Woolies customer asks if his months-old beef buy is still safe to eat – what do you think?
- Replies 21
One Woolworths customer has divided the opinions of fellow shoppers online when he posted a photo of a frozen packet of beef mince.
“I froze this beef in November the day I purchased [it],” said Rob in his Facebook post, along with a photo of his Woolies beef buy that has changed in colour – from red to a light brown shade.
“Is this still OK to eat or [should I] chuck it? Was going to use for tacos,” he said, asking the members of the Facebook group for advice.
The beef mince has turned from red to brown. Credit: Facebook.
Rob’s post was flooded with over a thousand comments from fellow shoppers, with several of them saying that they wouldn’t risk eating the meat that has greatly changed in colour.
One woman pointed out that the beef mince looks “off” and said: “My husband is a butcher and we would never eat this!”
A second person shared their experience with discoloured meat as well, saying: “I’ve had heaps like this. I do not recommend it. I cooked it and it all smelt fine until it went in my mouth. Lesson learned!!”
“No way I would be eating it… it is supposed to be red, not brown,” said a third.
But the majority of the comments assured Rob that the meat was perfectly safe to eat.
“It's only a bit of freezer burn. Perfectly fine and safe to eat! Often dye is put in mince to make it more attractive to buyers,” wrote one person.
“If it was frozen straight away and there are no holes in the plastic. It will be fine. You will be able to smell it as it is cooking. You will know straight away by the smell if it is in any way off,” added a second person.
A third person said that there’s nothing wrong with the mince and the change in colour was brought by the “lack of oxygen” due to being frozen.
But if you’re still in doubt whether the meat sitting in your freezer is still perfectly safe to eat, you can check by doing the “sniff test” and the “touch test”.
Fresh ground beef is said to have a mild iron-like smell, so if you sniff it and it already smells quite bad, it’s time to throw it into the bin. However, not every ‘bad’ bit of beef has a bad smell, so it’s better to look for more signs of spoilage other than sniffing it.
Fresh ground beef should not also feel “slimy” and “sticky” when touched, as it may indicate the presence of spoilage bacteria. We also advise thoroughly washing your hands before and after handling raw meat! Nobody wants to spread unnecessary bacteria everywhere.
For more information, check out this video below:
Credit: Mashed.
It’s important to be extra cautious when consuming stored meat because this may increase the risk of developing food poisoning. Some symptoms include: diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, upset stomach, vomiting, dehydration, and bloody stools.
Aside from checking for spoilage, we must highlight that it’s important as well to thoroughly cook ground beef to destroy any lingering bacteria.
Do you have more food safety tips? Share them with us down below!
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