Fresh Meat Shopping Tips

Meat that is exposed to the air or that is not properly refrigerated can become discolored and pungent. A fresh meat shopping market may offer a wide selection of beef, pork, poultry, fish, and seafood.  

How Meat Will Be Used

A fresh meat shopping market may feature locally-sourced products or ones that have been carefully preserved while being transported from a point of origin to the market. Meat can be used to create stews, roasts, fresh soups, and more. Consumers often appreciate viewing products in person, since this will give them the ability to meet an onsite butcher and to carefully observe the dates, portion sizes, and colors and thicknesses of the cuts that are on display.

Fresh meat products, such as beef steaks, may contain marbling. A deep red color that contains white intramuscular flecks demonstrates that a product has been recently butchered. Upon deciding how meat products will be used, a consumer can learn more about a meat market and determine which department they will purchase products from. Creating a menu ahead of time will allow a consumer to stay focused on their menu, without being sidetracked by other products. 

How Products Are Stored And Packaged

An indoor meat market will likely store products within upright freezers, meat cases, and other temperature-regulated equipment that is typically found in a standard shopping center. An outdoor meat market may store its wares inside portable refrigeration units and freezers. If a consumer visits a large meat market that has many vendors at it, there may be the opportunity to sample some of the products that the vendors are selling.

A vendor may use a grill or another type of cookware to prepare sample meats for the consumers to try. The packaging that meat is stored in should provide an expiration date, the name of a manufacturer, and the ingredients found in a product. All natural ingredients that do not contain hormones will provide a consumer with the most nutrition.

Some products may contain flavoring agents or fillers, so it is important to review all of the ingredients thoroughly. Some markets may sell rubs, sauces, and other complementary items that can be used when preparing fresh meat for consumption.

Before purchasing a series of meat products, a customer should contemplate how they will store the products that they purchase. The expiration date that is printed on the packaging may influence if a meat product will be used to create a meal right away or if one will need to be preserved inside a freezer unit.


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