Supermarket fish/chicken always smells off before use by!

[Tobythecat]

Why does this always happen?! Went to Sainsburys earlier to get some salmon fillets. Date isn't up until the 14th. Just opened them to have one for tea and they are whiffy! It also happens with chicken, every damn time unless i manage to get a really long (6+days use by date).

Is it just me or does this happen to anyone else?

It’s because supermarket “fresh” fish is frequently up to 20 days old by the time you get to buy it. You’d be much better off buying frozen.

Aldi chicken is like this. You need to get a long use by date and then still eat it on the day you buy it or else it stinks.

chicken smell 'farty' when you open the pack because it's filled with a gas to stop it going off.
if the pack bulges or if it still smells farty after a few minutes after opening then it's off.

Yup, what orangeshoebox says, they vaccum seal packs with a gas, something sulphury maybe to increase the shelf life. Give it a few min and seen off if you are worried!

Seen off = re-sniff. Apparently thats not in my autocorrect, can't imagine why not.

Yeah I think if almost all the fish/chicken you buy smells off then the problem is you having an over sensitive nose rather than the food actually being off!

I’ve gone back to Sainsbury’s to complain, offered to show them the chicken, they declined and just gave me another 1. I’m sure use by dates aren’t fool proof

There was a BBC Horizon on 8 July called "The honest supermarket: what's really in our food" which was really interesting - an eye opener and explored this. They also set up a pop-up "Honest Supermarket" which gave the unvarnished facts about fresh and processed foods on the supermarket shelves. It's on iPlayer for 27 days.

Check the temperature on your fridge?

The chicken doesn't just smell farty, it smells putrid/off. I might try changing the temperature in my fridge. I can never work out if the higher number on the dial is colder or what though :D.