Would two deliveries of rancid chicken put you off ordering again

[poemything]

I didn't want to place this in the more popular parts of the forum as I have no wish to name or shame the company (who I generally very much respect).

I do wonder how common this is though, and as for myself, it has never happened before no matter where I have purchased fresh meat online.

We have been using a popular organic delivery service for 4 months. The veg is excellent and we are really happy with the vast majority of what we have purchased so far. We have had the best eggs, cheese, bread and seasonal fruit & vegetables that I have tasted in a long time, so we would be loathe to give it up.

Problem: this week's delivery contained extremely rancid chicken thighs. These were fresh, expensive organic thighs well within their expiry label, and we set about cooking them very shortly after arrival. They have not sat around, our fridge is working as it should, etc. The smell on opening was vomit inducing, and did not improve (it wasn't the typical gamey smell of safe, just-opened meat).

Even more depressingly, this is the second time it has happened, as our last delivery had discoloured chicken chunks which we had to throw away after opening. I was fine letting it go initially, a one off, etc, but what are the odds?

I will obviously contact them on Monday for a refund, but I am wondering how common this is, and why on earth they're getting it so wrong?
I haven't been able to locate any customer complaints online, so perhaps we have just been unlucky?
I mean once is a bit shit, but twice is pretty off putting. And when I say it smelled bad, I mean you still wanted to heave long after taking it outside in a sealed bloody bag. We had to leave the door open for an hour.

Would this put you off?

Yes

Yes and after the first time.

I am vegetarian but if I were you I wouldn't order meat from them again

Yes.
I have stopped having g chicken delivered by a well-known supermarket for this very reason and now only buy it from a organic organisation, which may well be the one you are having trouble with (!).

Thanks.
We are honestly more confused than annoyed. I am sure they will refund me, but they have a great reputation so not sure how it has gone so wrong. They are obviously not multinational giants but they are a very popular and successful uk organisation. It's not like it's a small local farm no one really knows about.

Haha, could be!
We used M&S for organic chicken previously and never had one single issue. Typical!

We only eat it once per fortnight so it's special, and bloody expensive (we mostly eat fish).

I wouldn't order meat from them again, I would expect a refund. I wouldn't necessarily stop ordering the other stuff.

The issue may be their supplier not them - assuming it is in a sealed pack with date on - so they need the info.

I wouldn’t order any meat from them again.

Yep, there are very happy 5 star reviews across trustpilot, I can't find anyone else discussing this so perhaps we were unlucky. Saying that, after experiencing that stench, it wouldn't even be possible to convince myself to risk a third attempt!

I will def be letting them know. Such a shame because they use such ethical and progressive farming practices.

One delivery of rancid chicken would be enough for me to cancel.

They very much need to know about this, and as soon as possible.

I'm assuming they don't produce their own chickens, so the issue must be with their suppliers.

I am guessing this won't be connected to the farming or birds, possibly the packing stage? I am not well up on chicken manufacture.

They are transparent in the sense that they show and tell you where the farm and farmer (their full name) are located. I doubt he'd be chuffed.

You did nothing the first time ?

You let them continue to sell rotten food to others.

I shall promptly have myself shot for the good of humanity, don't worry

This seems odd, I wonder if something's gone wrong in the delivery just to your house? Maybe the box isn't been cooled properly in transit, or it's sitting outside in the sun for a long time and it's gone off. Once seems like it could be an accident or a bad batch, twice seems like it's a supply chain/delivery problem.

I get a weekly organic box too, but it's always delivered first thing in the morning when I'm already out and sits outside all day waiting for me to get home and bring it in - I've never ordered anything that needs refrigeration as a result, even though they offer lovely dairy and meat products you can add onto the box.

I have since spoken to them on the phone and they were great, and they did mention that this will be an issue that has cropped up between the processing and the delivery, and that they would be looking into it.

I do think it is likely that the delivery is the issue - we always take the box immediately so it is never sitting around.

I did get a refund so on we go, but it does put us off purchasing meat from there at the moment. I suppose it's just a visceral reaction that can't be helped after those experiences. We do love everything else though so will continue to use them and buy meat elsewhere.

When you order from - I think - Hello Fresh, for example, they tell you that the chicken will smell bad but it’s fine. It’s in the literature. It was enough to stop me
ordering again but if you read up about it you might find a reason for it. No idea why it doesn’t in a normal
supermakret packet.

I was told that the process/packing was different, to supermarkets, can't recall what exactly, but that the sell by dates were useless. I asked why print them at all and she said they have to by law. Was advised to eat immediately/same day or freeze, which doesn't promote confidence

I know regular packed chicken has a slight smell on opening, but these were shocking, it lingered all evening and made you gag. They were also mottled and discoloured, as had the chicken chunks of a previous order.

Am still using them but not for meat, am wondering now if the eggs are worth the risk!

I read that as rancid children.

Ah, no, they were organic rancild children Lovely with wild garlic.