I found a lb of smoked sausage tucked in the back of the fridge today ...

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If it’s vacuum sealed it’s fine

Are you talking about june of 2002 or june 2 2020? I mean are you that hard up that you have to make this life changing decision?

Use by dates are the date that the company can prove there is not enough bacterial growth to make you sick (using a scientific study). The company has to have a scientific study to prove to the USDA that their # of days is safe. Usually, the product is safer for longer than that date, but that’s the date they can prove based on the study.

Is it still good? More than likely, yes.

How can you tell? The smell test. Bacteria is interesting. As many grow, it can change the smell bad. Open it and smell it. If it smells bad, throw it out.

Would I eat it? Yes, especially if I’m cooking it since cooking can kill some (not all) of the bacteria, if there are any bacteria present.

The general rule of thumb is “when in doubt, throw it out.” If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t eat it.

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Who the hell is going to eat 18 year old sausage

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36 29 32 liked 18yo sausage

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Sausage has enough preservative to kill a mule.

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The log growth of bacteria is what you need to understand. Cooking sausage kills enough bacteria so that it won’t get you sick. There’s still the possibility of bacteria there, it’s just reduced to a small number and a small number won’t hurt you. That small amount of bacteria can grow over time and eventually grow a large enough number to get you sick or to reduce the quality of the product. The preservatives slow this growth down, allowing a longer shelf life. How do they do this? Well bacteria require retain factors to grow and the preservatives limit some of those factors making the environment not as healthy for the bacteria thus resulting in a slower growth.

The new technology, which some processors are using, can re-cook the sausage AFTER it is vacuum packed therefore theoretically making it as safe as canned foods. It’s quite amazing and the longer shelf life isn’t due to preservatives, but a pasteurization process.