Summer sausage, kielbasa, bologna, bratwurst: the list goes on and on. There are really many types of sausage. How long and where can I store it? Is it fully cooked? The background information below will answer these questions and more. Use this table as a guideline for safe storage.
types of sausages
Sausages can be eaten uncooked or ready to eat. They can be made from lean meat (such as beef, pork, lamb, or veal), poultry (such as turkey or chicken), or a combination thereof. Uncooked sausages include raw sausages (bulk, patties, or links) and smoked sausages.
To prevent food poisoning, uncooked sausages, including ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal, should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncooked sausages, including ground turkey and chicken, should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ready-to-eat sausages can be dry, semi-dry, and/or cooked. Dry sausages may be smoked, unsmoked, or cooked. Semi-dry sausages are usually heated in a smokehouse to fully cook the product and partially dry it. Cooked sausages (such as bologna and frankfurters) are cooked and sometimes smoked.
Who inspects the sausage?
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspects all sausages in interstate commerce and exported to other countries. If the sausage is manufactured in a retail facility (such as a grocery store, meat market, or restaurant) and sold within the state in which the facility is located, the sausage may be under the jurisdiction of that state’s health or agriculture department. there is.
What does the label say?
Labels provide information about a product to consumers at the time of sale. The label must include certain required features, such as:
- product name.
- Ingredients display.
- The name and location of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
- Accurate description of the net amount of contents.
- Inspection legend and USDA establishment number.
- Statements regarding safe handling if the product is perishable (e.g., “keep frozen” or “keep refrigerated”).
- How to safely handle the meat or poultry components of a product when it is not yet ready for consumption.and
- Nutritional information. Nutritional information on labels helps consumers compare products and make more informed, healthy food choices. If the sausage is manufactured and packaged in a local store, nutritional information on the package may be optional or provided at the time of purchase. Applying a “use by” or “sell by” date is optional.
What must be written on the label of a sausage that is not ready to eat?
Labels for non-ready-to-eat sausages that are subject to FSIS inspection must include certain characteristics, such as safe handling instructions. If the sausage appears to be partially cooked or cooked, but requires cooking by the consumer for safety, FSIS will display the following on the main display panel: “Uncooked, Ready to Cook, Before Eating.” Request additional labeling features, such as a prominent statement such as “Ready to Cook”. , Cook and Serve” or “Must be fully cooked.” In addition, the product must display cooking instructions sufficient for the target audience. Manufacturers must verify that the cooking method is sufficient to destroy any pathogens that may be present.
If the sausage is perishable, the label should say “Requires refrigeration.” Some shelf-stable sausages that have been inspected by the federal government may not yet be ready for consumption. In that case, a label like the one above will be attached, but the label will not say “Requires refrigeration.”
fresh sausage definition
Raw sausage is a coarsely or finely “ground” (reduced to fine particles) meat food prepared from one or more types of meat or meat and meat “by-products” (heart, kidney, liver, etc.). The product may contain water that does not exceed 3% of the total ingredients. It is usually flavored, frequently hardened, and may contain binders and fillers (such as flour or skim milk powder). It should be kept refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating.
Contents of raw sausage
- “Fresh Pork Sausage” must not contain pork by-products and must not contain less than 50% fat by weight.
- “Fresh Beef Sausage” must not contain beef by-products and must not contain less than 30% fat by weight.
- “Breakfast sausage” contains meat and meat by-products and may contain up to 50% fat by weight.
- “Whole Pork Sausage” contains a normal proportion of pork meat for an animal and no more than 50% fat by weight.
- “Italian sausage product” is a cured or uncured sausage containing at least 85% meat or a combination of meat and fat, with a total fat content of no more than 35% of the finished product. Contains salt, pepper, fennel and/or anise, and has less than 3% moisture. Optional ingredients allowed in Italian sausage are spices (including paprika) and flavorings, red or green peppers, onions, garlic, parsley, sugar, glucose, and corn syrup.
cooked and/or smoked sausages
Cooked and/or smoked sausages are made from one or more different types of minced or ground meat that have been seasoned, cooked and/or smoked. Meat by-products may be used. This category includes:
- liverwurst
- hot dog
- bologna
- knockwurst
- cooked bratwurst
- braunschweiger
- cooked thuringer
- Cooked salami*
*Cooked salami (not dried) is made by salting fresh meat, stuffing it into casings, and cooking it at high temperatures in a smokehouse. It may be allowed to dry naturally for a short period of time. It has a softer texture than dry or semi-dry sausages and must be refrigerated.
