tesco rubbish meat?

katie_jane_2

this i guess is a question for those who buy super market meat.
is it me or has the shelf life on fresh meat got worse?im sure a few years ago when i lived close to morrisons my fresh meat buys would last 4 or 5 days until use by date. now i go to tesos and 2 or 3 days after puchase and still well before use by dates the meat is whiffy and on the turn am i imagining this?

sweetnskint

i have been saying this on the vent board totally agree. its terrible on dates and the quality is bad.lots agree others ignore the meat and buy it even when it looks well past the best.

fedupfreda

Hi, think this is due to 'failure to maintain the cold chain'.

What happens is people get to the till, find out they can't afford something and put it back (or leave it laying on an aisle somewhere). I used to work in a supermarket 3 years ago and we were always told we had 30 minutes to return something to the chiller in order to maintain the cold chain. Otherwise the goods could not be trusted and should really have been discarded.

Sometimes it is also due to over filling the chillers which means the cold air doesn't circulate properly over the food.

This is why I always take my meat from the back of the chiller - it's also where they put the newest dates, so ensuring the longest shelf life. Beware if you find a pack which feels slightly warmer than you would expect - either it is a return to sale or the chiller may not be 100%. HTH.

linni

The last few times I have bought their mince it has been very grissley, grizzly, gosh I cant spell it, sorry!! I have stopped buying it now and use Quorn instead.

Pssst

I couldnt comment directly on Tesco and i think it would be wrong to make a blanket statement about the quality of their produce.

It has been my policy over the past few years to support my local butcher. His produce is second to none,he knows his trade and is proud of what he sells. The quality is top notch and best of all,the price isnt that much different to supermarkets. He also diversifies a lot,produces special lines, stuff aimed at healthy eating,slimming etc and even supports the local primary schools by going down there and cooking breakfast foods to feed up the kids and encourage healthy eating. All in all,a top bloke.

If any of you are in Manchester ,heres the man..


http://littlewoodsbutchers.com/

Hawthorn

Also, check the temp of your fridge. I had this issue,only to discover that one of the kids had knocked the thermostat down a notch.

FairyElephant_2

I did notice this a while ago with other supermarkets (don't shop at Tesco - can't stand it) so took to freezing most of my meat as soon as I got home, except that which I needed for present and next day. Prob is you have to remember to take it back out of the freezer in time!
Have to say that ASDA has got a lot better lately though....

pigpen

I have never had any problem of any kid with the quality of tesco meat.. to my recollection.. apart from the mince I left in the back of the fridge for about a month.. that was pretty gruesome!

I use the pork mince (it was nothing but fat from the local butcher and all gritty in texture) pork steaks/chops, beef mince, turkey mince (not available locally) pork loin, pork shank, lamb shoulder, gammon, bacon, chicken breast fillets (had those yesterday) chicken 'bits' diced turkey, venison, and duck.. and no doubt a whole array of other meats and most of it is the value range and I have been more than happy with it all..

now the fruit and veg they send out on the deliveries is usually abyssmal and I send most of it back!

BUT I wouldn't keep meat in the fridge for more than 36 hours anyway if I wanted it 2 days later I'd freeze it until the nigth before I needed it.

katie_jane_2

thanks for replying , im pretty sure my fridge temp is ok ,maybe its time to sack tesco and use the butcher instead, i do have a decent one near to me.i have also started using quorn mince and nobody even noticed !would love to stop using tesco altogether !

Pssst

Well Katie-and others,if we dont support our local quality butchers,they will disappear and then we will all be at the mercy of the supermarkets.

JayJay14

The trouble is Pssst not all of us have a local butcher - even though I live in a city I would have to go by car a couple of miles at least to even find a butcher let alone one I would want to buy meat from. I have to go to Beverley which is a town about 7 miles from where I live on the outskirts of Hull to get my meat, otherwise I go to Asda which is 5 mins walk.

I would love to be able to buy local produce but I would have to travel miles to find someone who stocks it!!!! Which does rather defeat the object.