Meat Expiration Date Question . .

Look and smell test for me. If I freeze it it needs to look ok, so nice and red for meat.
Chicken is tough but in the end I go by look and smell once thawed too.

Now I know some will come say you can't see the bacteria etc...cook it well if you know a particular meat might be dated a bit.

Oh and I love that manager special section, not because we need to save $ more because I'm cheap like that if I can be. B-)

As mentioned, the dates on meat packages are just "best if sold by..." From what I've read, they were first introduced to help store managers maintain a regular stocking schedule. The only foods in the US that a required to have expiration dates are baby foods. Everything else is a recommendation.

As far as safety goes, read up some on how bacteria grows at different temperatures, just for your own peace of mind.

I'll offer a quick summary. Unless the animal in question has a muscle related disease, the meat at the time of slaughter is bacteria free. And in the US and other places, not infested w. parasites. But for the sake of safety, it is assumed that as the carcass is cut, it is exposed to various pathogens. For example, human's frequently carry a strain of staphylcoccus. Not hard to imagine a stray finger touch on the meat before its packaged.

Generally speaking, if the meat is cut and quickly frozen, all pathogens become dormant before their numbers can increase to dangerous levels, and/or produce various toxins. I did come across a micro photo once that showed filements of staph in meat that had been lost during an arctic expedition. They had continued to grow, albeit very slowly for decades.  As far as I know, such growth is an exception.

Upon thawing, the charts I've seen indicate that pathogens have a brief period, an hour or so, before they begin multiplying. The rate of multiplication is dependent on temperature. Roughly, the growth rate doubles every 10F, to about 100F. At that point, it begins to slow, and in the mid 120s, pathogen numbers stop increasing. By 130, the heat is destroying them. By 165F, the die off is very rapid, and at 185, pretty much instantaneous.

Home refrigerators should be set to 40F or lower. That is the average in mine, but there is variance all over, with some spots being just above 32F, and a few at 44F.  The rule of thumbs is that uncooked meats can be held for up to 7 days at that temp. Cooked foods are not as resistant to bacterial growth (the bugs like their food cooked, too), and only have about half the 'fridge life.

The older food safety guide line was that from slaughter to cooking, unfrozen meat could only be considered safe for 4 hours between 40F and 140F.  Not a very good guide. I've come across a more recent one that said 2 hours tops for poultry at 90F.

The "smell" test is a good indicator, but it is not fail safe. The bacteria that produce the smell are not the same ones that produce the worst toxins. The odor just indicates that if there has been a good environment for toxin production.

Despite paying closer attention now to time and temperature, I still abide by the maxim, "When in doubt, throw it out."  This goes for everything. Vegetables, which are often neither frozen, or cooked to high temperatures are just as likely to be dangerous as meat. Likewise grain products. Bacillus cereus can be fatal. Reheated rice, insufficiently cooled pasta salads, etc can easily cause really bad poisoning.

If meat smells bad, throw it out.
If meat is showing color changes, throw it out.
If anything is growing on it, throw it out.

This applies to raw and cooked meat.