unconsumable meats

http://homecooking.about.com/od/beef/a/groundbeefcolor.htm



Ground Beef Color - Red versus Gray-Purple Meat

The bright red color of ground beef is often used by consumers as a selection factor when purchasing hamburger, but a dark gray-purple color may not necessarily be a bad thing.

All warm-blooded animals contain a pigment called myoglobin in meat tissues. This pigment is normally a dark grayish-purple but when it comes in contact with oxygen, it becomes oxymyoglobin and reacts by turning a deep red color. Meats that are vacuum-packed have not been exposed to oxygen long enough to turn red.

It is for that eye-pleasing coloration that most fresh ground beef sold in clear packages at the market is packaged using a clear film that is oxygen permeable. The oxygen goes through the film and allows the meat to turn that pretty red color we associate with fresh beef. This is why it is not recommended to freeze meat in store packaging.

Coloring can also indicate spoilage. If your package of ground beef is grayish all the way through and does not turn red when exposed to air for fifteen minutes or so, it is most likely spoiled. Usually your nose will tell you right off the bat, as spoiled ground beef will smell sour. It will also feel tacky to the touch. Don't take any chances with spoiled meat. When in doubt, toss it out.

So stop buying yourmeat in the supermarket then. That's what we've done - we now have the reassurance of knowing the provenance of the meat we eat - yes it might sometimes be a touch more expensive but we've addressed that by eating less of it, but of a better quality.

Farms shops, Farmers markets, good independant butchers. You will have one of these, if not more than one, locally.

We see a lot of this in our local Morrisons. Expecially with bacon.