Anonymous wrote:i toss after 5 days, regardless of how it smells or looks. i don't believe that deli meat is perfectly safe until it looks or smells bad - i would say its too late then. i think food-borne pathogens are generally not detectable, which is why food borne diseases are so frequent.

Then how do you explain the great number of us who have never once looked at an expiration date (meaning I'll eat anything that doesn't look or smell off), and have NEVER ONCE had food poisoning of any kind?

I think being wusses is to blame. Stop being a wuss, stop getting sick all the time. Well, it's probably too late for you. But don't subject your kids to a lifetime of the same weak constitution!

I can't eat turkey after about the third day. But ham and other stuff like salami seems to be good for 5-6 days. My husband would eat it (and use it in our kids' lunches) until it had visible mold, so I make sure to throw away anything that's left over from the previous week after I go grocery shopping.

OP here. Ate the sandwich; meat tasted great. All good so far. Fingers crossed that I don't suffer some terrible consequence of eating week old turkey.

I wouldn't eat it. I eat it the day I buy and the day after, but never beyond that.

i toss after 5 days, regardless of how it smells or looks. i don't believe that deli meat is perfectly safe until it looks or smells bad - i would say its too late then. i think food-borne pathogens are generally not detectable, which is why food borne diseases are so frequent.

Deli meat is like seafood: if you can smell it, it's bad. You will KNOW if deli meat is bad.

It's good until it goes bad! For crying out loud, people. This is not rocket science. Look at it. Smell it. Quit wasting food because of what the calendar says. Use your senses the way evolution intended you to. Try out the brain, too.

I used to work in a deli and we told people 3 days. We also wouldn't use anything more than 3 days old on our sandwiches that we made there...

4 days and then it doesnt taste as good

Deli meat gets slimy when it is going bad. If it looks, feels and smells good, it should be fine.

You would know if it was bad. It would be slimy to the touch, and it would smell.

ServSafe rule is 5 days, however you're usually safe for whatever they say plus 3 days.

I'm leery of anything more than 3 days old but I might be overly autious.

Given the sodium content, I think you are fine.

Bought it last Thursday from the deli. Made a sandwich for lunch and am now wondering if it's okay to eat.

When packing my lunch, I noticed no odor, weird texture, etc. Looked/smelled as fresh as when I had it sliced, but still...