Who cares about meat that's two years old?

by Bob Sassone, Posted Feb 20th 2008 @ 4:06PM

When I posted about the latest meat recall yesterday - 143 million pounds of meat by Hallmark - I remember wondering to myself why they were worried about meat that was sold two years ago. Wouldn't that meat have been eaten already? Even if we freeze meat, isn't two years a little long to keep it in the fridge, especially in this instance when it wasn't private homes but schools and restaurants?

The answer comes from the Slate's Explainer column today. Simply put, it's because some of it still might be out there, not eaten. Now, that's highly unlikely, but the recall had to happen just to make sure (and to also alert the public to what happened at this particular company). In fact, they say the recall could be extended beyond those two years.

Filed Under: Business, Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: beef, beef recall, food recall, hallmark, meat, meat recall