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Q: Better to buy meat at local market or chain supermarkets?
Just wondering if it makes any ounce of difference where you buy meat. I imagine there are more standards in supermarkets like Carrefour and the like, and that the meat there will always be healthier?
Welll...from a food safety standpoint, I'd say the supermarkets--the meat is refrigerated and fresh. And if you like beef, you are more likely get get properly aged beef there. Beef should be aged for 21-28 days in a proper facility (but i still doubt that the supermarkets do that). I doubt that your average Chinese open-air market butcher has a walk in fridge at their disposal, let alone a vacuum sealer. Still check the production date on the label if you can, especially if you are buying chicken or fish. Chicken should only be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days, and fish for 1-2.
On the other hand, for a whole chicken, duck, or fresh seafood, go with the market. They kill and clean it on the spot for you, and for a slightly lower price than the supermarket.
No matter where you buy your meat, though, always wash it before you cook it. I see the old ayis poking their fingers all over it at the supermarket and at home--the same fingers they use to pick their noses and touch the bus rails. You're washing away a little of the juice, and therefore some of the taste, but it's better than getting sick!
dandmcd:
I agree with everything, but be careful washing meat, anytime you wash meat, any germs or bacteria get spread all over your kitchen, so you want to be sure and scrub down anything that might got splashed from washing the meat. You can do more harm than good washing if you aren't clean.
Get them at chain supermarkets! For one they are fresher like you say and the local markets are a little bit dirtier....the standards on sanitation are lower there. Go go carrefour or walmart they actually clean up there and keep the fresh cool..
Supermarkets are definitely better. I used to buy from local market but the guy was always smoking and he used to cut meat without washing it. He even started to offer me a cigarettes though i am a non-smoker.
However, I doubt if the sources of meat at all places are kind of similar condition. When I was running in the early morning (around 6 am) I saw small vans delivering Big fat pork with a layer of plastic beneath it and lying on the floor outside the local market. Another time, I saw small van supplying porks to Carrefour.
I usually don't buy much meat as I focus more on beans and lentils. Still, if I want to buy meat I try to get them early in the morning to get it fresh and from supermarkets as their tools to process meat are cleaner than the local shops.
