Samples collected for testing after beef turns green during cooking in Khulna
Raw and cooked beef samples from a case in Paikgachha, Khulna, where the meat reportedly turned green during cooking, have been collected and sent to the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) for testing.
However, it has not yet been decided which laboratory will analyse the samples. The BFSA said a decision would be made on Sunday after consulting experts.
Last Wednesday, employees of Modern Bakery in Paikgachha municipality claimed that beef they had bought for a picnic turned green while being cooked.
They later took the pan containing the cooked meat to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer's (UNO) office and the local police station. A video of the incident spread on social media, sparking widespread discussion.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, BFSA Khulna district food safety officer Moklechur Rahman said, “We have never seen anything like this before. The incident is new to us as well. Samples of both the raw and cooked meat have been collected and preserved. However, it has not yet been finalised which laboratory will examine them.”
Moklechur Rahman said the matter would be discussed on Sunday. Following consultations with scientists and experts from the Department of Livestock Services, a decision would be made on which laboratory could conduct the tests and what specific analyses should be carried out.
He explained that specific testing parameters must be determined in advance before any sample can be analysed. However, in this case, the first step would be to decide exactly what should be tested.
Commenting on the initial observations, the official said, “Meat does not normally turn green simply because it has spoiled. My assumption is that some substance reacted with the proteins in the meat, causing the green colour. That substance could have come from an ingredient used during cooking, the cooking pot, or another external source.”
“It is worth noting that only the meat changed colour; the gravy did not turn green. If the meat itself had been the problem, other customers who bought meat from the same animal would also have reported similar complaints. So far, however, only one party has raised the issue. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions before the test results are available,” he added.
Paikgachha Upazila medical technologist (sanitary inspector) Uday Kumar Mondal told Prothom Alo that, after learning of the incident, he collected a sample of the cooked meat before it was discarded. Later, around 600 grams of raw meat stored in the butcher's freezer was also seized.
On Thursday, both the raw and cooked samples were handed over to the district food safety officer in Khulna, he said.
On Wednesday morning, employees of Modern Bakery began cooking four kgs of beef purchased from a butcher in Paikgachha Bazaar. The animal had been slaughtered the previous day.
They claimed that after some time, the meat's normal reddish colour changed to a bluish-green. They first took the cooked meat to the butcher's shop, then to the UNO's office, and finally to the police station.
Modern Bakery employee Liton Hossain said, “We did not eat the meat. After informing the authorities, we returned and threw it away. A few people were curious and wanted to see some of the cooked meat. Since we had already decided to dispose of it, we gave them a small portion. Now we hear the samples will be tested. Let's see what the results show.”