How to tell if you’re buying spoiled meat: Food expert reveals signs that chicken, meat and pork are spoiled – including white dots, bad smells and turning GREEN
- Food safety expert reveals the telltale signs if meat has gone bad
- The main signals to watch for are the smell, color and texture of the meat
A food safety expert has revealed the telltale signs that meat has gone bad.
Sylvia Anderson, one of the UK’s leading food safety experts, told MailOnline that spoiled meat is easy to spot in fresh produce, but more difficult when it’s partially cooked, for example in ready meals.
The Food Standards Agency advises that cooking food at the right temperature and for the right length of time will kill any harmful bacteria.
Pork, poultry such as turkey and chicken, and minced meat such as kebabs, burgers and sausages should be steaming hot and fully cooked before serving.
When cutting into the thickest part of the meat, it should not be pink and the juices should run clear.
A food safety expert has revealed the tell-tale signs of whether meat has gone bad, but it may not be easy to tell if it’s partially cooked
Ms Anderson said pork is safe to eat if it comes from a reputable supplier and is fully cooked, but like chicken it should not be pink inside.
“The only way to safely eat pork is if it’s cooked over 75 degrees and isn’t pink in color like chicken.” she said. The danger of eating undercooked pork is that it can contain a virus called hepatitis E.
In general, Ms. Anderson said the way to check if meat has spoiled is “by using your senses”.
“If something goes off, it’s called food spoilage. For example, when chicken spoils, it turns green, while meat becomes slimy when it spoils.
“White dots appear and it gets darker. You can tell by the appearance and the color of the food.’
The way to check if meat is spoiled is to ‘use your senses’, explains food safety expert Sylvia Anderson
However, Anderson said if spoiled pork is sold in products that are partially cooked, such as ready meals, “it’s more dangerous because the customer can’t see it.”
“If you buy fresh pork, most people with common sense can tell if it smells rancid or changes color.
“When it’s ready to eat, it may already be partially cooked. That means it’s cooked and cooled and the customer buys it and reheats it.
“They won’t know because they can’t smell it and eat it and then get food poisoning.”
“If it’s a raw pork dish, you’ll notice it right away. But if it’s already been processed in some way and it’s something you put in the oven or heat up… you’ll find out when you’re throwing up and having diarrhea.”