How Dangerous Is Eating Spoiled Meat?

The Consequences of Eating Spoiled Meat

Not all microbes found on spoiled meat are dangerous. However, if your meat is contaminated with pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter, or E. coli, you can become very sick from food poisoning, according to Mayo Clinic.

Most food poisoning is mild and doesn’t require treatment, but it can be life-threatening in some cases. Severe illness is most common in children, older adults, those who are pregnant, and people with weakened immune systems. Many people with conditions that cause immune deficiency don’t realize they have them, however, according to Yale Medicine and research.

Symptoms of foodborne illness may start within hours or days. They include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), and other gastrointestinal issues. Mayo Clinic notes that symptoms usually resolve within 48 hours with home treatment, such as fluid and electrolyte replacement. If it lasts longer than that, you may need to see a doctor.

Treatment for more severe cases depends on the cause of the food poisoning and might include intravenous fluids, as well as antibiotics or antiparasitic medication to kill microbes.

The bacteria that causes spoilage isn't guaranteed to make you sick, Cleveland Clinic notes, but spoilage is a good indicator that disease-causing bacteria are also present. Whether you'll get sick may also be determined by whether you fully cooked your food.

Many bacteria can be killed during the cooking process, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes. For instance, if you've made a boiled stew or soup and cooked your meat for a while, you may not get sick. But you need to use an internal meat thermometer to check that you’ve reached the proper temperature — 145 degrees Fahrenheit for red meat, 160 degrees Fahrenheit for ground meats and ground poultry, and 165 degrees Fahrenheit for all other poultry.

However, heat isn't a guaranteed way to prevent food poisoning, according to the Washington State Department of Health. This is because certain bacteria also release toxins that aren’t destroyed by heat. Even when you kill these bacteria by cooking them, the toxins will remain in the food and can cause you to become sick.

Always err on the side of caution when it comes to food safety.

Identifying Spoiled Meat

While many foods, including meat, may come with a “use by” date, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notes it’s neither required by federal law, nor an indication of safety in food products (with the exception of baby formula). So how can you tell when meat has gone bad?

Fresh meat usually has a mild smell or no smell at all, research says. In comparison, rancid meat may smell strange, the Ohio Department of Agriculture notes. You'll know if you have rancid meat in your fridge because it often has a strong odor, most commonly foul-smelling, or with the sour, acidic, “stinky feet” smell of cheese, according to research.

Sometimes red meat turns brownish or grayish-brown inside, due to oxygen exposure or deprivation rather than spoilage, according to the Australian Institute of Food Safety. But if meat turns brown or gray on the outside, it’s beginning to rot. Bad meat is likely to have notable discolorations. Green, gray, or brownish hues are usually a sign of bacterial growth.

The texture of your meat is also indicative of whether it's gone bad. Fresh meat should be firm and bounce back when you touch it. If your meat is slimy or sticky, your meat has most likely become contaminated by some sort of microbe.

Preventing Fresh Meat From Spoiling

Like the “use by” date, the “sell by” date on packaging isn’t required by federal law or meant to indicate how long a product is safe or fresh, according to the USDA. The agency advises using or freezing beef, veal, pork, and lamb products within three to five days of purchase. For poultry like chicken and turkey, as well as any type of ground meat, use or freeze it within one to two days of purchase.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you should always keep meat in your refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This helps prevent spoilage.

Freezing Meat to Preserve Freshness

If you don't plan on eating your meat within the recommended time periods, you can keep your meat from going bad by freezing it at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the FDA. The Washington State Department of Health notes that bacteria can survive freezing temperatures, however, so this isn’t a way to salvage spoiled meat.

The FDA recommends the following limits for keeping raw meat in the freezer:

• Bacon: 1 month
• Sausage: 1 to 2 months
• Ground and stew meats, poultry: 3 to 4 months
• Organ meats: 3 to 4 months
• Poultry giblets: 3 to 4 months
• Red meat chops: 4 to 6 months
• Red meat roasts: 4 to 12 months
• Red meat steaks: 6 to 12 months
• Poultry cuts: 9 months
• Whole poultry: 12 months