Beef that’s gone bad has a sour smell. Sometimes with an aroma like milk that has gone off.
How can you tell if steak has gone bad? Smell is the first indicator followed by color.
First thing: Fresh meat, like fresh fish, has no smell. If you get a sour odor from a piece of meat, you need to be careful. It may not be safe to eat. We have a maxim in our trade, “If in doubt, throw it out”.
Be careful though, meats with preservatives, i. e. Some sausages and cured meats can carry harmful pathogens even if they don’t smell bad if they are stored for too long. Always buy from a trusted source.
Opening the refrigerator and being greeted by an overpowering rotten egg smell can quickly kill your holiday spirit. You anxiously grab your vacuum-sealed turkey hoping it hasn’t gone bad. As you tear open the bag the stench overwhelms you. Could your star turkey be spoiled?
Don’t toss the bird just yet! Strange smells don’t necessarily mean your vacuum-packed turkey has gone bad. Here is a comprehensive guide on what to do if your turkey smells like rotten eggs.
What Causes the Rotten Egg Smell in Vacuum-Packed Turkey?
Vacuum-packing extends shelf life by removing oxygen from around the turkey. This lack of oxygen allows lactic acid bacteria to thrive. As these bacteria metabolize the turkey’s proteins, they produce lactic acid. The buildup of lactic acid leads to the sour, sulfuric smell that smacks you upon opening the package.
This eggy odor does not definitively mean your turkey is spoiled The smell results from natural enzymatic activity, not dangerous bacterial growth It simply indicates that proteins have broken down during vacuum-sealed storage.
How to Tell if Vacuum-Packed Turkey is Spoiled
While the rotten smell is unpleasant, don’t let it immediately turn you off. Consider these factors to determine if your vacuum-packed turkey is still safe to eat:
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Intensity of the Smell – A subtle or slight sourness is expected with vacuum-packed poultry. An overpoweringly rancid odor likely signifies spoilage.
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Color – Check the turkey’s color. Gray, green or yellow hues indicate the growth of spoilage bacteria.
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Texture – Examine the turkey for any slimy texture or mucus buildup. This can also signal spoilage.
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Package Integrity – Avoid turkey stored in bloated, leaking or open packages. Compromised packaging can allow bacteria to proliferate.
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Expiration Date – Is your turkey still within the safe use-by date printed on the packaging? Out-of-date turkey is at higher risk of harboring pathogens.
If in doubt, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Use your best judgment to determine if consumption could lead to foodborne illness. When unsure, do not consume the turkey.
Tips to Prevent an Overwhelming Sulfur Smell
Here are some tips to minimize the stench when opening vacuum-packed poultry:
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Select fresh turkey and check packaging dates. The newer the turkey, the less lactic acid buildup.
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Refrigerate below 40°F at all times. Cold temperatures inhibit bacterial growth.
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Rinse turkey under cool water before cooking to help dissipate persistent odors.
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Cook vacuum-packed turkey promptly, within the recommended window for optimal quality.
What Causes Sulfur Smells in Other Vacuum-Packed Meats?
Vacuum-packed turkey isn’t the only meat that can take on a rotten aroma. Here are some other common causes:
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Beef – The iron in beef can produce slightly eggy or liver-like smells. This is normal in fresh beef but rancid odors signal spoilage.
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Pork – Sulfur smells in pork often stem from amino acids. Mild smells are not concerning unless the pork has other signs of spoilage.
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Fish – Trimethylamine oxide in fish breaks down post-mortem, releasing smelly amines. Mild odors are common but extreme fishiness indicates spoiled fish.
When in Doubt, Throw it Out
Trust your senses. You know your food better than anyone else. If your turkey seems questionable beyond just a sulfur smell, do not consume it. Your health and safety aren’t worth the risk. However, in many cases, that eggy aroma results solely from vacuum-sealing and your turkey is perfectly safe to eat.
By understanding what causes sulfur smells in vacuum-packed poultry, evaluating supporting signs of spoilage, and using safe handling practices, you can enjoy your holiday turkey without worry. With a few simple precautions, you can determine if your vacuum-packed turkey is spoiled or ready to make the perfect holiday feast.
From farm to fork
When the animal was alive, the conditions before it was killed affect how long the meat will stay fresh. What the animal ate, how it lived, what breed it was, how old it was, and whether or not it was calm and happy. An animal that was stressed won’t taste as good as one that was kept calm. You will get tough, dark cutting beef that lacks flavor and won’t last long. Sugars in the blood convert to acid that tenderize the muscles by breaking down and softening the fibers.
Handling carcases plays a big part in maintaining freshness too.
Contamination of the carcase during skinning needs to be avoided so the surfaces are as clean as possible.
Refrigerating a carcase too soon will have an adverse effect. The internal muscle temperature has to be allowed to decrease slowly before refrigeration begins. If not a process called “cold shortening” will make the meat tough. Caracases should cool at 16 degrees C for 16 hours.
To avoid spoilage, the temperature, humidity and airflow in butcher refrigerators have to be monitored constantly. Depending on the type of meat and the species, we refrigerate carcases before cutting. It is important that the carcase is in prime condition and clean before processing.
The carcase is usually vacuum sealed after is cut and boned. This extends the shelf life by removing oxygen from the packaging. (Microbes need oxygen to multiply).
If you open a vacuum sealed pack, sometimes there will be a smell. A mild rotten egg is one way to describe it. This usually goes away in less than an hour and is from the vacuum packing process.
So the beef may have been aged for up to 28 days before you buy it cut into steaks.
It’s important to keep a close eye on the aging process so that beef gets tender and tastes great.
Meat has enzymes that break down the fibers, and the tenderization process takes about 20 days. You could eat meat two days after slaughter but it will be tough and lacking in flavor.
There is also a process called Modified Atmosphere Packaging. (MAP) that replaces oxygen with gas that retards microbial growth in the pack.
Meat cut from quarters into primals, then deboned and cut into steaks, ground beef and roasts.
Discoloration happens faster when the meat surfaces are exposed to air, SEE Ground Beef below.
“Use by” date, “Best before” and “Sell by” dates
Food dating is not a US federal law, except for infant formula and baby foods. Manufacturers choose the terms and dates they use for freshness, except in some states for dairy and meat.
The butcher uses a Sell-By date provided by the supplier.
Sell-by dates are on the packaging delivered to the store.
Best-Before dates mean fresh, the product, eaten after the date will be past prime condition.
A Use-By date means DO NOT consume after this date. Rigorous tests by health authorities establish the Use-By date of food sold by butchers.
To keep meat from going bad, the “cold chain” must stay intact from the time it is killed to the time it is eaten. The customer is part of this chain. A point to remember is that a domestic refrigerator is constantly opening and closing. In a normal household, it probably never reaches the required temperature until the middle of the night.
You should factor that into how long you store meat at home before use. If you’re not going to eat meat for a few days, you can either cook it or freeze it. Always write the date the meat was frozen on the package so you can use it before it goes bad.
Use strong wrapping to protect meat from freezer burn. Freezer burn is not dangerous, but it diminishes the flavor and the look of meat.
How can I tell if my meat’s gone bad?
FAQ
What does it mean when turkey smells like eggs?
Why does my turkey smell bad?
Why does my frozen meat smell like rotten eggs?