Is the meat in Alda/Lidl safe? What's the quality of it?

Cellar_Door · 09-05-2010 10:49PM #1

I'm trying to turn over a new leaf health-wise and to be as healthy as possible. I think I have some candida/yeast issues, which I want to get rid of.

Does the meat in Aldi or Lidl contain hormones, or nitrates (well, I know the bacon fillets do), or are they from livestock that are fed junk (corn etc)?

Specifically, I buy the turkey mince, some frozen beef, and some frozen fish (tuna and salmon).
I haven't bought the chicken in there ever since realising it tastes awful compared to Tesco chicken.

I'm a poor student, but I'm willing to pay extra for quality meats. Should I be looking for organic, and grass-fed meat? I'm a noobie to all this.

t4k30 · 09-05-2010 10:54PM

As long as its not british beef then it is good to eat !

brianthebard · 09-05-2010 11:13PM

Course its safe, it has to meet minimum food and safety standards. There's nothing wrong with British beef either that's silly. The only problem imo is that most of the lidl and aldi stuff will be foreign, although aldi is getting better wrt Irish produce.

Cellar_Door · 09-05-2010 11:29PM

brianthebard wrote: »

Course its safe, it has to meet minimum food and safety standards. There's nothing wrong with British beef either that's silly. The only problem imo is that most of the lidl and aldi stuff will be foreign, although aldi is getting better wrt Irish produce.

Perhaps this is a stupid question but what's the problem with the meat being imported from foreign countries?

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 12:02AM

Its more of an environmental/ethical issue than a quality issue, some people prefer to eat as much locally grown food as possible to support Irish farmers and lessen environmental damage through food miles etc. That doesn't mean that the food is any different per se, although imo and many others imported fresh veg just can't taste as good as local veg because of how long its been out of the ground, and meat has to be preserved in a freezer or fridge of some sort for transportation so that can also affect overall taste but that is probably a side issue for most.

Euro_Kraut · 10-05-2010 12:19AM

Most of Aldi/LIDL meat is Irish. Just have a look at the label. The beef is all Irish for example.

Pork products with Seranno Ham and Bockwurst, obviously, or from abroad though.

WalterMitty · 10-05-2010 12:25AM

Sorry to burst your bubble but even organic food has all these environmental contaminents in them as they fall in rain. they are largely harmless. I wouldnt worry too much. Eat thing like chicken fillets, fish fillets, fresh red meat etc once not too processed and even if processed can be eaten in moderation with no scientifically proven negative effects.

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 12:26AM

We only eat organic meat. I don't know to an exact extent what goes into these animals but I'm not willing to take the risk. The laws re hormones, antibiotics etc are not as strict outside Europe as they are in Europe. Lots of books that I have read tell you that in the US for example they fill the cattle (and chicken and whatnot) full of hormones. I haven't seen this myself and don't know how reputable are these books but if say Aldi and Lidl import some of their meat, how do you know what the standards are in the country they import the meat from? Not trying to slate any farmers here but personally I am not taking any chances. Just my tuppence

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 12:32AM

WalterMitty wrote: »

Sorry to burst your bubble but even organic food has all these environmental contaminents in them as they fall in rain. they are largely harmless. I wouldnt worry too much. Eat thing like chicken fillets, fish fillets, fresh red meat etc once not too processed and even if processed can be eaten in moderation with no scientifically proven negative effects.

Sorry but you can't compare the effect on the meat from the contaminants in the water they drink to them being directly injected hormones, if this is actually true. No comparison whatsoever.

To be honest with you I have been bashed here before for "attacking" the Irish farmers although that was in fact not my intention. I would like to know however how can a farmer grow a healthy "naturally raised" chicken and then sell it to Tesco for under 5 euros (given that Tesco sells it to us for 5 euros) and still make a profit. I am not slating anybody, this is a genuine question, if anyone out there have an answer for it I would love to hear it.

