Minced meat is gray: all information about the shelf life

If you come straight from the butcher and see gray minced meat after purchase, it may have turned gray on the way home to your household. We describe how the food becomes discolored.

Minced meat is gray - how it happens

Gray minced meat does not mean that you can no longer eat it. The discoloration comes from a chemical reaction.

• In the consumer world, the assumption has rather become established that the minced meat turns gray on the outside first.
• This assumption is not correct. The inside of the minced meat first turns gray. A brown color is also not excluded.
• This is because the oxygen only moderately reaches the minced meat in the middle. On the outside, minced meat turns gray when it lies against the plastic in packaging.
• Myoglobin is to blame. This is the dye in muscles that gives the red color and is responsible for oxygen storage. Without oxygen, the red color is missing.
• If you are not sure whether your minced pork is already inedible or even spoiled, use your senses.
• Nature has equipped us precisely for the cases of inedible or even broken meat - our nose. It is the safest way to determine whether something is already toxic in meat and sausages.
• Minced meat usually has a very slightly sour smell.
• If the smell of meat turns into an already slightly smelly smell, you can be sure that this hack is no longer usable for eating.
• Give the minced meat a few minutes, if it does not smell spoiled - around 15. Leave it alone for so long. Spread it out on a plate or use a spoon to spread it out a little.
• The gray discoloration should recede due to air supply. Again, myoglobin is responsible.
• If the gray does not turn into a pink or a reddish tone, your food may have a “sting”. That means it has crossed the line from good to bad. In this case, you should refrain from consuming it.
• Tip: Always prepare minced meat on the day of purchase - preferably in the first six hours. Even if you only sear it briefly. This protects the meat from germs.
• Another tip: Always roast minced meat completely, as salmonella cannot withstand the high temperatures.

In our next post, we'll also look at the shelf life of food. We explain the difference between best before Use-by date.