Deli meats are godsend to brown baggers looking for a feast in simple fillings of sandwiches. It is also a great option for easy no-preparation needed offering on parties and gatherings. Its other name cold cuts basically lean from its most usual serving style of being sliced and slumped in vacuum packs.

Some grocery outlets and gourmet shops, however, offer them freshly sliced off a designated deli counter. A popular query among many deli meat lovers though lies in its shelf life. Just how long does it last? What factors come into play?

Shelf Life

As deli meat comes cured, cooked or smoked then, pre-packed into diminutive aseptic packages. One will easily notice a

sell by date on the package. You might be thinking of such as some sort of a “deadline” to consume the said pack. Well, you are both right and wrong. Deli meat’s shelf life is actually dependent on a lot of factors and the sell by date is only one of that.

The type of meat and how it is prepared and stored are what makes the shelf life of all deli meats. Some deli meats when stored properly, in a freezer, can still be consumed even when beyond the stipulated sell by date. Some meats, however, may break down earlier than the sell-by-date due to poor handling.

Deli Rules

As a rule, deli meats, according to Publix Deli, that have awful smell or molds sticking out from it are definitely not edible. These may have been exposed to deadly microorganisms and ingesting them can put you at risk of food poisoning and other deadly diseases.

Deli meat that smells and taste sour are also a no-no. So are those with yellowed or discolored edges as this will clearly show some sort of chemical reaction to the meat. Ditch it altogether and look for a new pack.