Defrosted mince beef with white patches on it - is it safe to use?

headcrash27

Right i hope i don't get flamed for this after my last mince question, but i took some mince beef out of the freezer last night to defrost and on checking it today it has white patches on it. Is this likely to be freezer burn? If so is it still safe to use? The expiry date was November so it hasn't been in there for ages.

thriftlady_2

Sounds like freezer burn to me. Unless your freezer is faulty then there's no way the meat can have gone off in there.

Safe to use imo but may be a bit dry;)

Pink.

The white patches aren't fat are they? If not, it sounds like it's freezer burn, which happens if food has air around it (as opposed to being wrapped tightly). As thriftlady says it will be fine to eat. Freezer burn can cause deterioration in quality but won't harm you.

Pink

headcrash27

Well i cooked it tonight and it seemed fine so i am guessing it was just freezer burn. I picked off the white bits before cooking it anyway just to make sure.

HellsGranny

If you defrosted it in the pack then it could have been the water condensing out from the frost on the package dripping onto the Meat.

It is harmless, don't worry.

Cheers HG