Quote:I am not too picky. It's not the fact that the meat is brown. It's the fact that these places falsely take the product back into the butcher's and stain it with fresh blood. Something about that just doesn't seem right.... 

 

I've been in the business and have never heard of anyone doing that.  I've heard of distressed steak being trimmed and turned to ground beef or trimmed into stew meat, though as a way of cutting down shrink.

 

Food Lion was exposed for shenanigans in the 90s, but I do not believe you're likely to find anything like that happening at a reputable meat seller (your Publix, Wegmans, Kroger, even Winn Dixie, though I would avoid WalMart meat.)

 

Again, if you would eat their "fresh" package, I wouldn't be wary of a markdown package.  If you think someone would mishandle any package, I wouldn't trust the "fresh" looking one, either.  Just because it's red doesn't mean they weren't just cutting chicken or pork and didn't clean their knives/blades in between.

 

It's all whether or not you trust the shop.  Most of them get the same beef from the same packer IBF/Tyson.  I doubt WalMart does, and if they do... it's a much lower grade than the better stores provide, there is a difference there and it is certainly not good.

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