The holidays are fast approaching, and for many of us that means it’s time to head to the grocery store to pick up a turkey for the big feast But when you get home and pull your fresh or frozen Butterball turkey out of the bag, you notice something a bit strange – the packaging is puffed up like a balloon! At first glance, this abnormal packaging may seem concerning regarding the safety of your bird However, not to worry – a puffy turkey package does not necessarily mean the meat has spoiled.
Here’s what you need to know about puffed up Butterball turkey packaging, what causes it, and whether your inflated turkey is still safe to eat.
Why Does Butterball Turkey Packaging Become Puffed Up?
There are a few potential reasons that a Butterball turkey’s packaging may fill up with air:
-
Temperature fluctuations – If a frozen turkey is thawed and refrozen, the air inside the bag can expand and cause it to puff up. This is especially likely if the turkey was stored at inconsistent temperatures during transport or storage.
-
High-altitude packaging – Butterball turkeys packaged at high elevations and then brought down to lower elevations can puff up due to the reduced air pressure at lower altitudes.
-
Trapped air pockets – During the packaging process, air pockets can accidentally become sealed inside, leading to a puffy appearance.
-
Modified atmosphere packaging – Butterball may use a technique called modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to alter the gases inside to help preservation. This can sometimes cause slight puffiness.
So in most cases, a puffy Butterball package is nothing to worry about – just trapped gases expanding or techniques used to keep the turkey fresh.
How To Tell If Your Puffed Up Turkey Is Still Good
A puffy package may look odd but it doesn’t automatically mean the turkey inside has spoiled. Here’s how to tell if your turkey is still fine to eat
-
Check the expiration date – Verify it’s still within the safe consumption window printed on the packaging.
-
Inspect the packaging – Look for leaks, holes, or damage. If it’s intact, the puffiness likely just trapped gases.
-
Do the smell test – Give the turkey a good sniff when you open it. It should have a mild, meaty smell. Foul odors mean toss it.
-
Look for discoloration or slime – The turkey should look normal with no sliminess or mold. Some discoloration is natural but anything exaggerated could be a bad sign.
As long as the turkey passes these checks and was properly refrigerated at 40°F or below, it should be perfectly safe to eat despite puffy packaging. When in doubt, it’s best to play it safe and discard it.
Expert Opinions on Puffy Turkey Packages
To get the official word, I checked in with Butterball’s turkey talk line, the USDA meat and poultry hotline, and food safety experts about puffed up turkey packaging. Here’s what they had to say:
-
Butterball’s turkey experts say puffiness can happen due to temperature changes or high altitudes during shipping, but the turkey should be safe if properly refrigerated. They recommend doing a sniff test once opened.
-
The USDA meat and poultry hotline told me that puffiness alone does not indicate spoilage. Again, look for off smells or colors. When properly handled, the turkey should be fine.
-
Food safety experts I consulted agree puffiness from trapped gases during packaging or transportation is normal and not a safety issue. However, if it seems to be from microbial growth, discard it.
The consensus is that puffiness alone is not a definite sign of spoilage. Use your senses and common sense to determine if your turkey is still fresh.
What to Do if Your Turkey is Puffed Up
If you discover your Butterball turkey package is puffed up once home, here are your options:
-
Open it and inspect – If it looks and smells fine, it should be safe to cook and eat. Proceed as normal.
-
Contact Butterball – Call Butterball’s turkey helpline at 1-800-BUTTERBALL to discuss your specific case and get their opinion.
-
Return it – If still unsure, play it safe and ask for a refund or exchange at the grocery store.
-
Cook it immediately – If the expiration date is close but seems OK otherwise, cook the turkey right away rather than waiting.
-
When in doubt, throw it out – If anything seems off, do not take risks and discard it.
Use your best judgment, and you can enjoy your holiday meal without worrying about abnormal poultry packaging.
Helpful Turkey Safety Tips
To avoid puffiness and other turkey troubles, keep these tips in mind:
-
Refrigerate the turkey at 40°F or below until ready to thaw and cook.
-
Avoid letting the turkey fluctuate between frozen and thawed.
-
Safely thaw frozen turkeys in the fridge, cold water, or microwave on defrost setting.
-
Cook raw turkey to 165°F internal temperature to destroy dangerous bacteria.
-
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and consume within 3-4 days. Reheat to 165°F.
-
Carefully follow all package instructions and check expiration or freeze by dates.