WalterMitty · 10-05-2010 12:44AM

Iristxo wrote: »

Sorry but you can't compare the effect on the meat from the contaminants in the water they drink to them being directly injected hormones, if this is actually true. No comparison whatsoever.

To be honest with you I have been bashed here before for "attacking" the Irish farmers although that was in fact not my intention. I would like to know however how can a farmer grow a healthy "naturally raised" chicken and then sell it to Tesco for under 5 euros (given that Tesco sells it to us for 5 euros) and still make a profit. I am not slating anybody, this is a genuine question, if anyone out there have an answer for it I would love to hear it.

Have you links to any peer reviewed scientific studies showing these hormones are harmfull? Are they even used in Ireland/EU?
Im just coming from the point of view that every additive and technique is sensationally claimed to be dangerous to human health. Mercury in tuna, parabens is cosmetics, pesticides in fruit veg, dioxins etc.

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 01:02AM

Iristxo wrote: »

To be honest with you I have been bashed here before for "attacking" the Irish farmers although that was in fact not my intention. I would like to know however how can a farmer grow a healthy "naturally raised" chicken and then sell it to Tesco for under 5 euros (given that Tesco sells it to us for 5 euros) and still make a profit. I am not slating anybody, this is a genuine question, if anyone out there have an answer for it I would love to hear it.

You'd have to explain what the 'naturally raised' tags is supposed to signify and what it means first, but the simple answer is that they don't really make a profit, certainly nothing significant.

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 01:02AM

WalterMitty wrote: »

Have you links to any peer reviewed scientific studies showing these hormones are harmfull? Are they even used in Ireland/EU?
Im just coming from the point of view that every additive and technique is sensationally claimed to be dangerous to human health. Mercury in tuna, parabens is cosmetics, pesticides in fruit veg, dioxins etc.

I have no links. As far as I know they are not permitted in the EU. I have no definitive proof of them being actually harmful at all. I am hoping, for the sake of all of us, that they aren't.

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 01:07AM

brianthebard wrote: »

You'd have to explain what the 'naturally raised' tags is supposed to signify and what it means first, but the simple answer is that they don't really make a profit, certainly nothing significant.

Raised in a way that their meat is actually nutritious and what they meat contains will not potentially be "bad" for us. I won't get into the ethics of raising animals like that at all.

If they don't make a profit, or not a worthwhile one, why do they do it? One would not think a human being would go into the business or actually being cruel to other living creatures if they're not going to get something out of it.

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 01:12AM

Iristxo wrote: »

Raised in a way that their meat is actually nutritious and what they meat contains will not potentially be "bad" for us. I won't get into the ethics of raising animals like that at all.

Man that is such a cop out, any meat will have protein and fats in it, therefore being nutritious, and as for containing potentially "bad" stuff, I'm not even going to go into what a minefield of semantical bull****tery and fashionable science that whole issue is.

If they don't make a profit, or not a worthwhile one, why do they do it? One would not think a human being would go into the business or actually being cruel to other living creatures if they're not going to get something out of it.

Well if you bothered to look into the farming industry you'd start to realise there are less and less people doing it so clearly not everyone is staying in it. There are subsidies paid to farmers to make up for the fact that the supermarkets are allowed treat their producers like ****. Do you assume that farmers are treating animals cruelly on purpose, or just by farming, or in general or what? I fail to understand what you are trying to put across there.

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 01:13AM

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

Most of Aldi/LIDL meat is Irish. Just have a look at the label. The beef is all Irish for example.

I would have to look up figures from Farmers journal but I very much doubt most meet is Irish, certainly not from Lidl, Aldi seem to have made it a feature of their marketing in recent months/years. All the beef is definitely not Irish either.

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 01:14AM

brianthebard wrote: »

Man that is such a cop out, any meat will have protein and fats in it, therefore being nutritious, and as for containing potentially "bad" stuff, I'm not even going to go into what a minefield of semantical bull****tery and fashionable science that whole issue is.

