To ask if this mince meat looks okay to eat to you?

[TheFaun]

I bought it a few days ago, it’s been in the fridge ever since. I noticed yesterday it had gone a horrible brown colour...sell by date is today?

If it smells bad (like vinegar) when you cook it you will know it’s bad. There’s no mistaking the smell.

It’s fine. It’s just oxidized.

If it smells rank then ditch it of course, but I wouldn’t expect that to be off at all.

No wonder we have so much food waste!

Ugh, no.

Argh, what to do!!

I would.

Yes as others have said, its OK to eat. If its off the smell will be obvious.

It's in date it will be absolutely fine it's just oxidized

Meat does sometimes go brown like that. Oxidised. If it had bacteria the packet would be blown. I'd use it - I'd just make sure it was well cooked.

Open it and smell it is what you need to do. Beef lasts longer than you think - as is evidenced by 30 day aged steak!

Yeah. And it would stink if it was off.

I’ve just binned it, I’m fussy with meat anyway and I just couldn’t bring myself to risk it

If the brown colour is caused by oxidisation, that means oxygen has reached it, so the packaging must be broken somewhere to have let it in. I just wouldn’t want to risk it.

as is evidenced by 30 day aged steak!

That used to put me off. They say it like that's a good thing.

I’ve just binned it, I’m fussy with meat anyway and I just couldn’t bring myself to risk it

That's also fine. If in doubt, don't.

If you still have the receipt, I would take it back to Sainsbury’s. It looks foul.

This is why there is so much food waste in this country 🤦‍♀️

I would have done the same op.

Probs fine if it passes the sniff test, make sure you cook it really well.

My grandfather was a master butcher 20-60 years ago. That meat is just oxidised. It's perfectly fine to eat. Because it's beef. Pork mince? No. But beef mince? It's fine, honestly.

Also, the old fashioned means of smelling and handling meat will tell you a lot about whether it's ok to eat. Honestly, so much waste these days because 'use by dates' are king, and common sense (or just 'normal life' for our ancestors) has long since departed the building.

I'm honestly aghast at the fear of meat versus use by dates. What do all of you think happened when your local master butcher delivered the meat once a week, but it could be any number of days before the 'Sunday roast' or whatever?!

What did it smell like??

Thats what i would judge it on.

Honestly, it is no wonder there is so much food waste in this country. It was perfectly fine to eat. In fact, meat is deliberately sold bright red in supermarkets because of the "fresh" perception and they add carbon dioxide to keep it that colour for longer. My meat comes from the butcher with no use by date and my minced beef is not bright red.

Shameful that you wasted it without even opening the package.

I’m very lax, don’t even look at use by dates but I would’ve binned that’s.

It's not the colour that made me balk - it's the fact that it looked rather rubbery and dehydrated. It looks like the packaging has been pierced and given that the use by date was based on intact packaging, I wouldn't risk it.

I think you've just turned me vegetarian.