LOOK · SMELL · TOUCH
- Colour — Bright red, or purplish in a vacuum pack. Some browning is normal.
- Smell — Clean and faintly meaty. Sour or sharp: do not use it.
- Surface — Moist, never sticky or slimy.
- Fat — Firm, white to cream. Yellow fat can simply mean grass-fed.
- Pack — Cold, sealed, no leaks, not swollen.
- Time — After buying, in the fridge: steaks 3 to 5 days, mince 1 to 2 days, or the use-by date if sooner.
Looks and smell cannot prove meat is safe. Follow the use-by date, keep it at 4 °C or colder, and when in doubt, throw it out. Text and pictures were made with AI.
