Sainsbury's has defended its new vacuum packed minced beef after shoppers complained it turned meat to "mush".

The supermarket previously packaged mince in a plastic tray covered with film but made the change to help meet its target of reducing plastic in its stores.

However, some shoppers have criticised the eco-friendly alternative, branding the meat "unappetising" and "disgusting", while one reviewer said it resembled a "kidney".

Sainsbury's insists the new vacuum-packed packaging does not affect the taste or quality of the meat as customers urged them to rethink the covering.

Vicki Cole, from Huddersfield, told how she was offered a refund in Nectar points after she complained the mince took her 40 minutes to cook, meaning it was tougher and chewier than before.

"They've sucked all the air out and squashed it so it plopped out of the packet and into the frying pan in a big rectangular clump," she told the BBC.

"As I started breaking it up with the wooden spatula it was staying in big balls that were cooking on the outside but not the inside."

"I get that we need to use less plastic. But unless they find an alternative that's going to work they're going to lose customers because I shan't be buying it from there. They need to listen to the feedback."

'Hard to cook and very unappetising'

Amid a stream of negative online reviews, one wrote: "The new packaging is awful, it turns the mince into mush. 

"It's very hard to cook and smells off, looks very unappetising. Would not recommend."

Steve Dresser, the boss of retail consultancy Grocery Insight, told the BBC: "It's fair to say the change has not been well received, at all."

'Taste and quality not impacted'

In February, Sainsbury's declared it had become the first supermarket to vacuum-pack its beef mince as part of attempts to halve its use of own-brand plastic packaging by 2025.

Announcing the move, the supermarket suggested vacuum-packed meat would remain fresher as a result of removing all oxygen and take up less space in fridges and freezers despite containing the same amount of mince as before.

A spokesperson said: "We are always looking for new ways to innovate packaging to meet our ambitious plastic reduction targets.

"Our new vacuum-packed beef mince packaging uses 55 per cent less plastic and saves over 450 tonnes of plastic a year, without impacting taste or quality."