US Wellness Meats?

[AJW91]

Hey guys,

Just wondering, are the products from US Wellness Meats okay for raw consumption? Their website is: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/

I'm fairly certain they sell their food in some vacuum sealed bag. Is this okay, does it destroy any nutrients?

Also, I can get raw meat from a farm nearby that sells their grassfed beef frozen. Is this okay? Doesn't the freezing cause a loss of nutrients? Should I just go ahead and cook that meat or is it okay to defrost it and then eat it?

[Fermenter Zym]

I'd like to know about the vacuum sealing as well.

[TylerDurden]

I get my meats vacuum-packed all the time. It doesn't matter as long as you eat it soon. Don't leave it for more than a week in the fridge before consumption though, as it then starts getting anaerobic bacteria thriving in it - or at least air it once it reaches that stage.

Never, ever cook it. Just thaw it and eat it raw. Don't put back parts and refreeze them, as nutrient-loss of prefrozen meat is fast once it's thawed(freezing disrupts the cell-membranes you see). Freezing is not ideal, as it reduces the taste of the resulting meats(and some rawists claim it destroys the enzymes over time) but it's way, way better than cooking.

[Aaaaaa]

I'm going to be ordering some fresh bison from NorthStar Bison ranch soon.  I'm guessing they send it vacuum sealed.  I'm going to be buying enough to hopefully last me 2 weeks. 
I was planning on opening one package, and using that for a week (storing it on a plate in the fridge), and leaving the other one sealed (stored in the fridge) until the next week.  Do you think that is the best way to go about it?  I don't want to grow anerobic bacteria! :-(

[CitrusHigh]

Yeah if you leave the open portion on a plate in fridge it should develop a dry, sealed layer. If you cover it with a bowl or something to restrict airflow then you will find bacterial growth accelerated in the humid conditions.

Likewise if you keep the unopened packages sealed you can wait a week to open without noticeable  bacterial growth.

[Ali]

I ordered from US Wellness meats and got good service. However, I read on a blog that they'd gotten so big they were importing a lot of their meat from Tasmania. I went to the website, and they did have an article saying they were getting the Tasmanian meat. They are also getting beef from other farms all over the U.S. (not just the four "founding" farms mentioned on the home page) to fulfill all their orders.

My concern is that their operation has become so popular (and big) that they cannot possibly know if all the farmers they buy from in the U.S. and Tasmania are raising true grass-fed and finished organic beef. I have to pay more, but I'm now buying from a smaller one-ranch Kansas place, Green Cattle Beef, that only sells its own product. They don't have as big a selection of stuff as US Wellness, where I still buy some products, but at least I know where their meat is coming from and that it is grass fed and finished.

[zaidi]

I get my meats vacuum-packed all the time. It doesn't matter as long as you eat it soon. Don't leave it for more than a week in the fridge before consumption though, as it then starts getting anaerobic bacteria thriving in it - or at least air it once it reaches that stage.

Never, ever cook it. Just thaw it and eat it raw. Don't put back parts and refreeze them, as nutrient-loss of prefrozen meat is fast once it's thawed(freezing disrupts the cell-membranes you see). Freezing is not ideal, as it reduces the taste of the resulting meats(and some rawists claim it destroys the enzymes over time) but it's way, way better than cooking.

What about "Ground Beef" sealed packets?

How long could Ground Beef be kept in Fridge?

[TylerDurden]

What about "Ground Beef" sealed packets?

How long could Ground Beef be kept in Fridge?

I presume these are vacuum-sealed like so many other packets, in which case follow the above instructions.