Study: Red Meat Safe Shelf Life Seven Weeks

A new study suggests red meat can safely be stored for up to seven weeks.  Advancements in storage and vacuum packaging may extend the shelf life of red meat, according to researchers from the British Meat Producers Association and Meat and Livestock Australia.

The research indicated that raw beef doesn’t become toxic with the bacterium that causes botulism until 50 days after first developing spores.  The beef needed to be chilled at 46 degrees Fahrenheit or below, noting that it takes 45 days for lamb and 25 days for pork to land in similar circumstances at the same temperature.  U.K. officials initially set a shelf-life rule of ten days for fresh beef in 1992, with revised guidance issued in 2008.

Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports the findings could give meat processors the ability to apply longer retail shelf lives to their products, benefitting consumers and the environment thanks to lower levels of food waste and improved sustainability.

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