How to select meat? With so many counterfeit meats on the market today, purchasing meat can be a source of concern. Today, we'll share tips for choosing fresh meat, hoping to assist you.
Tips for Selecting Meat
Inspect appearance: Fresh poultry has glossy skin and a bright muscle cut surface; spoiled meat lacks luster. Fresh poultry has plump, glossy eyes with clear corneas; spoiled meat has sunken, dry eyes with cloudy lenses.Fresh poultry has a slightly dry or moist surface that isn't sticky. When pressed with a finger, the indentation springs back immediately. Spoiled meat has a dry or sticky surface, with a sticky cut surface that doesn't rebound and leaves a permanent dent.
Avian influenza viruses can survive in frozen meat for about 300 days. Therefore, poultry stored long-term in refrigerators or freezers should be avoided.
When purchasing live poultry for on-site slaughter, careful selection is essential. Generally, healthy live poultry has wings tightly pressed against the body, glossy and neatly arranged feathers, and clean down around the vent. Poultry with drooping wings, rough and disheveled feathers, a grayish-black vent, or white fecal matter around the vent is likely diseased and should not be purchased.
So, how can you tell if meat has spoiled?
Methods for identifying spoiled meat
Darkened color. Fresh meat has a glossy surface and uniform color. Fresh pork appears red or light red with white fat; beef and lamb are bright red with mostly yellow fat; poultry skin is pale yellow or white, with meat that is white tinged with red.As storage time increases, oxidation of myoglobin causes the meat color to gradually turn reddish-brown. The darker the color, the lower the edibility. When the meat surface turns gray or grayish-green, or develops white or black spots, it indicates microorganisms have produced large amounts of metabolic byproducts, making the meat unfit for consumption.
Surface stickiness. Fresh meat has a slightly dry or moist exterior, with a slightly damp cut surface. It feels oily to the touch but not sticky. As meat spoils, microbial proliferation produces viscous metabolic byproducts, causing the surface to become sticky and even stringy. A sticky surface signals the onset of decay.
Reduced elasticity. Fresh meat has a firm, resilient texture that springs back immediately when pressed with a finger. As storage time increases, enzymes gradually break down proteins and fats within the meat, damaging muscle fibers. Consequently, the meat loses its original elasticity. Indentations made by finger pressure not only fail to fully recover but may even leave permanent marks.
Unpleasant odor.Fresh meat has a natural, meaty aroma. As it spoils, microorganisms break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, producing various amines, indoles, acids, ketones, and other compounds that create a distinct putrid smell.
That concludes our guide to selecting fresh meat. We hope this information proves helpful. Wishing you good health and smooth sailing this winter.