Learn How Long does Vacuum Sealed Raw Meat Last in the Fridge

It’s good to learn how long does vacuum sealed raw meat last in the fridge. But, there’ll be different aspects of shelf time of raw meats lasting the fridge. The time span differs with different situations or scenarios.

In the next sections, we’ll talk about refrigerating meat and the related shelf time for frozen meat. Gradually, we’ll talk about bacteria and how it affects the shelf time of food and meats, in general. Finally, we’ll end by talking about interesting facts about vacuum sealers.

Refrigerating Vacuum Sealed Raw Meat

If you want to keep your meat fresh for at least 24 hours, refrigerating is a great option to consider. Beef meats (ground), chicken, seafood, etc. can stay fresh for up to 7 days. However, if you’re consider pork or lamb meat, expect them to last a bit longer, for 10-14 days.

The temperature guidelines is a bit tricky. If you keep the temperature in between 30 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s the best. A good practice is to keep raw meat apart from other food items. Overall, it’s better to keep your freezer or refrigerator clean to avoid bacteria accumulation.

Know About Bacteria and Sealed Raw Meat Storage

Well, bacteria have different of its types. Each type has their own characteristics. They’re the primary reasons for the decaying of foods. Food poisoning is a thing for which bacteria is responsible at the highest level. However, not all bacteria are responsible for food poisoning. The reasons bacteria can grow in the food is the oxygen. However, let’s learn few facts about bacteria and its effects on food.

Temperatures between 40 and 140 Fahrenheit is perfect for bacteria.

Nearly all the bacteria need oxygen to regenerate.
Pathogenic and spoilage bacteria are the two most common ones in meat.
Spoilage bacteria is responsible for bad odor, discoloration, and even change in the meat taste.

On the other hand, pathogenic bacteria is more dangerous, it can make your food item poisonous. It decays the food by providing toxins on the food.

So, we can very well conclude that pathogenic bacteria causes more harm than the spoilage bacteria. This bacteria won’t change the food color or taste, but, it’ll make the food poisonous. Hence, it’s not easy to determine the accumulation of the bacteria in the food.

Storing Raw Meat in The Freezer

Let’s talk about storing meat in the freezer. Well, for ensuring the safety and freshness of the food items, the best option is to freeze. But, vacuum sealing and freezing are two things that have the best combination. Freezing at the perfect temperature can prevent the growth of bacteria to a great extent. However, freezing below 0 degrees Fahrenheit is the best to consider, as there’re little to no chances of bacteria in this temperature.

Now, we’ll go through some tips to store meat in the freezer.

It’s very important that the original packaging is removed before you freeze the meat. The store packaging usually can’t handle the freezing temperature. As a result, there can be issues with freezer burns and all. So, vacuuming sealing or freezer bag are two best options to follow.
However, it’s also important that you don’t allow air in the packaging of the meat no matter how you do it. For the best results, you can go ahead and use vacuum sealing bags. It’s easy to do this when you use a sealer machine to vacuum seal meats.

It’s also important to freeze the meat quickly after packaging. Ice crystals aren’t good for meat freshness. Because, it can drain the meat liquids quickly when you defrost it. So, refrigerating at a lower temperature is preferable for freezing meat or any other food items. Quick freezing is the key here.
It’s better if you thaw our or freeze the meat in cold water. If you thaw at room temperature, there’re chances of bacteria accumulation over again.

Vacuum Sealers

There’s no replacement for vacuum sealing if you want to preserve food freshness for a long time. Moreover, keeping food or meat safe is a necessity today. Foods can easily decay if they’re left open. However, proper packaging helps a lot. And, for packaging, vacuum sealing is a great option. Vacuum sealer machine can seal easily for you and let you control the air to allow or not.

So, let’s learn more about vacuum sealers.

The vacuum sealing packaging process increases the shelf time or storage time to a great extent. Moreover, the chances of freezer burns are eliminated to a great extent.
Now, when you vacuum seal meat, make sure the sealer bag and your hands aren’t dirty. Dirt from your hand might ruin the purpose of vacuuming sealing. It can promote the growth of bacteria. Although there’ll be no air inside the vacuum package, but, the bacteria from your hand can very well reach the meat and decay it.

Vacuum sealing will most certainly keep your food and meat fresh for months. But, it’s the best practice to use the meat within 10 days. At most, you should wait for 14 days. It’s been found that, meat can decay after two weeks of shelf time even if you vacuum seal them.
Always follow the best guidelines when you thaw out the meat after unpackaging of the vacuum seal.

Final Thoughts

So, that’s all us on the topic of shelf time of the vacuum sealed raw meat in the freezer. However, you should know that proper packaging is a great thing that you should always follow. Leaving gap in between the vacuum seal will have no effect in preserving the freshness of the meat.

Moreover, keep the sealer bag and your hands clean when you’re packing. Make sure you know the date when you’ve sealed and use it within the 10 days of storing.