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Original poster

Mushy vacuum packed mince

89 replies

likelysuspect · 01/07/2026 19:33

Im not having a lot of luck with vacuum packed products lately

Ive never bought it in the new packaging until this week.

I was in Lidl and didnt have time to go elsewhere so bought it as it was, that squished up stuff in the vacuum pack

Its all mushy when raw and it doesnt have the same texture once cooked as normal packed mince

Im disappointed.

OP posts:
Shutthedoorbehindyou · 01/07/2026 22:59

NotSmallButFunSize · 01/07/2026 22:00

It's literally the same - I can never understand the fuss people make about this

How can it literally be the same when it’s been squashed and forced together into a big lump? The texture of the finished cooked product is completely different.

Shutthedoorbehindyou · 01/07/2026 22:57

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 20:11

The reason is to cut down on plastic packaging.Plastic packaging causes global warming by driving climate change at every stage of its lifecycle. The process is highly carbon-intensive, releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases from the initial extraction and refinement of fossil fuels to the manufacturing, transport, and final disposal of the products.

But hey you having mince the texture you like is so much more important. Maybe ponder on it a bit next week when we’re back in a heat wave.

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I can’t abide the vacuum packed stuff, it’s absolutely dire. I purposefully buy from supermarkets that sell it in the old-style packets.

justasking111 · 01/07/2026 22:48

Lifelover16 · 01/07/2026 22:36

Doesn’t reduce my food waste - I took the mince out of the vacuum pack and the texture and smell made me retch. No way could I cook and eat that, it went straight in the bin.

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I've had that with chicken. Just stomach heaving

Lifelover16 · 01/07/2026 22:36

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 20:18

Vacuum-packed mince is better for the environment primarily because it uses significantly less plastic and actively prevents food waste. This method of packaging extends product shelf life and optimizes logistics, dramatically reducing the overall carbon footprint of your groceries.
Key environmental benefits include:
Less Plastic Use: Vacuum-sealed packs use up to 63% less plastic than traditional rigid plastic trays with film lids. This significantly reduces the volume of plastic produced and ultimately discarded.
Reduced Food Waste: By removing oxygen, the packaging inhibits bacterial growth, which increases the shelf life of the mince by 50% to 100%. This extended timeframe means less meat spoils in supermarkets and in your fridge at home.
Lower Transportation Emissions: The smaller, tightly wrapped packages are highly size-efficient. This allows significantly more packs to fit onto a single delivery truck, which reduces the total number of delivery trips required and lowers transport-related emissions

Show quote history

Doesn’t reduce my food waste - I took the mince out of the vacuum pack and the texture and smell made me retch. No way could I cook and eat that, it went straight in the bin.

justasking111 · 01/07/2026 22:26

I accidentally bought the fatty mince instead of lean. Tipped it out the fat separated it well. I just had to drain the fat. It tastes better too.

weareallcats · 01/07/2026 22:16

Sainsburys mince is disgusting these days - they need to sort it out. We go to marks or the butchers. Marks isn’t much more expensive, but the quality is significantly better.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 01/07/2026 22:11

I often buy the squashed up vacuum packed mince from Sainsbury’s. I just decant it into a bowl and break it up with two forks. It’s fine.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 01/07/2026 22:08

I'm with the OP and the 90% vote that thinks the vacuum packed mince is shite. Having tried it a couple of times I won't buy the vacuum packed product now.
Fine for burgers or meatballs, but for cooking mince dishes I find it really difficult to cook with. Fortunately Costco still provide 'proper' mince.

NotSmallButFunSize · 01/07/2026 22:00

It's literally the same - I can never understand the fuss people make about this

Laiste · 01/07/2026 21:58

Same - can't stand brick of mush.

I actually worried that it was off the first time. Second time i realised that's just what it's like.

There won't be a third time.

XenoBitch · 01/07/2026 21:54

I want my mince to be a 5 on the Bristol Stool Scale, not 3.

SkippitySkoppity · 01/07/2026 21:51

Vacuum packed mince is an abomination of sludgy gloop.

Morrisons (on the shelf and at the butcher's counter), M&S, and Waitrose all do nice unvacuum packed mince.

MyLeftSkiBoot · 01/07/2026 21:47

I can’t stand the vacuum packed mince, the texture is awful. Asda seems to only sell that now. They do have “Butchers mince” in an old style tray but that has been out of stock lately. This is in our local Asda, don’t know about their online offerings.

