# Why does bacon go bad so quickly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401 "2016-12-11T00:42:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [December 11, 2016, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/21 "2016-12-11T13:05:09Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > a fleeting irregularity of bowel movements, Music Trivia: The line “a fleeting irregularity of bowel movements” appeared in the initial release of the song _Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas_, but was quickly dropped after focus groups complained. Cite: personal communication with Jean Kasem’s manicurist. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/22 "2016-12-11T13:56:54Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > Also, there’s been a push in the past few decades to omit the nitrates or nitrites–I forget which–and those apparently are better at curing than plain old table salt. Most (if not all) so-called “uncured” or “nitrate-free” bacon you see in the store actually has plenty of nitrates in it in the form of celery juice or celery powder. It’s just a bunch of marketing non-sense. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/23 "2016-12-11T14:04:40Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > I have had Eastern European bacon which is so heavily cured you can safely eat it raw. And it’s yummy! It’s called [slanina or salo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salo_(food)). Slanina isn’t really what I would call bacon (in US parlance), but a hunk of salted pork fat, closer to salt pork. There’s no meat on it whatsoever, and it’s usually not smoked. If anyone is familiar with the Italian _lardo_, that’s basically the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/24 "2016-12-11T14:19:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There’s no meat on it whatsoever. I should more accurately say that usually there’s very little meat to no meat on it, although it appears that there is a bit of regional variance in the category. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/25 "2016-12-11T14:27:28Z")
Rinsing mold off of meat and then eating it is a level of frugality I hope I never have to reach. As for the OP, I have the same question about cheese and yogurt. I always thought they were created as ways to preserve milk and use it to survive outside the growing season. So why do all the versions available today go bad in a matter of days unless they are refrigerated? Even the aged hard cheese have to be kept in carefully controlled conditions . . . ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/26 "2016-12-11T14:51:03Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The USDA has a strict mandate to give the absolutely most conservative food advice that it is possible to support at the most extreme fringe of the fraidy-cats. It’s called Covering Their Ass. If they said anything else, they would be blamed for every mild digestive disorder and there would be talk of impeachment… > > The OP did not specify just how sick they got. Absent any comment to the contrary, I’m assuming it was a mild feeling of digestive upset and, at worst, maybe a fleeting irregularity of bowel movements, and felt fine after 12 hours or less… That’s interesting advice you offer. I had never previously though of food poisoning as a such a macho political statement before. That explains Devine’s drag queen breakout role of eating fresh dog shit in the closing scene of Pink Flamingos. The shit was not even USDA approved. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/27 "2016-12-11T14:53:14Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The OP did not specify just how sick they got. Absent any comment to the contrary, I’m assuming it was a mild feeling of digestive upset and, at worst, maybe a fleeting irregularity of bowel movements, and felt fine after 12 hours or less… Some people would prefer not to feel sick at all from their food, even “12 hours or less.” I really don’t have time for gastroenteritis if I can avoid it, and not making questionable food choices allows me some level of agency there. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/28 "2016-12-11T14:56:05Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Rinsing mold off of meat and then eating it is a level of frugality I hope I never have to reach. > > As for the OP, I have the same question about cheese and yogurt. I always thought they were created as ways to preserve milk and use it to survive outside the growing season. So why do all the versions available today go bad in a matter of days unless they are refrigerated? Even the aged hard cheese have to be kept in carefully controlled conditions . . . I’m sure modern methods of food preparation differ from age-olds methods … even for foods that are named the same thing. Certainly there are modern (ersatz?) versions of “pecorino romano” and “prosciutto” that are not dutifully prepared the way they were pre-refrigeration. That said, aren’t there many old methods of preserving food that end up with copious mold growth that has to cut or abraded away before consumption? And aren’t these foods _very nearly_ (if not _exactly_) as safe to consume as anything prepared today with pasteurization, refrigeration, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/29 "2016-12-11T15:04:55Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > As for the OP, I have the same question about cheese and yogurt. I always thought they were created as ways to preserve milk and use it to survive outside the growing season. So why do all the versions available today go bad in a matter of days unless they are refrigerated? Even the aged hard cheese have to be kept in carefully controlled conditions . . . [Mayo Clinic: pitch moldy soft cheeses, semi-soft (Cheddar) and hard cheeses (Parmesan) need only to have the mold cut off](http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/food-and-nutrition/faq-20058492). … Personal theory about yogurt or anything with active cultures: refrigeration merely lengthens the temporal “sweet spot” that optimum taste and texture are still preserved. Also … as touched on upthread, I don’t believe that, say, Yoplait or Sargento products have all that much in common with their pre-refrigeration precursors. Especially regarding preparation. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/30 "2016-12-11T15:05:10Z")