meat specialties
Some meat specialty items are ready-to-eat sausage-like products. These are made from seasoned ground meat and are usually cooked or grilled rather than smoked. It is usually sliced and served chilled. This category includes:
- chopped ham bread
- pepper bread
- headcheese
- jelly corned beef
- ham and cheese bread
- honey bread
- old fashioned bread
- olive bread
- pickle and pepper bread
- scrapple
- sauce
- veal bread
dry and semi-dry sausages
Dry and semi-dry sausages are probably the largest category of dried meat, especially in the United States. These products can be fermented by bacterial growth for preservation and produce their typical tangy flavor. Alternatively, they may be cultured with lactic acid to eliminate the fermentation step and shorten the process, similar to cheese, pickle, and yogurt makers. With a few exceptions, they are precooked.
Fermentation is one of the oldest methods of preserving meat. Dry sausages such as pepperoni and semi-dry sausages such as Lebanese bologna and summer sausages have had a good safety record for hundreds of years.
In this procedure, a mixture of curing ingredients, such as salt and sodium nitrite, and a “starter” culture of lactic acid bacteria are mixed with chopped ground meat, fermented in casings, and dried in carefully controlled dryers. . Continuous air drying process over a long period of time. It has been generally shown that the amount of acid produced during fermentation and the lack of moisture in the final product after drying causes the death of pathogenic bacteria.
Dry sausage takes longer to make than other types of sausage and is a more concentrated form of meat. Dried sausages range from 60% to 80% of their original weight before drying.
Semi-dry sausages are usually heated in a smokehouse to fully cook the product and partially dry it. Semi-dry sausage is a semi-tender sausage that has a long shelf life due to the application of lactic acid fermentation and, in some cases, large amounts of smoke. Some are mildly flavored, while others are very spicy and intensely flavored.
What are examples of dry sausage and semi-dry sausage?
Dry sausages include:
- Sopressata (salami name)
- Pepperoni (uncooked, air dried)
- Genoa salami (Italian dish, usually made from pork but may also include a small amount of beef; moistened with wine or grape juice and seasoned with garlic)
Semi-dry sausages include:
- summer sausage
- lebanon bologna
- cervelat
- Thuringer
Can sausage be stored at room temperature?
Some dry sausages are shelf-stable (meaning they don’t need to be refrigerated or frozen for safe storage). Dry sausages take longer to make than other types of sausages and contain more concentrated meat. If the product is shelf-stable and ready to eat, the product does not require safe handling statements, cooking instructions, or “keep refrigerated” statements.
Should people ‘at risk’ eat dry sausage?
Because dry sausages are not cooked, people who are “at risk” (the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems due to illness or organ transplant) avoided eating them. It might be better.bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 can also survive dry fermentation processes, and in 1994 some children became ill after eating dry salted salami containing this bacterium.
After the outbreak, FSIS developed specific processing rules for producing dry sausage that must be followed or the product must be heat treated. These products are included in the FSIS microbial sampling program. Escherichia coli O157:H7, and in 1997 FSIS began inspecting fermented sausages. Salmonella and listeria monocytogenes.
date on packaged sausage
Dating is a voluntary program and not mandated by the federal government, but if you use dates, you must specify what they mean. The product can be used after that date if stored safely.
- “Sell by” date — tells your store how long to sell your product. You must purchase the product before the expiration date.
- “Use by” date — the date by which the product should be used for maximum flavor and quality. It is not the date of purchase or the date of safety.
- “Use by” date — the last date on which a product is recommended to be used at its highest quality.
storage
All sausages except dry sausages are perishable and must be kept refrigerated. For best quality, the following storage period should be followed:
Sausage storage table
- If your sausage has a “use by” date, follow that date. This is the last date on which it is recommended to use the product at its highest quality. The date is determined by the product manufacturer.
- If your sausage has a “sell by” date, or no date, store it for the length of time recommended below.
- If you cannot use the sausage within the recommended storage time in the refrigerator, freeze it. Food that is kept frozen is safe indefinitely, so once it’s frozen, it doesn’t matter if it expires.
types of sausages | Refrigerator – unopened | Refrigerator – after opening | freezer |
---|---|---|---|
fresh sausage, uncooked | 1-2 days unopened or opened | 1-2 days unopened or opened | 1-2 months |
Fresh sausage after cooking by the consumer | (Not applicable) | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
hard/dry sausage | Stored whole in the pantry for 6 weeks.In the fridge indefinitely | 3 weeks | 1-2 months |
Hot dogs and other cooked sausages | 2 weeks | The 7th | 1-2 months |
luncheon meat | 2 weeks | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
Summer sausage (semi-dry) | Three months | 3 weeks | 1-2 months |
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