Would you eat older meat that has been thoroughly cooked?

Color is also influenced by the age of the animal, the species, sex, diet, and even the exercise it gets. The meat from older animals will be darker in color because the myoglobin level increases with age. Exercised muscles are always darker in color, which means the same animal can have variations of color in its muscles.

If you store fresh meat in the freezer, then when you pull it out its still fresh, but not in the refrigerator after 7 days unless you put it in when its brown to begin with. Mike

I prefer dry aged beef that's been hung in cool, controlled conditions for a month or more. Of course it's expensive as hell but it's worth it for the occasional night out or when you're on vacation.

Very few steak houses in the US dry age for that length of time, usually it's 21 days. Grocery stores do not (unless you're lucky enough to grow up near a specialty store that does, yay me!)

That all being said, if your fridge is cold, and the meat smells okay (even if it's slightly strong) you're body will be able to digest it. If it's sour or rancid, then it's probably got too much bacteria putting off toxins.

I have my beef hung in a refrigeration unit for 21, yes twenty one, days before it is cut and wrapped to be quick frozen! This tenderizes the beef quite a bit, but also gives it the best flavor available.

Meats sold to the general public are NOT "aged" so will not have the flavor mine has. When I buy a beef or half beef from the butcher shop, I have them age it for the three weeks before cutting and wrapping it for me.

If the meat smelled good, didn't stink!, you can eat and enjoy it. And for sure you would know it by now if it was spoiled!

I would not eat any older meat

Color does NOT indicate spoilage but smell does.

If that meat does NOT stink it is fine.

The "rule" for storing meat is meaningless because you could have meat that was handled poorly before YOU got it that would spoil sooner than 3-5 days and meat that was handled properly AND stored in the coldest part of the fridge that would last long past 3-5 days.

ALWAYS use your senses. Smell first. If it stinks, don't use. Spoilage bacteria and food born illness bacteria is 2 different things and spoilage bacteria rarely makes anyone sick. Spoilage bacteria spoils the food; breaks it down, makes it stink, etc.

Food born illness bacteria is odorless, tasteless and is on the meat from the start and does NOT develop with age.

Humans are quite well adapted to eating rotten meat. Probably for all of our time on the planet (without refrigeration) most of the meat we ate was "turning" or fully rotten. And that's why pepper and spices were so important to people.