problems with our butcher, processor, meat locker....

[bornthrifty]

we just got our beef back from being processed, and well it turns out they tried to cover a mistake by just giving us "other ground beef in place of our grass fed ground beef,

they claim the cooler broke and all the ground beef thawed, but everything else was still hard frozen even though we picked it up from the cooler (not the freezer), any how it is apparent they have lied and lied to us (new owners) and well, now I sit with all this ground beef not knowing where it came from,

not knowing how old it is, and I suppose not knowing what is in it?

(I mean they are liars now)

if any one here has meat butchering packing plant experience can you tell me some of the ways they may have cheated me even further on my meat, (would they have bought it from somewhere gross? filled it with something to make it stretch....) I don't know but maybe you do...the more I know the more I can get motivated about getting money back, or replaced, but why would I want it replaced there if I am now concerned about how they handle the meat

we did notice they had a special on grilled burgers that week (sign in the window) (maybe it thawed so they grilled it, or they just grabbed the wrong beef and replaced it with what they would have used to grill in the store...)

so just a mistake?, worry, not worry?

any thoughts would be helpful thanks

 

[Wifezilla]

Anyone who would lie repeatedly can't be trusted. Mistakes happen. They should have called and admitted it and found a way to make you happy.

The price difference between grass fed beef and grain fed is pretty big.

As for ways to rip you off, did you get the liver? The kidneys? The tallow? Soup bones?

 

[gettinaclue]

Anyone who would lie repeatedly can't be trusted. Mistakes happen. They should have called and admitted it and found a way to make you happy.

I completely agree with WZ.

How did you find you find out it wasn't your meat? I would have never been able to tell the difference.

 

[bornthrifty]

we got the liver, I asked for bones, and suet, and they tried to charge me for using space in the freezer...(50 cents a pound)

needless to say we wont be going back there (it's a shame to as it is an old business that used to have a great reputation)

but now I am trying to figure out if I should be concerned about this beef I am stuck with, as I could have gotten any old beef at walmart if that was what I wanted

don't know what she did, I don't know if it was previously frozen, don't know where it came from (if she ran out an bought it some where herself) if it is old scraps that they used up to cover this....

(not sure I want to know, lol)

but sort of do, iykwim

 

[bornthrifty]

we could tell because it was not frozen like the rest,
they then claimed that the freezer broke, but that's funny the rest of the meat didn't thaw

and not to mention just in transit, the paper of frozen meat got dewy wet, but the meat that was fresh, it's paper never felt wet, just cool and soft meat inside , we deduced that it was fresh meat, or repackaged old meat (I now wonder) and after lots of arm twisting we could see she was lieing about a lot, but admitted she replace some of the meat with what she claims is "fresh" meat....

 

[sufficientforme]

I have been thinking the same thing, how do I know I am eating my grass fed hormone free lamb? Frustrating and I would be asking for a huge discount and finding a new butcher. Will be watching close for others answers because this has been bothering me also.
One thing I did do that most don't is I tag their ears before sending in and I grilled the butcher that it was very important to me to not receive anyone else's meat or fillers (other than my own) in the ground lamb.

 

[lwheelr]

I would not accept it. I would take back the part they replaced, and tell them they needed to compensate you, at the average going rate for the quality of your meat, for the meat that was "lost".

It is their responsibility to do so. They have insurance to cover loss in such cases, that is why they have it.

Don't take it. If they are lying, let them face the consequences. If they are telling the truth, require them to make it right in the way any good business would.

Otherwise, take them to court.

 

[freemotion]

When I was a kid one of the steers my family raised came back with one of the best roast gone and replaced with one that was a different color (lighter, not pastured obviously) and tougher. That butcher's family had a nice meal on us. Dad used someone else after that.

I saw an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on a mobile butcher....it was a GREAT episode, one to watch if you can find it online. Very educational. It is pretty impossible for a butcher (especially a smaller operation) to accidentally mix up the meat. It is also VERY illegal. I'd report them and demand your money back. Or threaten to report them unless they give you a full refund....and you still keep the meat. Better yet, do both. This was done on purpose, of this I have no doubt. I bet they have a nice freezer full at home of your high quality meat, and you have some WalMart meat in your freezer.

 

[pinkfox]

id demand a full payment for the parts they replaced (every ounce of it)
its unethical and as pointed out illegal to 'switch meat'
and id make sure to tell them that, id also make it very clear that if the situation is not fully rectified to YOUR level of comfort you will be filing formal complaints with the better business beuro and the health department.

i wouldnt be suprised fi the meat they gave you in replacment while probably fresh is from lower quality beef (grain fed lot beef ect...), your beef has either gone into their own supplies or been sold at a higher price to other customers...

make it very clear that this is unacceptable, and that youll be "telling all your friends" too

there used ot a be a small butcher around here that used to do that, after a huge investigation turns out they were buying alot of thier meat "on sale" from local groceries, and sending that out in place of the good stuff people were bringing in for processing...
they were shut down for it.

 

[Icu4dzs]

I've always wondered about that myself. The butcher seems to keep a lot of things that should be yours. They say it "offsets the price of "processing" but I think it merely increases his profit.

If there was only some way you could prove your case, you could easily deal with them. Unfortunately, there does NOT seem to be an obvious way although there is one interesting idea but you would have to be rather thick skinned to do it.

If you were to find a good quantity of a vital stain that would NOT harm YOUR meat, but make it look a little "odd" the butcher would have a very difficult time saying that it wasn't yours. There are some dyes/contrast media that could be injected into the cow just before slaughter that would show up in the vascular system and give the meat a color that they wouldn't be able to get rid of. Now the truth is that the stain, *(much like a food coloring) would not harm the meat but it would "look strange". You'd know it was your meat and even if it looked strange, it would NOT be harmed in any way.

Maybe the butcher would find it a bit difficult to sell meat to someone or feed it to his family if it "looked strange". The other possibility is to watch the processing yourself. I'm sure they'd have a "problem" with that and use "insurance reasons or safety reasons" to discourage you but it might get them thinking about "WHY you want to watch". If he thinks he is being "monitored" and the health department might just be keeping an eye on things and your feelings were that his "honesty" might be in question, he might have some attitude changes with respect to what exactly happens to those really good cuts and the other "alternative" parts.

Of course, the real and definitive solution is to do it yourself OR hire an itinerant butcher who drives his vehicle right up to your barn and does his job right in front of your eyes. No guess work then and the things that always seem to be missing from your meat won't be "missing" when you have it done "at home".

//BT//
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