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Why your fresh meat is twitching on the cutting board [1]

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Date: 2025-10-16  

Ever sliced into a fresh cut of meat only to watch it suddenly twitch on your cutting board? According to this video, it doesn't mean your dinner is still alive.

In the moments or hours following an animal's death, some muscle fibers and nerves remain responsive to stimuli. When extremely fresh meat is touched, sliced, or salted, it can trigger brief contractions in the muscle tissue. This happens because of residual nerve signals, and small amounts of adenosine triphosphate (the energy molecule that fuels muscle movement) are still present in the cells.



See also: Meat from a 20-lb swamp rat: taste test

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