How to Identify Spoiled Food?

by Abbas Jahangir · December 8, 2021

Bacteria and microorganisms formed in spoiled food threaten health! Perishable food should never be consumed. Otherwise, poisoning and dangerous consequences up to death may occur.

So how do you know if food is spoiled?

First of all, we recommend that you check the expiry date when purchasing a packaged product from the market. You should make this a habit and take care to consume the products you buy before the expiry date. It is also very important to store food in suitable conditions. Food stored under appropriate conditions does not deteriorate immediately.

In this article, we will share with you tips that will help you understand that a food is spoiled. If you’re ready, here we go!

How to Tell if Food Has Gone?

Vegetables and fruits

The shelf life of vegetables and fruits varies depending on what the product is. Green leafy vegetables generally have a shorter lifespan, while vegetables such as potatoes and onions are more durable. However, being durable does not mean that they will not deteriorate.
Green spots on the potato skin indicate that an organism called solanine has started to reproduce in the vegetable. Also, the sprouting of the potato means that it is spoiled again. Sprouting potatoes should never be consumed.
It is very easy to understand that the onion is spoiled. Generally, when the onion starts to deteriorate, its skin softens, blackness occurs inside and a bad smell comes from the onion. Deteriorated onions should also never be consumed.
So, how can it be understood that the green beans, which are cooked both with olive oil and with hot food, are spoiled? If the beans do not break easily, so to speak, if they are not crispy or stretchy, they are spoiled. Also, the smell of spoiled fresh beans is different.
When buying green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, arugula, parsley, purslane, and spinach, you should especially prefer green, lively and fresh ones. If the color of these vegetables has faded, if the leaves have lost their vitality, it should be considered that they have lost their freshness.
You can tell that the fruits are spoiled by the change in shape and color (shrinking of the peel, darkening of the color) and the bad smell that occurs.

Red meat

It is necessary to pay attention to the storage conditions of the meat. Most food poisoning is caused by red meat, fish and chicken.
One of the ways to tell if meat is spoiled is to look at its color. If the meat has turned purple, it means that it is spoiled.
In addition, if green or black spots have formed on the meat, it is useful not to consume it. Because this indicates that it is moldy and spoiled.

Fish

Fish should be consumed fresh. So how do you know if the fish is fresh?
If the eyes of the fish are turned outward, if the scales are loose, it is not fresh. Also, fish that don’t grow back when you press your finger on their belly are most likely stale.
You should choose the place where you buy or eat fish very carefully.
Fish poisoning rates in poisoning cases admitted to the emergency department are not at a level that can be underestimated.

Chicken

Spoiled chicken can cause poisoning.
Broken chicken usually has a foul odor. Thanks to this smell, you can easily understand that it is spoiled.
When purchasing chicken, you should pay attention to the expiration date and be careful not to delay this date.
You can store the chicken that you will not consume immediately in the deep freezer for 3-6 months.

Milk

How to identify spoiled milk, is there an easy way to do this?
Yes, it is a little easier to understand that milk is spoiled compared to other foods.
Spoiled milk is usually lumpy, meaning it has rough grains in it.
You can also tell that the milk is spoiled by its smell and taste. It usually smells bad and tastes sour.

Yogurt

The spoiled yogurt begins to water. Mold grows on it.
The taste is intensely sour.

Cheese

It is known that soft and moist cheeses spoil more easily. If mold has formed on soft cheeses, it should never be consumed, it should be thrown away.
Hard cheeses have a longer shelf life.
If the hard cheese becomes moldy, the cheese can be continued to be consumed after the moldy part is cleaned. Because mold cannot get into the cheese in hard cheeses.

Olive oil

Although olive oil is a food with a long shelf life, it can deteriorate if the lid is opened, that is, the aired olive oil is left for a long time.
Bad bad happens when olive oil spoils. Many people liken this smell to the smell of engine oil.
Also, the taste and consistency may be different from normal. Mold may form on it. In such a case, the olive oil in question should not be consumed. The harms of spoiled olive oil are quite high. May cause poisoning.

Sausage

How to identify spoiled sausage? Spoiled sausage is usually soft.
It also develops mold or white spots on it.

Butter

Butter produced from milk can also deteriorate if not stored under appropriate conditions.
If the color of the butter has changed, if there is fluctuation in color, it means that it is spoiled.
The resulting change in smell and taste also indicates that the butter is spoiled.
So, do you eat spoiled butter? Not only butter, but all spoiled foods seriously threaten health. Therefore, it should never be consumed.

Cooked Meals

Cooked food, even if they are kept in the refrigerator, may spoil if not consumed for a long time.
You can easily tell that the food is spoiled by its smell and taste. The spoiled food tastes sour.

Egg

There is an easy way to test if an egg is stale. Fill a glass with water and drop the egg into it.
If the egg floats in water, it is stale, if it sinks to the bottom, it is fresh.

Bread

On the bread mold or white spots If this occurs indicates impaired.

Tips to Prevent Food from Going Perishable

It is essential that the food be kept in suitable conditions so that it does not deteriorate. So, what are the tips that prevent food from spoiling quickly, let’s take a look at the answer to this question together!

Always keep the bread in a closed box.
There are many ways to store cheese. If you want the cheese to last longer, you can put it in a glass or ceramic bowl and store it in the refrigerator.
Another method for cheeses is parchment paper. If you wrap the cheese in parchment paper, you can keep it intact for a longer period of time. You can also store the cheese in a plastic bag if you wish. But you should not completely close the mouth of the bag, you should leave it slightly open.
Also, in this method, you should put the cheese in a relatively warmer part of the refrigerator. Finally, if there is too much cheese, you can grate some of it and store it in the freezer.
After putting the Çökelek cheese in a glass bowl, put 2-3 cubes of sugar in it. This way, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a longer period of time without molding.
If you want to keep fresh meat in the refrigerator for longer, put nettle around it. Meat can stay in this way for 4-6 days at the bottom of the refrigerator.
Put a paper towel in a bowl. Put the fruits that you wash and dry well in this bowl and place them in the refrigerator.
If you store the grapes in a dark, dry and ventilated place, they will last longer.
Wrap the root parts of vegetables such as celery, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce with aluminum foil. You can keep vegetables in this state for a longer time in the refrigerator.
After chopping the green onion into small pieces, you can fill it in a plastic bottle and store it in the freezer.
Ripe tomatoes should maintain handles facing upwards.
With unripe tomatoes, you can stack them side by side with the stems facing down and store them at room temperature until ripe.
If you are not going to consume the root ginger in a short time, dry it in a low sunny environment. Then wrap it in parchment paper and put it in a cool place. If you do not want to deal with these transactions; You can put it in a jar full of boiled water and put it in the refrigerator.
After washing the greens one by one, dry them and place them in a covered container or freezer bag, then put them in the refrigerator. In this way, they can last longer as they will not get air.
If you have chopped the greens with a knife, place a damp towel on the floor of a glass storage container and store the chopped greens in this container. In this way, the foliage remains alive and does not fade immediately.
Be sure to separate rotting greens, potatoes and onions. Because rotting foods can cause healthy foods next to them to rot rapidly.