Sainsburys has received criticism about its new vacuum-packed beef mince, which some customers say turns “meat to mush”.

The new packaging, which uses 55 per cent less plastic, makes the supermarket the first in the UK to vacuum pack all of its beef mince, in a move it claims will save 450 tonnes of plastic each year.

One customer told the BBC that as she was trying to break down the meat with a wooden spatula it was “staying in big balls that were cooking on the outside but not the inside”.

Sainsburys ended up granting the customer a refund in its Nectar card points.

Acknowledging the need to reduce package usage, the customer added that she will no longer buy the supermarket’s beef mince in this format, claiming that it will lose customers unless it listens to their feedback.

Other customers have tweeted at Sainsburys stating that the new packaging makes the meat feel “very medical” and likened it to a kidney.

Another customer tweeted that the new packaging gives the beef “no mince texture at all”.

A Sainsburys spokesperson told the BBC: "We are always looking for new ways to innovate packaging to meet our ambitious plastic reduction targets.”

They added that the new packaging saves plastic “without impacting taste or quality”.

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