# Is this the ability to smell and taste slightly spoiled meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491 "2004-10-04T18:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/21 "2004-10-05T02:55:04Z")
I also am able to smell barely spoiled meat. Sometimes, I can’t eat meat that’s just fine to everybody else’s palate and nose. I’ve had delightful aged steaks at reputable steakhouses, but I sent back an “aged” steak at Ponderosa because it smelled and tasted past its prime. Sometimes, it costs me money, because I’ll throw out meat that smells okay to my wife. And if a vacuum sealed packet of lunch meat gets inflated…whoo! I don’t even open it. I don’t shop at Wal\*Mart, for other reasons, so I can’t speak to their meat issues. However, when I buy ground beef, I go to a small grocery where they grind their own beef. If it comes in a vac-pac from some mega-packer, I’m not interested. The big E. Coli recalls don’t happen to small stores, they happen to mega-packers. I won’t name names; do your own research. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/22 "2004-10-05T05:20:46Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’ve had a parallel experience all my life, except with milk, not meat. The main common milk-spoilage bacterium releases a smell as it does its dirty work that I’m exquisitely sensitive to; as a kid I could sniff some milk and my stomach would roll in disgust and I’d say “this is spoiled” and my parents would sniff it and taste it and say “it’s all in your head, nothing wrong with this milk”. I’d say “fine, I’m not hungry” and not eat it. Two or three days later, my Mom would find that the milk had spoiled. > > It got to the point they’d ask me to smell-test the milk for them before using it to cook with, or to put in coffee (my Dad ruined many a cup of coffee by pouring in evaporated milk and having it curdle because it was going bad — of course I’d consider it ruined as a consequence of having milk of any sort added to it anyhow but that’s not particularly relevant here). > > By the time I was 10 I’d pretty much stopped drinking milk. Just too many awful experiences and associations. (I still do ice cream though, and I love cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, and other deliberately fermented milk-based products) I had that same thing, as a child, but not so much anymore. At school, I’d take milk to the evil, child eating, “lunch lady” She’d pour a little into a spoon, make a comment about how “filthy” children were, stick her tongue into it, and pronounce it “fine.” I would then have to “spill” it so as not to have to drink it. ---
**Author:** ![EsotericEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@EsotericEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EsotericEnigma)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/23 "2004-10-05T05:31:55Z")
Is it possible that you are pregnant? I’ve heard pregnant women are crazy like that about their food. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/24 "2004-10-05T13:23:27Z")
No, this has been going on as long as I can remember, it’s not just a recent thing. No, I know it’s not an additive because it doesn’t happen consistently. I’m gratified that a few others have had a similar experience. I remember now that the milk in those little cartons that they gave you in school lunches tasted spoiled too back in the day. I don’t drink much milk nowadays because it seems to always go a little bad before I finish it. I’d be interested to know if the “spoilage” I’m tasting is within health department limits for safety. I’d also love to know what chemical it is that I’m tasting. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/25 "2004-10-05T14:11:33Z")
I justy spent the night on the throne because I kept eating some meat that tasted a bit off. I love meat. I love aged steaks. I know better than to eat food that tastes off but I do anyhow and I usually get away with it. Not this time. But that metalic taste is what I sense when I do think it is off. I too can smell milk that is just starting to go bad. Have to put a lot of sugar in the ceral then 😉 Just be glad you can taste it, you’ll prolly out live us all. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![TRIPLEOG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TRIPLEOG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRIPLEOG)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/26 "2023-07-13T00:12:58Z")
I have the same problem! It runs in my family. Meat has a strong taste. I cannot eat it but everyone else is wolfing it down. I know people think I am crazy but it tastes bad to me and I will not eat it. It’s mostly ground beef from fast food restaurants that don’t do a lot of business. I’ve had strong tasting chicken and strong tasting steak. I believe it’s a gene that is responsible for it. The people eating the meat that tastes awful to me don’t get sick after eating it. I just can’t eat it. Maybe they’ll have a job for me at the airport, smarty-pants. ---
**Author:** ![TRIPLEOG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TRIPLEOG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRIPLEOG)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/27 "2023-07-13T00:15:51Z")
I can smell milk going bad days before others can smell it. ---
**Author:** ![TRIPLEOG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TRIPLEOG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRIPLEOG)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/28 "2023-07-13T00:25:55Z")
Aged beef tastes totally rotten to me. It’s an absolute no. I think you have helped me here. I now think I have an aversion to meat going even a tiny bit bad. It’s the only thing that makes sense. How in the world can anyone eat aged beef? If they tasted what I tasted they would not be able to eat it. I bought some ground beef that had today’s expiration date on it. I brought it home and cooked some for tacos and suddenly it started smelling awful to me. I’m going to return it to the store. It kinda smells like a stinky wet dog. I love dogs ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/29 "2023-07-13T00:51:15Z")
I can pick up the odor of rancid fat more readily than other people. It’s annoying, I’d rather I didn’t. That smell my linger on the outside of perfectly good meat to cook but I get turned off by the odor and toss it. I’ve heard somewhere that many of the good or bad qualities we associate with particular odors form very early on in life due to circumstances when first encountered. This is supposed to explain cultural differences in acceptance of strongly flavored foods. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/30 "2023-07-13T01:07:27Z")
> [@TRIPLEOG](#): > > I can smell milk going bad days before others can smell it. I wish I had some of those miracle smart pills. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6BwV26j9iY0/hqdefault.jpg "Bobby Hill has ADHD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BwV26j9iY0) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/31 "2023-07-13T16:31:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’ve heard somewhere that many of the good or bad qualities we associate with particular odors form very early on in life due to circumstances when first encountered. In my 20s, more than one friend told me they couldn’t even think about Southern Comfort. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/32 "2023-07-13T16:50:17Z")
Well, that’s intriguing. What were those circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/33 "2023-07-13T16:54:03Z")
This thread smells like old zombie meat… But to keep in the spirit of factual questions, I also have a bit more sensitivity to the smell of meat and dairy starting to go bad than most people. I’m usually the one tasked to “sniff test” in our kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/34 "2023-07-13T17:36:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Well, that’s intriguing. What were those circumstances? Puked after drinking too much of it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/35 "2023-07-13T17:40:09Z")
Ok, that makes sense. Kind of the direction my mind went but less ‘rapey’. Southern Comfort had a reputation as a way to take advantage of young inexperienced women. Puking is better in comparison to some outcomes. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/36 "2023-07-13T18:19:51Z")
Yeah, I actually heard those stories in my teens. Others had similar experiences with ouzo, which makes me think that, in both cases, the friends had raided their parents’ liquor cabinets. 🥃 🤪 🤢 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491/37 "2023-07-16T17:48:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’ve heard somewhere that many of the good or bad qualities we associate with particular odors form very early on in life due to circumstances when first encountered. Also, taste preferences are likely influenced by parents and other figures we look up to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-ability-to-smell-and-taste-slightly-spoiled-meat/267491.md?page=1)