SM Stands for Stinky (or Spoiled) Meat
This has to be told as a public service to the readers of this blog. It is no secret that I don’t like to shop at SM Supermarket becoz of the inefficiency of their workers and what I perceive to be the uncaring attitude of the management to make the shopping experience of their patrons hassle-free and leisurely. That is not what this is all about. I’m writing this becoz this is a matter of public safety and becoz the issue I’m referring to, which you will read below, has not been addressed yet as far as I know. By writing this, someone, who matter more than me, might be paying attention and do something to resolve this problem.
I had experienced this three times in the past.
The first time was when we bought lamb chops, one of my mom’s favorite meat. We had driven home when we found out that the meat that we bought was stinkin’ up the kitchen when we were about to put it in the freezer. It was an annoyance and a waste of gas having to go back to SM Fairview and complain about the meat then have it replaced. We got wiser the second time. My mom got some chicken wings, and being the wise son that I am, I sniffed the meat to check for its freshness. I told her that it stunk as if it was spoiled. While we were there at the chicken counter another woman was complaining about the smell of the chicken that she got. And she also added that previously she also returned spoiled chicken meat on numerous times. That was enough for us to avoid the chicken altogether. Could you blame us? So we left the chicken counter and head for the beef section. So far, their beef smelled OK. Their fish are always good. Next, we looked for pork. We went for the pre-packaged pork on display. But to be sure, we punched a hole through the seran-wrap and smelled the meat. Well, I’ll be damned. It also stunk and it had a hint of bleach to it. I remember in the US, during TV ratings week, they usually feature undercover investigations in their 6 o’clock news to perk up their ratings. Some of those reports usually involve supermarket and restaurant food violations. One such show had reported that some supermarkets soak their old meat in bleach to take out the smell. I’m not saying SM is doing it for that purpose but the pork did have a slight scent of bleach. And to make our experience worse, I saw a cockroach crawling down from where the meats were.
I was just wondering how often the government or city food inspectors visit SM Supermarkets for compliance or violations of the food & sanitation laws. Do the city food inspectors look at SM’s log book of all the food that were returned so they can focus on those problem areas? I have a feeling that inadequate refrigeration is the main problem there. It could be that SM is trying to save money by raising the temperature of their refrigerated counters where the meats are displayed to the detriment of the meat-buying public. I’m calling the attention of city inspectors. Has anyone else experienced this? Or am I just unlucky?
A word to the wise:
If you have to purchase fresh meat products from SM, make sure you give it a sniff test before you have it bagged. It will save you time and money if the meat you like to purchase happens to be borderline spoiled. You deserve to get fresh meat with the full price you are paying SM. And as much as possible, do your shopping NOT during prime time or the weekends specially when you’re in a rush. It always takes a while to get meat at their meat counter. You are better off buying your meat at your local open fresh market.
