How to know if sausage is spoiled

In this brief article, we’ll look at how you can tell if sausage has gone bad, or if it is about to. Moreover, we will also look at how to store your sausage for the longest possible shelf life, as well as the dangers of consuming expired sausage.

How to know if sausage is spoiled?

Checking the appearance, smell, texture and packaging date are the easiest ways to determine if sausage is spoiled. If it has a slimy appearance or a gray, brown, or purple color, and a rancid or sour smell, it might be going bad. 

How to tell if sausage has gone bad?

Fresh sausage has a light brown to pink color and an appetizing scent when cooked. As time passes, there are clear changes in various qualities of sausage that can alert you towards it going bad. Here are a few ways to tell:

  1. Appearance and color: Fresh sausage will be smooth with a pinkish color. If it is slimy and crackled, or shows discoloration, it might be time to get rid of it. If you are working with cooked sausage, look for a light brown to brown color, free of pinkish spots.
  1. Smell: Fresh raw sausage doesn’t have a strong scent. When it goes bad, the smell changes from its normal one to sweet-sour funky one or even an unpleasant, rancid one. Cooked sausage has its own characteristic appetizing scent when fresh. 

Smell is one of the easiest ways to differentiate between fresh and expired sausages. You will notice as soon as you cook it or when you take it out hot from the microwave. 

  1. Taste: For cooked and pre-cooked sausage, taste is another way to differentiate. Expired or rotten meat tastes “off”, tasting sour or even having a bitter flavor. If you detect an unpleasant taste, it is best to discard that sausage.

You should be very careful and always avoid eating or tasting spoiled sausage as this can make you very sick due to the presence of harmful microorganisms (1-4)  

  1. Texture: Fresh sausage will be firm to the touch and spring right back if you push down on it with your finger. If it feels loose or weak under your touch, it might not be fresh anymore. A slimy or milky texture is also a good way to tell when to throw out your sausage.
  1. Packaging date: When buying your links from the supermarket, check the packaging for a “best by” or “use by” date. The expiration date is a good indicator of how long you can store your sausage without it deteriorating considerably.

Can you get sick from eating spoiled sausage?

Yes, eating spoiled sausage can make you very sick due to the presence of harmful pathogens and their toxins (1-4). 

Here, we summarize the main risks associated with consuming spoiled sausage:

  1. Food poisoning: Spoiled sausage may contain bacteria like Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria or E. coli, which can cause food poisoning (5-7). 

Symptoms of food poisoning typically include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and sometimes even blood in the stool (8).

  1. Botulism: If the sausage is contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that produces a potent neurotoxin, it can lead to botulism (9). 

In fact, Clostridium botulinum was so called like that due to its pathological association with the sausages as the latin word for sausage is “botulus” (9)

Symptoms may include weakness, blurred vision, difficulty swallowing, muscle paralysis, and respiratory problems (10). Botulism is a severe condition that requires immediate medical attention.

  1. Listeriosis: Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium commonly associated with contaminated deli meats and sausages. If consumed, it can cause listeriosis, a serious infection (11). 

Symptoms can range from mild flu-like symptoms (fever, muscle aches, headache) to more severe complications, such as meningitis, sepsis, or even miscarriage in pregnant women (11).

  1. Staphylococcal poisoning: Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that can produce toxins, and if present in spoiled sausage, can cause staphylococcal food poisoning (12). 

Symptoms include rapid onset of nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and sometimes diarrhea. Fever is generally absent in staphylococcal poisoning (8).

  1. Trichinosis: If the sausage is made from infected pork and not properly cooked, it can transmit Trichinella spiralis, a parasitic worm (13-14). 

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, swelling around the eyes, fatigue, and gastrointestinal issues. In severe cases, it can lead to heart and breathing problems (13-14).

The pathogens present in sausages and their associated symptoms can vary a lot, so it is very important to always check your sausages for any sign of spoilage. If you identify any sign of spoilage it is best to throw your sausages away!

