Comments on: Bad pork or just a bad smell?

Question: Bad pork or just a bad smell?

Bookhouse — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:46:07 -0800

Another round of "Should I eat this?"

I have a pork tenderloin which I purchased an hour ago at a reputable grocery store, sealed in a plastic bag. Opening the bag, the pork smells horrible, sorta like rotten eggs. Rinsing it off reduced but did not eliminate the smell.

How can I tell the difference between rotten pork and funky plastic-sealed smell? I really don't want to go back to the store or chuck my V-Day meal plans.

By: pupdog

pupdog — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:49:01 -0800

Rotten eggs is never a good smell. that's outgassing of some sort, and no food-grade plastic wrap in the world is going to smell like that.

By: mphuie

mphuie — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:50:10 -0800

If it smells bad, return it. Nothing should go bad in an hour.

By: Inspector.Gadget

Inspector.Gadget — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:51:57 -0800

Sulfur is not from the plastic bag. Since you don't want to go back to the store, just toss it. I have a feeling food poisoning or even an off-tasting pork dish would probably impact your V-day meals plans more than ordering in.

By: foodgeek

foodgeek — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:52:44 -0800

Nothing says romantic like rotten meat.

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:53:52 -0800

Rotten eggs smell foul to you for the same reason that fats and sweets taste good: evolutionary survival. I wouldn't touch it.

By: astruc

astruc — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:54:46 -0800

I think you should definitely eat it.

By: Stewriffic

Stewriffic — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:55:32 -0800

I'd usually say eat it without qualms.

Don't eat it.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:55:52 -0800

Sorry about your meal plans, but raw meat + "horrible" smell = DO NOT EAT. Do what I did, order a pizza (my wife's job sent her to Virginia over Valentines day, thanks a lot you romantic bastards)

By: Metroid Baby

Metroid Baby — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:56:21 -0800

I personally wouldn't touch it, but according to (of all places) Yahoo Answers, that smell is not uncommon in still-good vaccuum-sealed pork.

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:59:36 -0800

See, I'd read something similar to Metroid Baby's link before, which is why I even bothered asking. But, annoyed as I am, I'm going back to the store. Thanks for keeping me sane, everybody.

By: mzurer

mzurer — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:02:03 -0800

I usually advise eating when 90% of AskMe advises chucking. Do not eat the rotten-egg pork.

By: Acari

Acari — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:14:03 -0800

Oh, nuts.
You're returning it.
Now we'll never know!

But yeah. While I'm always and "eat it!" guy, I can only imagine the horror stories that would erupt from this.

"what did you get for v-day?"
"the plague."

By: nalyd

nalyd — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:19:39 -0800

Just had the same thing here--we bought a prepackaged pork tenderloin from our normal supermarket and had to get rid of it as it had a bad sulfur smell. Once we opened it we could still smell it through the plastic bag we wrapped it in to toss it out. Ugg. I know prepackaged food sometimes has a smell to it, but this was a bit to wrong smelling.

By: unSane

unSane — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:28:59 -0800

I eat pretty much anything.

But I wouldn't eat that.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:30:35 -0800

I hope this doesn't get deleted, but on a related note: What if you've got pork that's gone bad in the same refrigerator as meat/pork that hasn't gone bad? Can it, like, go bad...by osmosis???

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:32:43 -0800

Don't make me paranoid.

The pork is gone. I have steaks from another store. Crisis averted.

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:35:02 -0800

If they're both properly wrapped and not leaking, not likely. And even then, assuming the good meat is not ground and will be eaten soon, probably not so bad that cooking won't kill whatever it is.

On the other hand, meat in your fridge leaking into the crisper and getting all over your salad vegetables, which will not be cooked is apparently a surprisingly common way of spreading food poisony ickiness.

By: Kafkaesque

Kafkaesque — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:47:53 -0800

I would eat anything for love

But I won't eat that.

By: Melsky

Melsky — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:05:16 -0800

I'm glad you didn't eat it.

By: CreativeJuices

CreativeJuices — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:10:05 -0800

lol Kafkaesque.

I'm so glad you averted the serious bout of food poisoning that would have resulted from that pork!

By: Comrade_robot

Comrade_robot — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:19:46 -0800

While I can't quite recommend eating anything that smells off, I have eaten pork (ribs) that were vacuum sealed and had an odd odor when I opened the package. I was fine.

So was everybody I fed the ribs to.

By: FelliniBlank

FelliniBlank — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:28:55 -0800

I'm glad you didn't eat the pork, but I have found that all pork tenderloin, no matter how fresh and non-toxic, smells relatively hideous. I think it's the horrific carcinogenic mutation-producing genetically-modified antibiotic radioactive preservative goop they soak it in or something.

By: iceman7

iceman7 — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:01:49 -0800

@ Kafkaesque.

Hilarious stuff bro.

During my poor student days, I would eat pretty much anything. I've had foul-smelling meat fear-factor style and am still alive.

By: Miko

Miko — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:04:06 -0800

Fresh, healthy meat never smells bad like that. There's no way meat with that smell is good. Take back, 100% of the time.

By: TungstenChef

TungstenChef — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:11:36 -0800

Pork that has been cryovaced can definitely develop a funky, sulfur smell. This is the natural result of amino acids in the meat breaking down and getting trapped in the vacuum packaging. Some breakdown is good, it tenderizes the meat and enhances the flavor. Too much breakdown means the meat is spoiling or has been abused at some point before it got to your home. The best guideline I've seen is from The Virtual Weber Bullet which says:

You may notice a slight odor when opening the Cryovac packaging. This odor is normal and should dissipate quickly. If the odor is a strong, putrid smell that does not dissipate after a few minutes, even after rinsing under cold running water, this is a sign that the meat is spoiled, and it should be returned to the store for a refund.

It definitely sounds like you were right to take it back.

By: RikiTikiTavi

RikiTikiTavi — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:31:39 -0800

I find it helpful in these situations to ask myself, "what's the worst that could happen?"

By: XMLicious

XMLicious — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:49:06 -0800

Yes, take it back. And never read the parts of Fast Food Nation about industrial meat processing in the United States.