Yup, the smaller the pieces of meat, the shorter the time it will keep. So you can keep a roast in your fridge for a lot longer than you can keep mince. If the mince still looks ok, you may be fine, but if there's blood pooling in the bag, definitely don't go near it.

We've pushed the boundaries on meat use-by dates before - but it's something we'd never do with me pregnant. Most of the time use-by dates are a guide, not a hard and fast rule that it will go off on that date, but we were much more cautious with pregnancy.

BW