Instead of buying meat by weight at the counter, we often opted for pre-packaged meat (minced meat, ragout, etc.), especially when doing our weekly shopping, as some of the meat was to be frozen. The packaging was always such that you could inspect the meat first (boxes). Recently, however, we have increasingly found it in vacuum-sealed packaging, i.e., compressed so that you can only see what you have bought after opening it. Perhaps this is because it takes up less space in storage and transport? In addition, it is often "defrosted meat."

Towards the end of last year, I had to make a complaint about this, as the "Gschnätzelte" (sliced meat), which tasted fine, turned out to be more like "Gschnäpper" (minced meat) and in some cases resembled "Gehacktes" (minced meat). Customer service compensated me with a shopping voucher (commendable!) and claimed it was an isolated case caused by "incorrect machine settings." Really?

Today, we took the veal ragout (IP Suisse, not Classic) we had recently purchased out of its (vacuum-sealed) packaging and found pieces that were either too large or would have been better suited to "Gschnätzelte" (cooking time!). Another isolated incident? I will refrain from contacting customer service again today, but we will take action:

- In future, we will only buy packaged meat if the contents can be assessed (no more vacuum-packed meat).
- Since quality comes before price, we will tend to buy meat at the counter and forego special offers.

But what is a little saddening is that as "Migros children," we are increasingly noticing that quality has declined in many areas, including non-food. It is commendable that past failures and mismanagement have apparently been recognized and that there is a desire to focus more on the core business. However, it should be noted that "We must save money, whatever the cost" is probably not the right approach here. Otherwise, COOP, Aldi, and Lidl will be delighted... - We, too, have already "looked beyond the fence."