By properly selecting, handling, and cooking your turkey, you can serve it confidently this holiday season – puffy package or not! Trust your judgment, and let common sense prevail when evaluating your bird. Here’s to a happy and healthy holiday feast!
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Simply-Recipes-Thaw-Ground-Beef-LEAD-01-1-2-1b2443094e6942dbab42c0736fd7b995.jpg)
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
The post was flagged as part of Instagram’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Verify This checked this claim in 2021 and found it to be wrong. That hasn’t changed.
A National Chicken Council spokesman told PolitiFact that if a sealed packaged bag of raw chicken appears puffy, “this is not an indicator of spoilage.
“This is a USDA-approved packaging process, and there is no food safety concern, said Tom Super, spokesperson for the trade association. “The puffiness of the bags actually indicates the packaging is properly sealed. The best indicators of spoilage would be the Sell By or Use By date, discoloration, foul smell and/or leakage, not the particular packaging.”
According to the USDAs official packaging and distribution guidelines, bag puffiness can result from a process called “controlled atmosphere packaging.”
Packaging manufacturers replace some or all of the oxygen inside the bag or package with gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen to preserve the raw poultry, according to the guidelines. Otherwise, “oxygen in the air hastens both the chemical breakdown and microbial spoilage” of the protein, the USDA’s website says.
In other words, the more exposure to oxygen, the hastier the breakdown.
The USDA further advises that the best way to assess whether poultry is safe for cooking is to inspect its physical appearance, scent and color.
“In addition to the color change, the meat or poultry will have an off odor, be sticky or tacky to the touch, or it may be slimy,” the USDA says on its website. “If meat has developed these characteristics, it should not be used.” Our ruling
A viral Facebook video claimed sealed bags of raw poultry that appear taut or “puffy” are indicative of spoilage, making the protein unsafe to consume.
That’s false, according to USDA regulatory guidelines for packaging. Puffy packaging is generally an indicator the distributor used controlled atmosphere packaging, in which oxygen is supplemented with carbon dioxide or nitrogen.
We rate this claim False.
Facebook Reel (archived), accessed Oct. 13, 2022
Email interview with National Chicken Council spokesman Tom Super, Oct. 14, 2022
U.S. Department of Agriculture, “The Color of Meat and Poultry,” accessed Oct. 14, 2022
U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Meat and Poultry Packaging Materials,” accessed Oct. 14, 2022
National Chicken Council, Overview and informational landing page, accessed Oct. 14, 2022
I would like to contribute
A near empty case of different chicken cuts is displayed at a Publix Supermarket, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Miami. (AP) By
A sealed packaged bag of raw chicken that appears puffy “is not an indicator of spoilage,” according to the trade association National Chicken Council.
Food safety is so important in the U.S. that there are entire parts of government designed to keep people safe from what they consume.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration offer all kinds of advice about how to avoid foodborne illness. Wash hands. Keep raw foods separated from other foods. Thoroughly cook meat.
Not on the list: Avoid buying poultry in puffy looking bags. But that hasn’t stopped the internet from issuing its own warnings.
“PSA: Air in bags of meat is not normal! Don’t eat it!!!” reads text across a Facebook video posted Oct. 13. The video hovers over a grocery store cooler filled with bagged chicken as a man pokes one of the sealed bags, which has become somewhat inflated, and tells viewers that he was hospitalized after consuming protein in similar packaging.
“When the bag is puffy like that, it means bacteria has started growing in there…Don’t buy it!” the video’s caption reads.
How to Safely Thaw a Frozen Turkey
FAQ
Why is my frozen turkey package puffed up after?
The air that was in the package expanded because of warmer temperature (than the freezer). Same thing happens with car tires—when the weather gets cold, you need to add more air to your tires.
Why is my turkey puffed up?
What causes ground turkey packages to puff up? The ground turkey packages puff up due to the pressure cooking process. The meat was basically cold and then it went hot and then they put it into a cold space again, or the temperature change drastically for it to cause that.
How to tell if Butterball turkey is bad?
Many times people can tell if a turkey is spoiled by the “texture and smell” of the turkey. Hanes said the skin of the turkey may become slimy, and the smell is often described as “rotten eggs or like sulfur.”
Do Butterball turkeys have a pop-up when done?
Even Butterball, the brand probably most familiar to home cooks, doesn’t endorse the pop-up timer. The company’s birds have “never, never, never” had timers in them, says Carol Miller, supervisor for the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.