4 Ways to Choose Fresh Chicken and Spot Rotten or Reconditioned Meat
Learn how to choose fresh chicken and tell it apart from rotten or reconditioned meat by checking texture, fiber, smell and color, plus storage tips.
A healthy chicken carcass is meat whose components are still undamaged and whose nutrients are still intact. That is not the case with rotten or reconditioned carcass meat, which has lost its nutrients and can harm whoever eats it, causing problems such as digestive disorders and, with continued consumption, serious illnesses such as cancer. That is why consumers and carcass sellers alike must be very careful about the meat they buy or sell.
Signs of a Healthy Carcass
Carcasses basically come in three types: frozen, fresh and chilled. Improper handling is often what causes carcass meat to deteriorate. On top of that, dishonest sellers add preservatives that make rotten carcass meat look like a fresh carcass, although not all sellers cheat.
Also read Chicken Carcass Cuts Customers Ask for Most
To protect both sellers and consumers, here are the signs of a healthy carcass you need to know:
- Meat Texture
The first way to choose a healthy chicken carcass and tell it apart from bad meat is to check the texture. Texture reveals which meat is still fresh, which has spoiled and which has been reconditioned (treated with preservatives and harmful substances). Fresh carcass meat is springy but not overly so, and its pores are still clearly visible. Meat in poor condition feels sticky to the touch and falls apart easily when pressed. This is caused by microbes that have entered the meat and are gradually breaking it down. Reconditioned carcass meat, on the other hand, is extremely springy, and if you look closely, its pores are not visible at all.
- Fiber
A healthy chicken carcass also shows in its fibers. The fibers of healthy meat are intact and do not break down easily when pressed. Rotten carcass meat has soft, mushy fibers because microbes are breaking it down. In reconditioned carcass meat, the fibers are not visible.
Also read How to Prepare Frozen Carcass Meat Properly
- Smell
Healthy carcass meat has a slightly fishy smell typical of raw meat. Rotten carcass meat has a foul, pungent smell, while reconditioned meat has no smell at all; even flies will not go near it.
- Meat Color
The last way to choose a healthy chicken carcass and tell it apart from bad meat is by its color. Healthy carcass meat is white with a slight yellow tint; rotten carcass meat turns blackish or darker than healthy meat; and reconditioned carcass meat tends to be pale white.
Keeping Carcass Meat from Spoiling Quickly
To stay fit to eat, carcass meat must be handled properly so it does not spoil easily. Fresh carcass meat should not sit at room temperature for too long; if it has already been at room temperature for a long time, move the carcass into cold storage for about 24 hours, after which it can be turned into a frozen carcass. Also, if you are not going to cook it right away, do not store the meat after washing it, as this speeds up spoilage, and avoid soaking the meat in water for too long.
Only healthy, fresh carcass meat can deliver nutrition and benefits to the people who eat it. So from now on, be selective about the meat you eat by following the tips above for choosing a healthy chicken carcass and telling it apart from bad meat.
