Meat is a great source of protein, and it is essential to add meat to your healthy diet. Unfortunately, you cannot get the nutrients from the plants that meat provides. Meat is rich in iron, fiber, zinc, vitamins, fat, etc. Along with these nutrients, it also tastes good. But always ensure that you are eating fresh chicken; otherwise, it can harm your body instead of benefit you. So, it would be best to be very careful while purchasing meat.

You need to keep a few things into consideration while purchasing meat from the market or order chicken online using shopping apps, and these essential things are as follows;

  1. Always check for odor –

Fresh poultry meats do not have any foul odor. Instead, fresh meat is odorless or has a very mild odor at rare times. But do not buy meat if it has a pungent odor.

  1. Always prefer skinless meat –

Never purchase meat with a layer of skin, as the skin of the meat is rich in saturated fat and high in calories, which can increase the risk of heart disease. Make sure you are buying skinless chicken. Eating skinless chicken has so many benefits, such as promoting growth and development, strong bones, etc.

  1. Make sure you are picking color meat –

Fresh poultry meat should be light pink or white. Always ensure you pick the meat of suitable color, as it says a lot about the freshness of meat.

  1. Check food safety standards –

If you are purchasing packaged meat, this is the essential step that you must follow. Always check the food safety standards on the package. Always remember that packaged meat is labeled by the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority Of India). Do not buy packaged meat if food safety standards are not mentioned on the label.

  1. Check the quality and texture –

The quality and texture of the meat matter a lot. Therefore, checking quality should be your priority while purchasing meat. Knowing about the meat’s source would help to examine its quality better. And make sure that meat should be firm in texture; it should not be slimy. Notice that muscle fibers can be easily visible. Also, your finger should be dry and not stick to it while touching it.

  1. Check for variety –

Never purchase chicken without checking the different varieties available. You can miss the better one if you do not check the varieties. Also, it can help you compare the different meat types and pick the perfect one.

  1. Check expiry dates –

It is one of the essential steps you cannot miss while purchasing meat. Whenever buying packaged meat, always check its expiry or best before the date on the label. Do not eat packaged meat whose expiry or best-before date gets over. And also, if you are not going to cook the meat immediately, make sure to buy the meat with the latest manufacturing and best before dates.

So, these are some of the best things you should keep in mind while purchasing fresh to home meat. Always check all the essential things mentioned above before buying the meat.