# Fresh Ground Beef **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892 "2011-08-24T14:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Teacher\_38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Teacher\_38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacher_38)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/1 "2011-08-24T14:16:24Z")
We woke up this morning with a refrigerator problem. I had fresh ground beef I bought yesterday unopened. It was still cool to the touch. Is it still usable?? Also eggs that I bought last week??? Thank you ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/2 "2011-08-24T14:25:27Z")
Food safety Nazis would probably tell you to throw the beef away. But I like to live dangerously…and by “dangerously” I mean not very dangerously at all. If the beef still feels cool, it should be fine if you use it soon. You’ve really just reduced the fridge shelf-life from several days to somewhat less. Get to cooking as soon as practical, and you shoudl be fine. The eggs will be more than fine. As Alton Brown is fond of pointing out, the French don’t even refrigerate their eggs. I don’t know how long that means they stay good, but it’s certainly more than mere hours. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/3 "2011-08-24T14:31:37Z")
The eggs are fine. We keep eggs in a carton on the counter, next to the butter. The ground beef is probably colder than it was when you brought it home from the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Redfishhunter930](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Redfishhunter930](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfishhunter930)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/4 "2011-08-24T14:40:01Z")
Me personally IMO I wouldn’t have a problem with either. The eggs would probably be the safer of the two as the shell is there for a reason of safety anyway. Hens on the farm don’t lay eggs in exactly sterile conditions. Granted the bacteria count has gone up, But only if it was not handled properly in production and the bacteria was already present. Then you’d get sick anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/5 "2011-08-24T14:46:19Z")
Time to make meatloaf. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/6 "2011-08-24T14:57:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The eggs are fine. We keep eggs in a carton on the counter, next to the butter. What country are you in, and how long do you keep the eggs after purchase? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/7 "2011-08-24T15:07:40Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > What country are you in, and how long do you keep the eggs after purchase? Western Pennsylvania, USA. During the winter, a dozen eggs last us a week or two. The rest of the year we are collecting eggs daily from our four hens. Another data point: my gf and I each consume a couple raw eggs each week (in smoothies). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/8 "2011-08-24T15:30:40Z")
The beef is probably fine as long as you cook it well. Remember, too, that the refrigerator is insulated; even if it’s not working, it’s keeping things cooler than they would be on the counter. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/9 "2011-08-24T15:35:00Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > The eggs will be more than fine. As Alton Brown is fond of pointing out, the French don’t even refrigerate their eggs. I don’t know how long that means they stay good, but it’s certainly more than mere hours. A month or longer if unfertilized. I just wash my chicken’s eggs and leave them in a basket on the counter after sitting them in the fridge overnight to kill them. We have a rooster but get the eggs the day they are laid and tend to use them within a week. When subs deploy, they load crates of eggs on and they sit on the floor like the canned goods. [Subs tend to have a couple layers of canned goods on the floor and they get used up as the cruise goes along. Subs are not known for voluminous storage space. mrAru used to load his rack with spare parts and sleep in machinery 1 in a hammock.] ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/10 "2011-08-24T16:18:06Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > What country are you in, and how long do you keep the eggs after purchase? I dont refrigerate eggs unless I bought them reduced because they were close to their bbe date They last up to month at room.temperature without even the slightest problem. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/11 "2011-08-24T16:45:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > They last up to month at room.temperature without even the slightest problem. I don’t know why, but this is the coolest thing ever. I want to keep my eggs on the counter now. (After I use the ones in the fridge, which have been there forever, anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/12 "2011-08-24T17:11:42Z")
Do you have any idea what time the 'fridge failed? Or what temp you normally maintain in it? Personally, I’d frizzle the beef to doneness, and then use it in a casserole–today. (Our 'fridge is set on the low end–35°) Not knowing the age of the eggs, I would either use them in baking or toss them. Since you have hens, why take a chance? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/13 "2011-08-24T17:36:31Z")
> [@papergirl](#): > > I don’t know why, but this is the coolest thing ever. I want to keep my eggs on the counter now. (After I use the ones in the fridge, which have been there forever, anyway.) It works best for eggs that have never been chilled, because the shells are porous and changes in temperature can make them absorb extra air. I mainly keep my eggs this way because room temperature eggs make lighter cakes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/14 "2011-08-25T00:30:08Z")
I would cook the ground meat real well. After the Montreal ice storm of '97, everything in our freezer including some roasts and other beef thawed. We were advised to throw it out, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Even the insurance adjuster advised it and they would pay. I couldn’t bring myself to do it and my wife made an enormous stew. Some we ate and the rest froze. It was delicious and no illness resulted. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/15 "2011-08-25T00:58:12Z")
even in the old times, one can keep whole joints of beef unrefrigerated for a few days but anything put in the grinder has to be eaten that day. in your case, maybe you should cook it immediately, and well-cooked at that. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/16 "2011-08-25T01:12:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The eggs are fine. We keep eggs in a carton on the counter, next to the butter. When I was growing up on the farm, Mom raised chickens. We had to collect the eggs each day, but we only stored them in the refrigerator if they weren’t going to be used soon. We had to collect them, because we could never teach the hens to roost inside the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/17 "2011-08-25T01:21:14Z")
If the beef didn’t get too warm for too long it’s probably fine - but if in doubt, I’d personally err on the side of safety, and not risk getting very unpleasantly sick for the sake of saving a few dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-ground-beef/593892/18 "2011-08-25T03:46:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > During the winter, a dozen eggs last us a week or two. The rest of the year we are collecting eggs daily from our four hens. Oh, so they’ve not been industrially washed. > [@](#): > > Another data point: my gf and I each consume a couple raw eggs each week (in smoothies). Usually there’s not enough salmonella in a single egg to make normal people too sick (it’s practically extinct in eggs). It’s a crime to cook a key lime pie! > [@Mangetout](#): > > I dont refrigerate eggs unless I bought them reduced because they were close to their bbe date > > They last up to month at room.temperature without even the slightest problem. Do you buy normal commercial eggs, though? I asked for **kayker** ’s location because in many countries there’s no industrial egg-washing process, and eggs indeed do last a month without refrigeration. Most commercial eggs in the United States have been washed, and that’s what makes them spoil without refrigeration. The result is that I refrigerate my Meijer eggs, don’t refrigerate my Comercial Mexicana eggs, and in my present location I try to avoid purchasing [counterfeit eggs](http://www.hoax-slayer.com/fake-eggs-china.shtml) from the Suguo entirely.