Defrosting meat in the refrigerator causes it to have dark spots

I defrost about 40g of meat a few times a day for my cat. I take the meat out of the freezer and put it into a small sealed container which sits in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Sometimes the meet has weird dark spots, but only on the inside of the bits:

What are those?

Is my technique of defrosting meat correct or am I doing something wrong?

Best Answer

You're not doing anything wrong. If you kept the meat fresh, in your fridge, eventually it would undergo color changes, as well. Freezing meat and then thawing it is also a pretty major set of physical changes to it's initial state. I'd think minor changes to its appearance would be expected.

Ask USDA: Why does the color of food change when frozen?

KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE

Color changes can occur in frozen foods but the foods remain safe to eat. The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage. Freezing doesn't usually cause color changes in poultry. However, the bones and the meat near them can become dark. Bone darkening results when pigment seeps through the porous bones of young poultry into the surrounding tissues when the poultry meat is frozen and thawed. The dulling of color in frozen vegetables and cooked foods is usually the result of excessive drying due to improper packaging or over-lengthy storage.

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Quick Answer about "Defrosting meat in the refrigerator causes it to have dark spots"

Bone darkening results when pigment seeps through the porous bones of young poultry into the surrounding tissues when the poultry meat is frozen and thawed. The dulling of color in frozen vegetables and cooked foods is usually the result of excessive drying due to improper packaging or over-lengthy storage.

Why does my frozen meat look black?

Color changes can occur in frozen foods but the foods remain safe to eat. The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage. Freezing doesn't usually cause color changes in poultry.

Why is my ground beef GREY after thawing?

If you open a package of ground beef and find the interior meat looks gray, it's likely because the meat hasn't been exposed to oxygen. In that case, the meat is still safe to eat, provided it doesn't have any other indicators of spoilage (read more on that below).

Why is my steak GREY after defrosting?

Looking at Raw Meat After your package of raw meat has been stored in the refrigerator for five days or more, it may fade, darken or turn an unappetizing gray. This indicates a chemical change has occurred in the protein of the meat.

What are black spot on meat?

Black spots may develop on frozen meat stored at \u20135 \xb0C for 40 days or more, and this has been associated with a number of yeasts and moulds including Cladosporium cladosporoides, Cladosporium herbarum, Penicillium hirsutum and Aureobasidium pullulans.

Is it ok to eat brown meat? | Jess Pryles

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