8 tips to help you recognize poor quality food

The widespread sale of dirty food makes consumers lose confidence and always feel confused and worried when going to the market. In pursuit of profit, many suppliers use toxic additives to make the product look fresh and delicious and to preserve it longer.

Regularly consuming dirty food for a long time will seriously affect your health. Therefore, you need to pocket tips to recognize poor quality food to protect yourself and your family.

Fish

With fresh fish, you need to choose clear and bright eyes, evenly colored skin with a sparkling shine; scales must also be shiny and stick tightly to the body; gills must be bright red.

If you buy fish in pre-cut pieces, you can check the freshness by looking at the scales. A piece of fish with a natural sheen and scales that are firmly attached to the flesh is a good quality piece of fish. However, the seller may hide these signs by scraping off the scales and cutting off the head and fins. In this case, pay attention to the flesh, which should be red or pink, not brown.

Chicken

When buying chicken, you should pay attention to the white stripes and thick layer of fat on the chicken breast. A study published in the Italian Journal of Animal Science showed that meat with many white stripes contains more fat than normal, up to 224%.

Researchers believe the stripes appear as a result of new breeding and rearing methods in chicken farms in developed countries, which help chickens grow faster and gain more body weight than normal.

In addition, you should also carefully observe the color of the chicken meat, if the meat shows signs of turning yellow, it proves that it is no longer fresh. Fresh chicken meat has a light pink breast and is not too soft.

Pork

Press your finger into the meat. If the meat springs back and the indentation disappears, then it is fresh meat.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the color and texture of the meat. Good quality meat is usually bright red, the texture is not too soft or too hard, not too dry or too wet and has no strange smell.

When you cut a large piece of meat in half, if you find it dark in color but with a white border, it means its shelf life has been extended with additives.

When you dry the meat with a paper towel, if it doesn't leave too much moisture or blood stains on the towel, then it's fresh meat.

Egg

Eggs spoil very quickly. To test if an egg is fresh, take a cup of cold water and put the egg in it. If the egg sinks horizontally, it is fresh. Eggs that are slightly raised in the water are not very fresh but are still good to eat. If the egg floats, it is best to throw it away.

If you buy eggs that are carefully packaged in boxes, pay attention to product information such as production date, expiry date and whether the box is dented or not. If you buy eggs separately, pay attention to the outer shell. A fresh, delicious egg will have a shiny, smooth and uncracked shell.

Honey

Pour some honey on the surface. Fake, low-quality honey will drip and spread immediately on the surface. In contrast, high-quality honey is quite thick and flows in a thin stream.

Additionally, you can test the quality of honey by putting a spoonful of honey in a glass of water, stirring it well, and observing. Poor quality honey will dissolve quickly in water, while good honey will take longer to dissolve.

Pineapple

When buying pineapple, you should choose ones that are bright yellow from the stem to the tail. The more evenly yellow the pineapple is, the sweeter it is.

Also, choose pineapples with large, sparse eyes so that after peeling and removing the eyes, you will have thick pineapple flesh. Large, sparse eyes indicate that the pineapple is old and naturally ripe.

Strawberry

When choosing strawberries, you should choose fruits that are bright red, evenly colored and juicy because these are ripe, sweet fruits. Ripe and fresh strawberries will have a light aroma. In addition, feel with your hand, if the fruit is firm, without bruises, blemishes or softness, it is a good strawberry.

Avoid buying strawberries that are mottled in color, with some green and some red. Strawberries with green spots on the stem are usually picked when they are not ripe, and will be sour and have little juice when eaten.

Fresh strawberries are bright red, not dark.

Tomato

When buying tomatoes, you should carefully observe their appearance; choose fruits that are similar in size, round, have shiny skin, are bright red and not bruised.

Avoid tomatoes that are misshapen or have thick skin, as they tend to have less juice and taste bad. Avoid tomatoes that are oddly shaped, as they may have been injected with chemicals to speed up ripening.