Wir untersuchten gekühlte Pattys am Mindesthaltbarkeits- oder Verbrauchsdatum oder bis zu zwei Tage davor, die tiefgekühlten Produkte im Laufe der Prüfphase.
Which translates as:
We evaluated cooled patties on the Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum (legally required at-least-good-until-date, like a shelf-life-date) or on the use-by-date, or up to two days before that. The frozen products were tested at any point throughout the evaluation phase.
If the product has started rotting at that point, that is entirely the fault of the producer, since they specify those dates.
From the original source:
Which translates as:
If the product has started rotting at that point, that is entirely the fault of the producer, since they specify those dates.