I know “use by” and “best by” dates aren’t set in stone- it’s okay to drink milk a day or 2 past the expiration date- but let’s pretend for a minute that they are set and definite.
Let’s say I buy a package of steaks on July 1 and the expiration date is July 15. I put them in the freezer as soon as I get home, and leave them there until August 1st. Is the expiration now August 15? Or do I need to use them as quickly as possible?
I’m not potentially going to expose myself to foodborne illnesses, it’s just a question that’s sat in the back of my mind for a while.
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It’s all subjective. It’s ultimately the amount of time it spends in the ‘Danger Zone’, 40 F-140F (4C-60C). Your fridge is cold, but it’s not *that* cold, so it’s not doing a tremendous job inhibiting bacterial growth, nor is your freezer cold enough to really sterilize something. If your steak was fresh, and well sealed, and went into the freezer immediately, then it’s going to have a lot longer shelf life, and you’d get something closer to your Aug 15th date.
If it sat around for a few days, say July 7th; before you decide to freeze it, when it comes back out of the freezer it’s still going to have all that bacteria in it, so you’d want to use it as soon as possible, even if you have ‘8’ days left.
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