Otherwise it’s Ocado or Waitrose. Waitrose’s mince is not in a tray but in a vacuum bag. However it has some room around the mince and isn’t a solid brick. Texture is fine with those.

Upstartled · 01/07/2026 21:38

Only something like 4% of meat is sold at an independent butchers. It's a more exclusive group than those who send their children to private school. I think the other 96% of the market might have something to say about how it is packaged, one way or the other, without being mithered by the smallest group who have outrun the bastardisation of what was perfectly fine mince by doogooders changes.

eeemes · 01/07/2026 21:17

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 20:18

Vacuum-packed mince is better for the environment primarily because it uses significantly less plastic and actively prevents food waste. This method of packaging extends product shelf life and optimizes logistics, dramatically reducing the overall carbon footprint of your groceries.
Key environmental benefits include:
Less Plastic Use: Vacuum-sealed packs use up to 63% less plastic than traditional rigid plastic trays with film lids. This significantly reduces the volume of plastic produced and ultimately discarded.
Reduced Food Waste: By removing oxygen, the packaging inhibits bacterial growth, which increases the shelf life of the mince by 50% to 100%. This extended timeframe means less meat spoils in supermarkets and in your fridge at home.
Lower Transportation Emissions: The smaller, tightly wrapped packages are highly size-efficient. This allows significantly more packs to fit onto a single delivery truck, which reduces the total number of delivery trips required and lowers transport-related emissions

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So, you’re green as anything on the mince packaging @TamTam5but clearly don’t mind AI’s massive environmental impact.

I agree with OP, I hate mince packed in this way too.

CornishDaughteroftheDawn · 01/07/2026 21:17

I go to my local butcher and ask him to cut some fresh mince from steak. It tastes unbelievably good. I’d far rather buy that slightly less frequently and support a local business.

Upstartled · 01/07/2026 21:16

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 21:08

That doesn’t represent what I buy. It’s the same product!

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It's not the same product. The process of vacuum packing the mince changes the product. The lack of oxygen means that the gasses given off by the mince, including natural lactic acid, have nowhere to go and gives it that odd smell when you open it and the odd colour is caused by the myoglobin protein that changes colour depending on the amount of oxygen it is exposed to. As for the texture 🤮

msmillicentcat · 01/07/2026 21:13

We shop at Sainsury's but I stopped buying their mince a while ago I can't bear the solid lump of mush. They seriously need to look at a better packaging option which is environmentally friendly but doesn't reduce the product quality. We get it from the butchers now which is ok if you use it straight away but it doesn't last. I've got some M&S mince in the fridge this week which looks nice, in a proper tray.

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 21:09

Meadowflower2023 · 01/07/2026 21:03

I used a pack of the Sainsbury’s mince yesterday, my arm is still aching today after having to chop it with the spatula for what felt like 6389 times. Definitely will be avoiding Sainsbury’s mince going forward, I’d forgot how annoying it is!

What are you doing with it. I just pop it in the pan and stir it round. It breaks down v quickly by itself.

Wonderwall23 · 01/07/2026 21:08

I'd rather have no mince at all than vacuum packed...I just don't like it.

I know it's really lame that I'm interested but I'd actually be curious to see the impact on sales of the change-over. Threads on here indicate most don't like it...would love to know if that's replicated IRL or if its just a mumsnet thing.

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 21:08

Upstartled · 01/07/2026 21:01

No, there's nothing excellent about oozing out a brick of oddly coloured mince mush with a sulphy odour.

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That doesn’t represent what I buy. It’s the same product!

Original poster
likelysuspect · 01/07/2026 21:06

XenoBitch · 01/07/2026 21:00

Not for me.

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No me neither, this is what I made tonight

OP posts:
Meadowflower2023 · 01/07/2026 21:03

I used a pack of the Sainsbury’s mince yesterday, my arm is still aching today after having to chop it with the spatula for what felt like 6389 times. Definitely will be avoiding Sainsbury’s mince going forward, I’d forgot how annoying it is!

Upstartled · 01/07/2026 21:01

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 20:59

Mushy is excellent for chilli.

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No, there's nothing excellent about oozing out a brick of oddly coloured mince mush with a sulphy odour.

XenoBitch · 01/07/2026 21:00

TamTam5 · 01/07/2026 20:59

Mushy is excellent for chilli.

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Not for me.