sealed smoked salmon, kept very cold, what should I look for? AskCulinary

I am looking for guidelines to evaluate this food item for safety, not expecting to receive a specific yes/no answer. :)

We have some smoked, spiced salmon (has cracked peppercorns in the package, red pepper spices, etc) in a sealed (imperfect vacuum sealed, ie there is still some air, but 90%+ of it is collapsed tight) plastic bag, said container has been on the bottom shelf (just above the drawer) of a refrigerator known for creating ice inside of drinks kept in the very back, etc. But it has been there many months (I think spring time)

The package is still flat and has no bulges etc, so there is no outgassing. The meat seems firm, and there are no funny smells escaping the plastic.

Is there anything else I should look for to determine if it's OK? Before opening? If we open it? I know you can not give me a yes/no answer, but I do believe you can point me on guidelines that I can use my own judgement on.

Submitted December 28, 2014 at 03:31AM by Zagaroth http://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/2qkbrq/sealed_smoked_salmon_kept_very_cold_what_should_i/ AskCulinary