What should you do if you suspect you have eaten spoiled sausage?

In the event that you suspect that you have eaten a spoiled sausage, it is crucial to monitor symptoms and seek medical assistance if your symptoms become severe or persist.

You should also maintain proper hydration by drinking an adequate amount of fluids and avoid consuming more of the sausage.

If you suspect food poisoning or microbial contamination, it can be helpful to preserve a sample of the spoiled sausage. Store it safely in a sealed container in the refrigerator in case it needs to be tested later for identifying the specific pathogen involved.

Finally, it is also very important to inform others who may have consumed it to be aware of the potential risks and symptoms.

How to store sausage for the longest possible shelf life?

With the right methods, you can extend the shelf life of sausage considerably, having it last as long as 2 months. Here are the best ways to store it:

  1. Refrigeration: Refrigerate your sausage in a sealable container, lined with paper towels. Raw sausage lasts only a day or two in the fridge, cooked sausage will last 4-6 days, whereas dry cured sausage can last virtually indefinitely in the fridge, until it is opened.

To get the best shelf life out of your sausage, cook it before refrigeration because cooking removes most of the microorganisms (15) and much of the moisture from it so it lasts longer .

Whereas dry-cured sausage can even be shelf-stable at room temperature, since the meat has been fermented and dried, making it very difficult for nasty microbes to grow in there. This means that dry-curing is the way to the longest shelf life.

  1. Freezing: If you really want your sausage to last, freezing it is the way to go. As mentioned earlier, cooked sausage will last longer than raw sausage in storage, so it is recommended that you cook it before storing it. 

After that, you just need to place it in a vacuum sealed freezer bag and chuck it into the freezer. Freezing can keep your sausage fit for consumption up to 2 months, more if it has been dry-cured.

Conclusion:

In this brief article, we have looked at how you can tell if sausage has gone bad, or if it is about to. Moreover, we have also looked at how to store your sausage for the longest possible shelf life, as well as the dangers of consuming expired sausage.

References:

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2. Walther K. Food Poisoning by Sausage-Meat. Zentralblatt fur Bakteriol Parasitenkunde, Infekt und Hyg Abt I [Internet]. 1933 [cited 2023 Jun 9];130:375–80. Available from: https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19342700598 

3. Bruins B, Dolfing A, Hof J, Beckers HJ. [Food poisoning due to country sausage]. Tijdschr Diergeneeskd [Internet]. 1985 Jun 1 [cited 2023 Jun 9];110(12):487–9. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/4024057 

4. Abd El Aziz T. Screening of some food poisoning bacteria in sausage and hamburger meat. J Egypt Public Health Assoc [Internet]. 1996 Jan 1 [cited 2023 Jun 9];71(1–2):47–61. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/17217001 

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6. Siriken B, Pamuk Ş, Özakin C, Gedikoglu S, Eyigör M. A note on the incidences of Salmonella spp., Listeria spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 serotypes in Turkish sausage (Soudjouck). Meat Sci [Internet]. 2006 Jan 1 [cited 2023 Jun 9];72(1):177–81. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0309174005002160 

7. Trimoulinard A, Beral M, Henry I, Atiana L, Porphyre V, Tessier C, et al. Contamination by Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Listeria spp. of most popular chicken- and pork-sausages sold in Reunion Island. Int J Food Microbiol [Internet]. 2017 Jun 5 [cited 2023 Jun 9];250:68–74. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168160517301319 

8. Milaciu M V, Ciumărnean L, Orășan OH, Para I, Alexescu T, Negrean V. Semiology of food poisoning. Int J Bioflux Soc [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2023 May 10];8(2):108–13. Available from: http://hvm.bioflux.com.ro/docs/2015.108-113.pdf 

9. Erbguth FJ. Historical notes on botulism, Clostridium botulinum, botulinum toxin, and the idea of the therapeutic use of the toxin. Mov Disord [Internet]. 2004 Mar 1 [cited 2023 Jun 9];19(S8):S2–6. Available from: https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mds.20003 

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