I recently bought some vacuum-packed pork back ribs, with a sell-by date more than two weeks after I bought it. I don't think I've ever seen a date that far out on meats and I'm not sure how to interpret it. I assume it has something to do with the vaccum-packing.
I gather that meat isn't necessarily good until the sell-by date, because home refrigerators aren't as good at what they do as what the store uses. How long can I expect these ribs, and similar products, to last before I must cook them?