How to tell if the minced beef is fresh?

There are occasions that I find that the minced beef in supermarket sold over the butcher counter is not fresh. How can you tell?  First look for dark brown spots or patches.  The minced beef looks generally bright red, but if it is stale, there might be areas of ½ cm diameter of dark brown patches. Fresh beef should be bright red throughout.  Next, the test that never fail, is to smell it.  So far, the all butchers allow me to smell it before I buy (maybe some may not like it).  Ask for the packet from him before he seals it.  Fresh beef smells very nice with a fragrance that resembles tomatoes. Stale meat don’t have that smell, and usually gives a weak stench (it is not totally smelly, but you can pick up that stale smell).