Found in the fridge...

I wouldn't eat then and I hate waste too so I freeze them open and then bag them.
You can cook from frozen easily.

I would cook well, try a small piece on cat cats won't eat anything that's gone off unlike dogs who'll eat anything if cat eats it & asks for more then they're ok I hate food waste & was brought up in the days before dates on food, does it look ok?does it smell ok? does it taste ok? then enjoy.

NB the bugs can usually be killed by cooking well, but cooking does not destroy the poisons that the bugs created as part of their digestive process while they were alive, and it's these poisons that cause the most serious problems from food poisoning.

Don't touch prepared meat products such as sausages if they are a) past use-by date b) you suspect they have spent time stored at the wrong temperature. It's simply not worth it. Some bugs that grow in sausages can cause paralysis, not just a tummy ache!

The rule for food labels is, if it says "best before" then you can use your own discretion, if it says "use by" then you mind that date strictly.

I would boil them hbefore frying/grilling) to make 100% sure they are cooked through. If they have been kept refrigerated and don’t smell or look as if they have deteriorated I would happily eat them. I have never taken much notice of sell by dates and never had food poisoning.

I’d probably cook them, (sniffing them suspiciously the whole time), then bin them because I would have convinced myself they smelt odd.

A day out of date, yes, I would eat them, but 4 days is too much for me to risk!

I ate a Tescos spag bol ready meal on Wednesday that was 3 days over the use by date. It was ok and I was ok too. I hate throwing food away. On the other hand I have had veg delivered that is short date and when i go to use it a day over it smells off and I don't use it. Me and Tescos fell out over that.

Gosh I just don't know, though I think I'd bin them just to be on the safe side. I read somewhere that modern food has chemicals added to make they that they don't smell so a sniff test may not be sufficient.
I probably wouldn't eat them as my immune system isn't what it was as a long-term side-effect of chemo. Perhaps the advice they give to pregnant women, the very young, old or frail - may be best to take care.

I've done my level 2 food hygiene course and passed it's almost impossible to fail and I'm glad I have preserved you from a possible upset tummy gonegirl or worse.

It all depends what it is and whether going to be cooked or not. I'd be much more wary about packet of ham opened a few days and in and out of fridge, even if within date. Or some salads.

Bit of random information - I had 2 students do projects - one counted bacteria in raw sausages the other in some salad (lettuce and tomato) from salad bar. The raw sausages had fewer bacteria than salad by quite a wide margin. Of course we didn't know what type - a small number of "bad bugs" can do much more harm than loads of harmless ones.

If a microbiologist says they are ok to eat, they are ok to eat.

Hmmm. Along with the bugs? ? ?

But the icing’s the best bet!

I would at least have taken the icing off Maggiemaybe.

I 'avent got a flipping dog!

They're in the bin. Have been for a couple of hours. Slightly regretting it. Farmor sounds like she knows a thing or two.

Oh no, don’t give them to the dog, imagine the poop you’d have to scoop.

I’m laidback about most things, but I wouldn’t eat meat or fish so far past the use by date.

I did recently consume a huge slab of GDS2’s birthday cake that had been in the freezer for 20 months, in the full knowledge that 15 little urchins had spat over it while blowing the candles out (twice). Regretted it when my stomach started burbling dramatically, but got away with it. The rest of it’s in the food recycling bin now.

I’m in the “go on eat them” camp!

I would bin them and I certainly would not try them on an animal!!!!!

Four days is not particularly long if they have been kept properly.
Try it on your dog.
Runs for cover.

I’d definitely bin!! Might eat them one day past the date, even then I’d convince myself they tasted “funny” ☹️

Eat - sausages have a lot of preservatives that keep the bad bugs at bay combined with proper refrigeration. They can get soured by some bacteria which gives them an off smell, but not harmful but you wouldn't be likely to eat. Brocothrix thermosphacta is main spoilage organism (says retired microbiologist, showing off!)

We had some very tasty sausages last sunday that were about 3 days past use-by date. If they didn't have preservatives they would be causing food poisoning all the time - Botulism comes from latin name for sausage (more showing off )

I wouldn't risk it. Even though the meat content is probably quite low, sausages are made with the 'left-over bits'....the bits that decompose more quickly than the prime cuts.

Hmm. Perhaps it's not worth it. They were part of an offer so I only paid £2.50 for them. Just hate food waste. But hate being sick too

Thanks for answers. x

Throw them out! My DS developed food poisoning a few hours after eating sausages which admittedly hadn't been in a fridge . He had taken them youth hosteĺling . He should have cooked them on the first night but he didn't. He was very sick.