Well if you bothered to look into the farming industry you'd start to realise there are less and less people doing it so clearly not everyone is staying in it. There are subsidies paid to farmers to make up for the fact that the supermarkets are allowed treat their producers like ****. Do you assume that farmers are treating animals cruelly on purpose, or just by farming, or in general or what? I fail to understand what you are trying to put across there.

Battery raised chicken I am talking about. I am sure they're not cruel people but what they do is cruel, like the way battery raised animals are treated during the short life I mean. I was just saying I would not see why they would if it wasn't for a profit.

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 01:35AM

So you meant that you see battery farming in itself as cruel? Fair enough I sort of agree but obviously a lot of farmers and shoppers would not. Has fairly little to do with the actual production of chickens though.

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 01:39AM

brianthebard wrote: »

So you meant that you see battery farming in itself as cruel? Fair enough I sort of agree but obviously a lot of farmers and shoppers would not. Has fairly little to do with the actual production of chickens though.

Do they not get a higher amount of infections and therefore need more antibiotics and medicines? (I hear). In any case of course it had not been proven that these antibiotics and medicines are actually bad for us.

bigjohnny80 · 10-05-2010 01:46AM

OP the best quality and value meat you will get is from your local butcher.

Getwellsoon · 10-05-2010 10:14AM

I have a suggestion - why not pop into your local butchers? The meat will be from local farms, fully traceable and much healthier than packaged meat from ANY supermarket, regardless of whether it's Aldi or M&S!

Butchers, contrary to what most people believe are NOT expensive. My boyfriend gets a deal for €20 from the local butchers that lasts him 1-2 weeks. This includes lots of sausages, rashers, pudding, several chicken breasts, spicy meatballs, mince & a packet of potato wedges!! And if he doesn't like something in a deal they're doing they are more than happy to substitute it for something else! There are a lot of BBQ deals going on in butchers at the moment. You'd be surprised at the huge amount you can get for around €15.... literally heaps of stuff compared to what you'd get spending that amount in a supermarket. My boyfriend has never been to the supermarket for meat since.

I really do think you should look into this. Freeze it and make it last longer as well!

I'm a vegan so wouldn't normally advocate eating meat, but wherever I can I recommend people buying locally produced meat so you know exactly where it's come from.

Have a shop around and see what you think.

*edit.... DOH I didn't see the post above mine :-/

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 01:57PM

I remember a poster who mentioned before that he had started to ask questions to his butcher about where the meat was coming from and the butcher got very uncomfortable so he just stopped going to the butcher. In any case if one can't afford organic meat I would agree that the butcher would be the best value out there better than the supermarkets. My local butcher often has 15 "plump" chicken breasts for 18 euros, but personally, I would not touch them with a bargepole. Also, it is my understanding that in sausages and stuff like that they stick in all the remaining cuts of meat that nobody would buy or want. I would not go anywhere that was not a clean cut of meat that I can see in one piece (or get a piece of meat and ask them to mince it for you)

brianthebard · 10-05-2010 03:56PM

So you'd eat an organic pork chop but not the meat from that same pig's head if it was in sausage form for instance?

rubadub · 10-05-2010 05:39PM

bigjohnny80 wrote: »

OP the best quality and value meat you will get is from your local butcher.

Getwellsoon wrote: »

I have a suggestion - why not pop into your local butchers? The meat will be from local farms, fully traceable and much healthier than packaged meat from ANY supermarket, regardless of whether it's Aldi or M&S!

People talk of butchers as though they are a brand name, or a chain store where they are all identical. I work with an ex-butcher who told me many disgusting stories, mixing pork meat & scrap fats & rusk type fillers into beef mince and using red dye to mask it. Also using dyes and "marinates" on aging meats which looked gone off otherwise (heard the same from a mate working in a supermarket deli- but they never sold meat past its use by, the butcher did). I have seen some doing freeze thaw cycles on foods which effects the taste. I would not put blind faith in a butchers, some people hold them in the same irrational regard as doctors, like they are beyond reproach. If a particular butcher is going to mix dye and pork into his mince then I doubt he would have any qualms about lying about where it came from.

