A video claiming old 'brown' meat is being hidden inside new 'red' mince has been debunked.
In the popular video posted to Facebook, a man claims the Pak'nSave mince has been "repackaged" with new meat "put around the old mince".
It's clocked up 200,000 views and hundreds of comments from concerned meatlovers, but a Foodstuffs NZ spokesperson said that it's "misinformation".
"It's concerning that this misinformation is being so widely shared, and it's important to us that customers have the facts," they told Fairfax.
According to the New South Wales Food Authority, the colour of minced meat is nothing to be concerned about.
"Consumers sometimes consider the bright red colour of minced meat to be a sign of 'freshness' and are concerned when they find the meat is a brown-grey colour under the red surface," the authority's website says.
"Fresh minced meat can go through a number of colour changes during its shelf life. This occurs naturally, and a brown colour just under the surface does not mean that the meat is old, stale or unsafe to eat."
Most meat sold in supermarkets is packaged in clear film that allows oxygen to pass through it and keep its surface bright red, but at the bottom of the meat there's less exposure and the colour is likely to be less red and more brown-grey.
Newshub.
