Lean Ground Beef Grey

[JGDean]

I purchased 90/10 ground beef last week and it had grey strips of ground meat going through the center. It didn't have an off odor or any sliminess to it. I used the meat around it to no ill effects but today I went to the same place and purchased some more. Guess what...same thing. I'm thinking of taking it back but I wonder if this can be a normal occurrence. Who has a clue?

 

[Andy M.]

Ground beef will go from red to a darker shade that can be described as greyish. It's exposure to air that does it. If there were streaks of the darker meat mixed in to the redder meat, it may be that it was repackaged in the store causing some 'mixing'. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it may be old.

 

[pacanis]

I find most hamburger to be a little gray once you get past the red exterior. It doesn't matter the fat content. Like Andy said, it has more to do with age.

 

[jennyema]

Sometimes when I open a package of ground beef, the meat has turned grayish brown on the inside. It smells OK, but it doesn’t look very appetizing and I wonder if it’s safe to eat. Is it?

Most likely, it’s fine. Ground beef’s bright red color comes from a pigment, myoglobin, which becomes red when exposed to oxygen (turning it into oxymyoglobin).

The plastic wrap covering the ground beef you see in the grocery store is permeable, allowing some oxygen to seep through and keep the meat on the exterior red. But ground beef that’s not exposed to oxygen -- like the meat that’s on the interior -- will often lose its red color after a few days.
However, if the ground beef is gray or brown throughout, it could be beginning to spoil. If you do detect an off odor or if the meat seems sticky or slimy, throw it away. Although bacteria that cause spoilage don’t always cause illness, there’s no sense in taking a chance.

Chow Line: When ground beef turns gray (10/12/12) — Home

 

[CarolPa]

There is only one store in my area where I can buy ground meat and it's the same color all the way through, so that's where I always buy my ground meat. And I use it or freeze it the day I buy it, next day at the most. I think it's because this store is very busy and sells the meat at fast as they can grind it.

 

[Roll_Bones]

There is only one store in my area where I can buy ground meat and it's the same color all the way through, so that's where I always buy my ground meat. And I use it or freeze it the day I buy it, next day at the most. I think it's because this store is very busy and sells the meat at fast as they can grind it.

Allow that meat to sit for several hours and see it also change color.
It is completely normal for hamburger meat to have a color change after it has been packaged.
There is nothing wrong with it.

 

[CarolPa]

I understand that if I let it sit it will change color but I don't let it sit because I don't want it to change color. I have bought meat from other stores and it was already brown inside as soon as I buy it. When I buy meat at that one store it is never brown inside, unless I let it sit. Which I don't. I know it's not bad. It's just something I'm anal about.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I understand that if I let it sit it will change color but I don't let it sit because I don't want it to change color. I have bought meat from other stores and it was already brown inside as soon as I buy it. When I buy meat at that one store it is never brown inside, unless I let it sit. Which I don't. I know it's not bad. It's just something I'm anal about.

Do they grind it everyday? Do they grind it as needed?

You are right. It does not have any color variation when first ground. But within a few hours after grinding the inside will turn a bit.
You are getting fresh ground and thats why it looks so good. I also hate to see any color variation.
I wish I had a butcher shop!

 

[CarolPa]

They advertise that they grind it every day. They are usually bringing various meats out when I'm there, which is usually during the day. I don't think they have a full meat dept staff in the evening. They probably sell out during the evening and start bringing new out in the AM...that's why they are usually bringing it out when I'm there in the AM. I usually use it or pkg it up and freeze it the day I buy it. At some other stores, the inside is turning brown when I bring it home. It looks like they put some fresh ground meat over the brown stuff and put it back out for sale. I consider that deceptive.

 

[JGDean]

Would you take it back to the store?

 

[Mad Cook]

I purchased 90/10 ground beef last week and it had grey strips of ground meat going through the center. It didn't have an off odor or any sliminess to it. I used the meat around it to no ill effects but today I went to the same place and purchased some more. Guess what...same thing. I'm thinking of taking it back but I wonder if this can be a normal occurrence. Who has a clue?

Don't buy anymore there. It sounds as if the grey bits were stale.

 

[Mad Cook]

Would you take it back to the store?

Only if I could do so on the same day as I bought it.

 

[CarolPa]

Would you take it back to the store?

If this question was directed at me, no, I would not take it back to the store. I know that it isn't bad or harmful to eat....just not as freshly ground as I would like it to be.

 

[Rocklobster]

Meat can turn grey in a few hours. I grind beef every week for our hamburgers. We have to work fast after grinding to make patties, otherwise they will discolor. We sell a line of gourmet burger patties that are cryovac and frozen. They have to be as fresh looking as possible. The meat is fine, but people want red looking meat. They associate that with freshness, I guess..

 

[bakechef]

You'll often see at places like WalMart they have prepackaged ground beef (not ground in store), the meat in the pack will be very thin with lots of surface area in a package filled with gas to keep it nice and red for a long time. Usually fresh ground stuff will be a lump on a styrofoam tray and will be a bit discolored even if it was ground that day.

Many stores these days only keep their in store gound beef for about 24 hours, it wouldn't hurt to ask what their shelf life is.

There always is the possibility that it could be rewrapped, new mixed with old to look nice in the package. This can happen when you have a meat crew that is put under a lot of pressure to reduce shrink by management in a slow store. If your store always looks busy than this is very unlikely to happen.

I look for ground beef that looks like it is out of the extruder, you can easily see the long strands of ground beef, since they hold the tray at the extruder. If it looks mixed up and a little too uniformly "mixed" on the tray, than it could very well be mixed.

 

[JGDean]

I Returned it

I returned the ground beef telling them this was the 2nd time in 2 weeks. The customer service said it probably had been exposed to air, making it turn color. I said the equivalent of fine, I will buy my ground beef at abc store where I have never had that problem. She stopped herself short by saying "why did you buy the 2nd...you have a nice day!"

 

[CarolPa]

I returned the ground beef telling them this was the 2nd time in 2 weeks. The customer service said it probably had been exposed to air, making it turn color. I said the equivalent of fine, I will buy my ground beef at abc store where I have never had that problem. She stopped herself short by saying "why did you buy the 2nd...you have a nice day!"

I wouldn't continue to shop at a store that has that attitude. I wonder if the store manager or owner knows she is not bending over backwards to please the customer. Losing a customer completely is hard for a retail grocery, where there is so much competition. And if that customer spreads the word to other customers, they may lose them, too.

 

[bakechef]

I wouldn't continue to shop at a store that has that attitude. I wonder if the store manager or owner knows she is not bending over backwards to please the customer. Losing a customer completely is hard for a retail grocery, where there is so much competition. And if that customer spreads the word to other customers, they may lose them, too.

Or it could be that this worker had a particular rough day with customers, some of us are better at dealing with them than others. I've had co-worker that could keep smiling even through the toughest customers. The only customer that broke her was when she was 9 months pregnant working at a register, the second customer in line got mad that she wasn't moving fast enough and threw an onion at her and caught her in the eye.

Looks like this customer service clerk knew that she was overstepping and shut up half way through the statement, one that she should have kept to herself in the first place.

 

[CarolPa]

I certainly agree that onion wielding customers are an entirely different story!

Some people think that any person can work at the customer service desk, but it must be someone who can talk sweetly to the customer and hold their tongue, even when having to tell the customer, no. I quit working retail because I wanted to throw things at customers but knew I would get fired if I did.

 

[JGDean]

I Thought so too

Looks like this customer service clerk knew that she was overstepping and shut up half way through the statement, one that she should have kept to herself in the first place.

I felt that too but it still made me feel like I was slightly stupid.