"Aunt Liu, your meat looks really fresh, the meat is so red, where did you buy it?"
"It's in the B stall of the market, and I often help with it." I specifically picked this kind of meat that looked bright red, and it must have been freshly slaughtered. ”
"Sure, my old Qin likes to go to the supermarket to buy, the flesh looks very light, and I don't know how long it has been there."
When buying fresh meat, many people like to pick bright red meat, thinking that such meat is fresh and tastes good. It is true that looking at color is one of the criteria for assessing the freshness of meat, but if the meat that has been cut has remained a pleasing bright red for a long time, it is necessary to be careful. What the naked eye sees is not necessarily "true."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" >, the more colorful the meat, the less secure? </h1>
On the market, we see fresh pigs, cattle, and mutton showing red, which is caused by the myoglobin contained in the meat. And myoglobin will make the meat take on different forms at different times: fresh meat that has just been cut mainly contains deoxymyoglobin, so it appears as the initial purple red; when it is oxidized in the air for half an hour, deoxymyoglobin combines with oxygen to become oxygenated myoglobin, so the meat appears a pleasing bright red. But pay attention, the color of the flesh does not stay at this stage, if you continue to place, oxygenated myoglobin will slowly oxidize into methemyoglobin, the color of the meat will gradually darken, showing a reddish-brown color.
Obviously, if the meat shows a dark red color, this undoubtedly tells the consumer: "I am not fresh". Therefore, in order to sell fresh meat, some merchants will use sulfur dioxide to inhibit the oxidation of fresh meat and avoid browning of meat, so as to achieve long-term bright color.
Although sulfur dioxide is widely used in the preservation of fruits, preserves, biscuits, candy and other foods, it does not contain fresh meat. In addition, sulfur dioxide has a certain degree of toxicity, excessive use will cause excess residues in food, people will feel nausea, headache and other symptoms after eating.
Studies have shown that large doses of sulfur dioxide will also cause irreversible damage to the lungs, brain, heart, liver and so on.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > second, how to choose frozen meat, cold fresh meat, hot fresh meat on the market? </h1>
Therefore, excessive pursuit of bright flesh color, what you buy is not necessarily good. Nowadays, there are many ways to preserve meat on the market, in addition to freshly slaughtered meat in the wet market, there are also frozen meats shipped by air, and cold and fresh meat packaged in supermarkets.
Hot fresh meat: refers to the fresh meat bought in the wet market, generally slaughtered in the early morning, listed in the early morning, and not treated with any cooling;
Cold fresh meat: refers to the slaughtered livestock and poultry carcass after rapid cooling treatment, cooled to 0 ~ 4 ° C within 24 hours, and always maintained in the process of processing, circulation and sales to maintain a range of 0 ~ 4 ° C.
Frozen meat: refers to the strict implementation of the veterinary quarantine system, and the slaughtered and cut meat pieces are quickly frozen below minus 18 ° C. Does not give any microorganisms and various active enzymes the opportunity to "erode".
Of the three types of meat, which has the highest nutritional value?
Consumers prefer hot fresh meat, mainly due to consumption habits and consumption misunderstandings. In their view, cold fresh meat and frozen meat are "processed", and the thawed meat will lose a lot of nutrients. In fact, we eat meat mainly to supplement protein, but according to relevant literature studies, compared to hot fresh meat, frozen meat thawing does lose a little protein, but other nutritional values have not changed significantly.
Which tastes best?
When it comes to texture, cold fresh meat is actually the best. The hot fresh meat is slaughtered and oxidized, and the meat is relatively stiff. The cold fresh meat is in a low temperature environment for a long time, the meat becomes soft and elastic, and at the same time, under the action of enzymes, it will also produce flavors such as amino acids. Similarly, after the frozen meat is thawed, the enzyme activity is revived and the taste will become better and better.
In summary, each type of meat has its own characteristics, if it is bought on the same day to eat, like to untreated on a fresh "hot" can consider buying hot fresh meat; if it is an office worker, rarely go to the market to buy meat on weekdays, or like to hoard meat at home, you can consider packaged frozen meat, cold fresh meat, not only good taste, but also after freezing treatment, storage can be longer.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" >3. How long can the meat in the refrigerator be left? </h1>
China does not have clear regulations on the shelf life of frozen meat food. It is generally believed that qualified meat food purchased through formal channels is stored in a freezer of -20 °C ~ -23 °C, and its shelf life is as follows: lean meat does not exceed half a year; fat meat does not exceed 3 months; if there is an outer package of meat food, it should be stored in accordance with the storage conditions indicated in the outer package.
Although it is said that through the way of salting or cooking, even frozen meat that has been stored for too long will not have a significant difference in eating, but if the meat is repeatedly thawed, it will not only make the food taste bad, but also breed a lot of bacteria.
A food testing agency conducted colony tests on repeatedly frozen meat, and found that after repeated freezing four times, the total number of colonies was 15 times that of the original. Although the food did not spoil, the colonies greatly exceeded the standard value, and such a piece of meat was already within the high risk range.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > fourth, high incidence of foodborne diseases in autumn, dietary attention to 3 points</h1>
Foodborne diseases refer to infectious or toxic diseases caused by toxic and harmful substances that enter the human body through feeding, which is also known as food poisoning.
Xu Jin, deputy director of the Microbiology Laboratory of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, said that foodborne diseases often occur in summer and autumn, mostly caused by accidental consumption of toxic river fresh and mushrooms. To prevent disease from entering the mouth, remember to eat safely.
Keep it clean: Vegetables, fruits, meats and other foods must be washed with running water when buying them home. Wash your hands immediately before and after cooking when you come into contact with unclean objects, and after cooking, wash your hands before eating.
Raw and cooked separately: raw meat, poultry, seafood and other foods are separated and stored separately; special knives and plates should be used to handle raw food to avoid contact with each other and cross-infection of raw and cooked foods.
Cooked thoroughly: The risk of microbial contamination of foods such as meat, poultry, eggs and aquatic products is usually higher, and it is less often imported in a cold mix, and try to choose to cook thoroughly.
Bright red meat is not necessarily really fresh, and frozen meat is not "zombie meat". When consumers buy meat, it is more important to choose formal channels and use the right method to store meat, so that they can eat with peace of mind and eat with peace of mind. #Health Star Program ##谣零零计划 #
Resources:
[1] "Buy fresh meat and don't be too focused on bright colors". Big River Health News.2021-09-14
[2] Does repeatedly frozen meat breed bacteria? 》. Human Health.2020-12-12
[3] Online Interview| The Harm and Prevention of High Incidence of Foodborne Diseases in Autumn and Winter. Medical Forum Network.2021-09-30
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