My parents always cut the mold off cheese and ate the cheese. I’ve heard that’s not recommended anymore. Supposedly mold has deep roots that gets into the cheese. I do remember when cheese was sold with a wax coating. To seal out any air and keep it fresh. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/31 "2016-12-11T15:11:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Slanina isn’t really what I would call bacon (in US parlance), but a hunk of salted pork fat, closer to salt pork. There’s no meat on it whatsoever, and it’s usually not smoked. If anyone is familiar with the Italian _lardo_, that’s basically the same thing. Oddly enough, I did recently buy a chunk of _salo_ at my local supermarket in Moscow that had a fair amount of meat in it. I would have preferred the meatless kind, but that was all they had. I used it to make chili, and it wasn’t as good as the meatless kind. It seems the only place you can buy really good \*salo \*here is at an open-air market, where it’s nice and fresh, and they’ll cut it to size. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/32 "2016-12-11T15:13:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My parents always cut the mold off cheese and ate the cheese. > > I’ve heard that’s not recommended anymore. Supposedly mold has deep roots that gets into the cheese. > > I do remember when cheese was sold with a wax coating. To seal out any air and keep it fresh. What do you mean “you remember when”? I bought cheese in wax last week ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/33 "2016-12-11T15:29:19Z")
It’s been many years since I bought cheese coated in wax. I didn’t know they still sold it that way. But, I haven’t looked for it either. I usually buy basic Kraft or cracker barrel sharp cheddar. Colby is nice on burgers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/34 "2016-12-11T15:33:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Oddly enough, I did recently buy a chunk of _salo_ at my local supermarket in Moscow that had a fair amount of meat in it. I would have preferred the meatless kind, but that was all they had. Yeah, I realized my error but missed the ETA. Quick question, does Russian have a different word for smoked & cured bacon? For example, in Polish, _słonina_ is what would be the usually unsmoked, almost pure fat kind, and _boczek_ is what an American would recognize as bacon (although that bacon is often partially or fully cooked and not raw.) My favorite was always cooking _słonina_/_szallonna_ on a stick over an open fire with a bit of onion skewered on it, and then dripped it into hearty Eastern European bread until it was covered in the hot fat. Hell, I would eat the actual hunk of charred fat, not just use it for the drippings. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/35 "2016-12-11T16:34:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > … _lardo_, … There’s a word that requires no English translation! > [@TruCelt](#): > > … > As for the OP, I have the same question about cheese and yogurt. … So why do all the versions available today go bad in a matter of days unless they are refrigerated? . . . And why does butter last forever no matter what you do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/36 "2016-12-11T17:06:56Z")
The Straight Dope: where one day you get a learned discourse on the Methodist concept of salvation, and the next day you get someone telling you to rinse the mold off your bacon and eat it, because the FDA is a bunch of pussies. I love this place. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/37 "2016-12-11T17:27:29Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The USDA has a strict mandate to give the absolutely most conservative food advice that it is possible to support at the most extreme fringe of the fraidy-cats. It’s called Covering Their Ass. If they said anything else, they would be blamed for every mild digestive disorder and there would be talk of impeachment… > > The OP did not specify just how sick they got. Absent any comment to the contrary, I’m assuming it was a mild feeling of digestive upset and, at worst, maybe a fleeting irregularity of bowel movements, and felt fine after 12 hours or less… Dude. [You regularly eat food you scrounge in dumpsters.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19228918&postcount=52) Given the USDA or someone who thinks old fish bones and moldy pork scrounged out of dumpsters is mmm-MMM good eatin’, I know who’s advice _I’d_ listen to. I am not posting this to judge you personally on your…creative…eating habits (although I’ll decline any dinner invites you care to offer), but only so that people reading can decide if the USDA should be trusted over your…uh…theories of food safety. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/38 "2016-12-11T17:34:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I realized my error but missed the ETA. Quick question, does Russian have a different word for smoked & cured bacon? For example, in Polish, _słonina_ is what would be the usually unsmoked, almost pure fat kind, and _boczek_ is what an American would recognize as bacon (although that bacon is often partially or fully cooked and not raw.) _Grudenka_ is, I think, pork belly. It’s usually sliced like bacon, but is not cured in any way, so far as I can tell. Compared to salt pork or smoked bacon, it’s bland (even when it’s fried). You can buy _bekon_, which is smoked and often sold in slabs with the bones still inside. You can buy sliced bacon (what the British eat) and streaky bacon (what Americans eat) that’s imported from Hungary or Poland (probably other places too). In my fridge right now there’s a Russian brand of sliced bacon that claims to be smoked, but I haven’t tried it yet. The first time I had _salo_ was on a train, when the conductor offered to share some with me. I love the way it practically melts in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/39 "2016-12-11T17:44:39Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > And why does butter last forever no matter what you do with it? It does? 😕 I keep my butter for immediate use on the kitchen counter, inside an airtight container. It still goes stale after maybe ten days or so. (Salted lasts longer than unsalted though.) The cooking butter I keep in the fridge, but it can still get moldy and stale if it sits in there too long. Rotating from store to fridge to counter, I generally go through two pounds in a month, which is usually quick enough to keep it fresh. I think it’s actually better to use ghee (Indian clarified butter) for cooking, since it keeps for a \*\*long, long \*\*time (but will eventually go stale too). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401/40 "2016-12-11T18:27:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s been many years since I bought cheese coated in wax. I didn’t know they still sold it that way. But, I haven’t looked for it either. > > I usually buy basic Kraft or cracker barrel sharp cheddar. Colby is nice on burgers. Go to any supermarket cheese case by the deli department or Costco. Plus in the Kraft cheese area they seek all Those Mini Baby Bel cheese wheels (come in a net pouch) that are wrapped in wax. It’s there. I find it amusing that since you never look for it, and don’t see it, it must be gone. Ah well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-bacon-go-bad-so-quickly/774401.md?page=3)