Supermarket vac pac mince is hideous

[Sarahfairy29]

A reassuring response from M&S
I cannot believe all the supermarkets have gone with vac pac mince - it’s disgusting mush

I filled in a survey for Sainsburys telling them I thought it was a big improvement, the mince is still the same once cooked and far less plastic waste / takes up less fridge space.

I found it slushy and sloppy tbh

I'm in the MN minority who don't have an issue with (Sainsbury's) vac-packed mince. Yes, you need to prod it more to break it up, but the texture is just the same once cooked.

It’s not very nice at all, and it makes my arm ache trying to break it down in the pan. Once all that time and effort is expended it then has a weird moussey texture and a slightly odd smell. I’m not a fan and have started going out of my way to avoid Sainsburys now.

Waitrose have managed to reduce their plastic packaging without resorting to vac pack ruination. Sainsburys should take note.

I used a vac pack mince from Aldi recently and thought it weas absolutely fine TBH. Not much effort to break up the mince and tasted no different. Not sure what the problem is to be honest

It is horrible mush. I choose not to buy it and get mince loose from the butcher or from any supermarket that doesn’t vac pack it.

Agree with EffortlesslyDecluttering once it's cooked it's the same product as previously. I certainly can't tell the difference when using it & it is easier to freeze. Do agree it looks different, but its raw minced up cow how appetising can it look? We are supposed to be making an effort to use and consume less packaging so this seems a small issue as its visual only and has no impact, at least for me, on taste or product performance.* *

Absolutely this. Got some in Aldi and it was fine no difference at all c just lesser packaging

I honestly don’t get all the moaning about this. It’s all just a bit I hate change.
Writing to M&S because you don’t like their repackaging of a product is crazy to me.

i bet you can’t tell the difference once it’s cooked. If you are unhappy you can buy from a butcher’s. If you don’t have a local one there are plenty who will deliver to you

I usually buy mince from a local farm shop, it’s always been vacuum packed and it’s always been fine. I’ve never had a problem breaking it up while I’m browning it.

I also hate the fact that we are dictated to by big supermarkets who think they have divine rights

Had it for the first time recently and really noticed the difference up until the point it was fully cooked so no drama from my pov

I wrote to them to ask them not to repackage and they have said no plans to
Iceland have advertised they are reverting due to negative feedback on vac pac mince

Support your local butcher then

Asda and Morrisons still sell the old packaging. I won’t buy the vacuum sealed packs.

I do .. but supermarkets think they can treat customers with contempt sometimes

Sadly not in my area anymore that’s what prompted my reaching out to M&S

Tesco still sell in plastic boxes, but got some from wherever recently that was vacuum packed and it was fine. That said, we raise our own pigs and we also buy a whole deer every year to butcher for venison. Have always vacuum packed our pork and venison mince and casserole meat. It’s much more economical and fits in the freezer.

You’re hardly dictated to because a private business is choosing what products to stock.
You’re free to shop wherever you like.

We all know that the big supermarkets have a huge amount of power

I do but that’s hardly the point 🤣

That's really reassuring to hear. The texture of the vac packed stuff is horrible and I can definitely tell in the finished product.

I couldn’t buy anything else in Aldi recently. Given the amount of people who have said it’s awful, I didn’t find it bad at all. If you sear both sides of the block, it breaks down easily. Admittedly I was reluctant to try it!

So could I glad it’s not just me 🤣