Of course you will find good honest butchers, but also I have heard good reports about Aldi's aged rib eye steaks, and superquinn meats.

Getwellsoon wrote: »

Butchers, contrary to what most people believe are NOT expensive. My boyfriend gets a deal for €20 from the local butchers that lasts him 1-2 weeks.

If a supermarket sold meat like this and it was posted in bargain alerts I can assure you they would be bombarded with posters saying "it must be muck, how can they sell it that cheap". But when people say a butchers there is no such response, -again weirdly they do not question the butchers. Supermarkets will sell cheap meats at a loss to get people in the door, so there is more reason to ask how the butchers sell it so cheap, who are far less likely to have "loss leaders".

I am not saying anything about the quality of that butcher, just pointing out the strange rationale I usually see posted about butchers vs supermarkets. I heard of people buying 12+chickens in lidl when they were selling for €2 a while ago, I would not be surprised if a butcher went in and stocked up himself!

moonflower · 10-05-2010 08:14PM

rubadub wrote: »

Of course you will find good honest butchers, but also I have heard good reports about Aldi's aged rib eye steaks, and superquinn meats.

They're amazingly good, I definitely reccommend anyone who likes steak to try them, they're one of the nicest steaks I've tried

Iristxo · 10-05-2010 10:39PM

brianthebard wrote: »

So you'd eat an organic pork chop but not the meat from that same pig's head if it was in sausage form for instance?

If it comes from the organic pig's head I would eat it in a sausage form or whatever. The problem is I DON'T KNOW what they put into the sausages. Rubadub is able to put it much better than me.

That deal that that poster mentioned in the butchers with sausages and rashers and whatever, I would not get that into myself if they paid me instead of actually charging me for it (or any other similar deal for that matter). Of course expensive doesn't necessarily mean good but com'on, really cheap almost always has to equal bad quality. How would they make a profit otherwise?

Anyways from now on I'll let Rubadub do the arguing obviously he/she is much better at wording it than me.

jdivision · 11-05-2010 08:17AM

Getwellsoon wrote: »

I have a suggestion - why not pop into your local butchers? The meat will be from local farms, fully traceable and much healthier than packaged meat from ANY supermarket, regardless of whether it's Aldi or M&S!

Does this still happen? A lot of them seem to buy in pre-prepared stuff these days.

Cellar_Door · 11-05-2010 01:42PM

Thanks for the replies.

Getwellsoon · 11-05-2010 11:37PM

So in conclusion, you can get both good meat and bad meat at both supermarkets and at the butchers. But you can't be sure it's going to be any good probably unless you raise and kill the animal yourself. Right?

I have to admit, this thread is very confusing, I now have NO idea where to tell my boyfriend to get his meat from.

And I always thought that butchers sold stuff cheaper than supermarkets because they either a) obtained them from more local places or smaller farms who don't make such a profit as a huge scale farm would... or b) reduce their prices so that people will go there instead of to the supermarkets?

I'm so glad I don't eat meat. Even the purest most organic stuff is still probably really contaminated with god knows what. I mean, I've seen vans arrive to one butchers near where I work and the raw meat is on the floor of the van. Gross!!

Iristxo · 11-05-2010 11:57PM

Getwellsoon wrote: »

Even the purest most organic stuff is still probably really contaminated with god knows what.

So I hear. But most people in this forum will disagree with me. Then again, if you go into the vegetarian forum, they might sing a different song!

brianthebard · 12-05-2010 12:08AM

Yeah, cause vegetables are completely safe and 100% uncontaminated by anything. :rolleyes:

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 12-05-2010 12:13AM

i dont eat meat , but the cat loves lidl chicken , and turns his nose up at dunnes / super quinn etc .

i would consider that an expuurrrt opinion

Is the meat in Alda/Lidl safe? What's the quality of it?

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