat expired bacon?
It is unsafe to consume expired bacon as there is a high risk it may contain large amounts of bacteria including Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Bacillus, Clostridium, and Escherichia coli. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrheal infection, chest pain, and dehydration, which can ultimately lead to hospitalization.
How do you know if bacon has gone bad?
You can tell that your bacon is spoiled if its red hue color begins to dull or fade into a grey, brown, or greenish shade. Rotten bacon may also have a slimy texture than a tender or moist one. Moreover, if your bacon has a stale odor, you should immediately discard it.