How to tell if you’re buying spoiled meat: Food expert reveals signs of gone chicken, meat and pork – including white spots, bad smells and turning green
- A food safety expert detects signs of rotting meat
- Key signs to look for include the smell, color, and texture of the meat
A food safety expert has revealed the telltale signs of rotting meat.
Sylvia Anderson, one of the UK’s leading food safety experts, told MailOnline it’s easy to spot spoiled meat in fresh produce but more difficult if it’s been partially cooked, for example in takeaway.
The Food Standards Agency advises that cooking food at the right temperature and for the correct length of time will ensure that any harmful bacteria are killed.
Pork, poultry such as turkey and chicken, and minced meat such as kebabs, burgers, and sausages should be steamed hot and fully cooked before serving.
When you cut into the thickest part of the meat, it should not be pink and the juices should run clear.
A food safety expert has detected signs of rotting meat, but it may not be easy to tell if it has been partially cooked.
Ms Anderson said pork was safe to eat if it came from a reputable supplier and was cooked through, but like chicken it should not be pink in the middle.
“The only way to safely eat pork is for it to be cooked over 75 degrees and not have the pink color, like chicken.” She said. The danger of eating undercooked pork is that it can contain a virus called hepatitis E.
In general, the way to check for rotting meat, Anderson said, is to “use your senses.”
When something goes out, it is called food spoilage. For example, when it explodes the chicken is green while when it explodes the meat is sticky.
It will have white dots on it, and it will become darker. You can tell by the appearance and color of the food.
Food safety expert Sylvia Anderson explained that the way to check if meat has gone bad is to ‘use your senses’.
However, Anderson said that if the spoiled pork is sold in partially cooked products, such as ready meals, “it’s even more dangerous because the customer won’t see it.”
If you buy fresh pork, most people with common sense can tell if there is an unpleasant odor or discoloration.
If it is ready to eat, it may already be partially cooked. This means it has been cooked and cooled and the customer will buy and reheat it.
They won’t know it because they can’t smell it and eat it and then they get food poisoning.
If a pork dish is going rancid, you can tell right away. But if it’s already processed in some way and it’s something that sticks in the oven or reheats…you’ll find out when you vomit and have diarrhea.