How to Tell If Ground Beef Is Bad—4 Ways to Check

Because meatballs with a side of salmonella doesn’t sound too appetizing.

Ground beef is a versatile staple you can keep in your freezer for months and thaw as needed—but how do you tell if ground beef's gone bad? Like most foods found on the perimeter of the supermarket, ground beef is super perishable. It can go rancid quickly, so you don’t want to wait too long to cook or freeze it. You really only have about two days to use ground beef before it starts to spoil, according to the USDA.

To reduce the chances of eating bacteria-laden beef, choose carefully next time you're at the grocery store. Look for bright red beef that’s not sitting in a pool of excess liquid at the bottom of the package. Then, there are lots of labels to choose from depending on the fat content, but that really comes down to personal preference. What’s not subjective is when it’s no longer safe to eat ground beef.

How to Tell If Ground Beef Is Bad

Spoiled ground beef can harbor dangerous bacteria and foodborne illnesses like salmonella and E. coli, but good food safety practices can help you avoid ingesting them. Here are the dead giveaways that your ground beef has spoiled and should be thrown out.

Look for Changes in Color

You’d think ground beef was a mood ring with how quickly it changes colors. Fresh ground beef will have a bright red hue—almost like a cherry. It can also be burgundy or purplish if it’s been vacuum sealed, per the USDA. Gray or brown meat could be a sign of rot, though it’s not unusual for the inside of raw beef to have a different color than the outside since it’s not exposed to oxygen. If it looks funky, it probably is.

Sniff Out Any Odd Smells

The age-old sniff test is an easy way to identify spoiled ground beef. It should smell like iron if it’s fresh—and sometimes its natural smell is so faint, you don’t even notice it—but the putrid smell of rotting meat is impossible to miss. Don’t ignore off-putting smells, and throw out any meat that’s stinking up your refrigerator.

Feel for Texture

Many of us don’t like handling raw meat, but it’s inevitable when you bring home a package of ground beef. One of the cardinal rules of the kitchen is to always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat. This not only reduces the likelihood of cross contamination, but also the risk of foodborne illness, per the CDC. If the texture of ground beef feels slimy, sticky, or tacky in any way, that could be a sign of spoilage.

Check the Expiration Date

Generally speaking, you shouldn’t eat meat past its expiration date. You don’t have a long window of time to use up raw ground beef to begin with—aim to eat it within two days—but checking the expiration date is always a good habit. If you accidentally bought expired ground beef, for example, it’s better to learn from your mistake than to knowingly consume it.

Tips for Keeping Ground Beef Safe

From before you buy meat until the moment you eat it, there are many opportunities for it to go bad. Here are some tips for buying, transporting, and storing beef so that it stays good until you're ready for it.

Buying Ground Beef

Make shopping for beef the last stop on your shopping trip so it has less chance of warming up while you shop. When you're picking ground beef, choose the reddest one you can find. If the meat is sealed, it may even look purple. Inspect the packaging to ensure that 1) it's before the sell-by date, 2) there are no holes where air could get in, and 3) there isn't an excessive amount of liquid in the package.

Transporting Ground Beef

Keeping ground beef in shopping bags is fine if you've only got a short trip home. However, if your drive is more than half an hour, bring a cooler or an insulated freezer bag with you to transport the meat. You want it to stay as cold as possible during transport.

Refrigerating Ground Beef

According to the USDA, ground beef will stay good in the refrigerator for one to two days. To ensure that it stays cold, place on one of the lower shelves in the fridge, and don't forget to put a plate under it to catch any stray liquid that could contaminate other items.

Freezing Ground Beef

If you don't intend to cook the ground beef within one to two days of buying it, pop it in the freezer. It's best if you know what meals you plan to use it for so you can divide it before freezing it, as you should not refreeze ground beef (or other meats). Ground beef in its supermarket packaging will stay good for up to two weeks in the freezer.

Got longer-term plans for your ground beef? Before freezing, put it in a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag or heavy-duty aluminum foil. When stored this way, it can stay good for up to three to four months.

Preparing and Cooking Ground Beef

If you're thawing frozen ground beef, keep it in the refrigerator. You should never leave ground beef at room temperature for more than two hours.

When handling raw beef, keep it separate from other foods so they don't come into contact with the raw juices. Once you've prepped the beef and are ready to cook it, wash everything it came into contact with, including plates, cutting boards, knives, and other implements.

As far as cooking goes, the FDA and CDC state that for ground beef to be safe, it must be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. To ensure you've cooked the meat all the way through, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature before serving.

Storing Leftovers

The FDA advises that cooked ground beef should be consumed within three or four days of preparation. Refrigerate your leftovers within two hours of cooking to ensure they stay fresh.

Adverse Effects of Eating Spoiled Beef

At best, if you eat bad meat, you'll experience a stomach ache. But at worst, the consequences are much more dire. Spoiled meat carries bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, which can cause food poisoning.

While food poisoning is not always serious, it can be life-threatening, particularly in children, immunocompromised adults, and people over 65. The most common symptoms of food poisoning are stomach pain/cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. However, sometimes food poisoning can cause long-term health problems, including meningitis, kidney damage, arthritis, brain and nerve damage, and hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The bottom line is this: avoid eating meat you even somewhat suspect is spoiled. If you develop severe food poisoning symptoms like a fever over 102 degrees, bloody diarrhea, diarrhea lasting longer than three days, uncontrolled vomiting, or dehydration, seek medical attention immediately.

Ground beef isn’t going anywhere. It’s a staple in meatballs, chilis, burritos, and more. But it goes bad quickly, and you have to be mindful of a few food safety tips. When in doubt, toss it out. Better yet, freeze it on day two—it lasts for up to four months in the freezer, which is plenty of time to safely thaw and cook it.

Related: 10 Grocery Items You Should Always Buy Fresh

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