"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> Janet B. wrote:
>> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Sheldon wrote:
>>>> On Oct 6, 1:29?am, "Default User" > 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.
>> Janet
>
> And as I said for the last 10 years on rfc, I don't eat cold sandwiches.
> So
> I don't buy "fresh" sliced deli meats. But I can't see how putting a
> warning on them would open them up to lawsuits. More like the defendant
> saying, "They didn't tell me! Now I want $10,000,000! because I was stupid
> enough to eat green deli sliced meat!"
>
> Jill
>
I wasn't commenting on whether or not you purchased sandwich meat. My point
was that if the meat were near spoilage or the buyer handled the meat
incorrectly, putting a label on the package that said use by a particular
date is the same as saying that the meat is guaranteed to be good until
then. The buyer can then argue that the meat went bad before then and the
store was at fault for food poisoning or whatever. See?
Janet