I have found this only very occasionally in Tofu. (Maybe about 3 or 4 times, ever: that would be something betw. 5-10%?, I imagine) I don't think the Tofu is spoiled since the date is fine, and it doesn't smell stinky like rotting beans (as I have experienced with tofu once or twice when I kept it a little too long or tried to save an already opened package in fridge).
Right away upon opening the plastic package, you can smell the funny (kind of "chemical"-ey, like Clorox, a little bit) smell. After cooking, the tofu tasted stronger than usual: saltier and a little bit tart. My daughter spit it out because it was so different, but I ate it anyway (it wasn't exactly disgusting – just odd). Husband didn't comment except to ask why daughter spit out her food. I think he didn't notice this tofu "problem".
This is Trader Joe's "organic sprouted extra-firm", the kind I always buy. I am asking mostly out of curiosity, since I think I will try buying a different brand in the future. But does anyone out there know what I am talking about & have an idea what causes this ?…. Oh, another clue I forgot to mention: nobody got sick.
Best Answer
Going bad.
It's not necessarily unsafe to eat yet, but tofu can pick up a slightly spoiled flavor even before it goes bad.
Especially since tofu has so little flavor of its own, it's easy to taste if it goes slightly off.
You can mitigate this by storing it in clear water and changing the water frequently.