Food: Is that Meat Really Fresh?

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Is that Meat Really Fresh?
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

By Brandi M. Seals

It is amazing the number of things companies do that you are just not aware of. Today I was reading through the usual press releases and I came across one that quite literally shocked me. Are you aware that some red meat producers are adding Carbon Monoxide (CO) to meat to make the meat look healthy and bright red for longer? I know. I sure was not aware of that. It now makes sense why I have previously bought meat only to get it home and find the top section bright red while the underlying meat was a very unappealing shade of brown.

Originally I had attributed this anomaly to living in Arkansas. For some reason it has been my experience that meat and cheese go bad much quicker here than they did when I lived in Michigan. My chicken always smells rotten before the best by date. Cheese goes moldy long before its date and before it has been opened. I do not quite understand it, but I have learned that the freezer is a girl's best friend and to always separate and bag the meat several days before the best by date. But, I guess the red meat experience was because of a different reason.

A study was done to find out what people thought of this practice. Three out of four consumers were concerned, like me, to learn that adding carbon monoxide (CO) allows meat to appear bright red for more than several weeks longer than untreated meat. These numbers comes from a brand new survey administered in early September to 1,019 men and women and conducted by the Consumer Federation of America. The Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of consumer groups that representing more millions of Americans. It was established in 1968 to meet consumer interest with research, education and advocacy.

Those of us who are concerned are concerned for one reason. At a young age we learn how to tell what is fresh. For fruit you look for brown spots and press on the area where the stem was once attached. For meat, you look at it. Red meat should be red, chicken should be flesh-colored. If the food is altered to look fresh when it might not be, that is unfair to the consumer.

The study found that sixty-three percent (63%) of respondents agreed with the statement "the freshness of meat is directly related to the color of the meat." By altering the color through the use of carbon monoxide (CO) so the meat stays bright for several weeks, companies are making it harder for consumers to determine if meat is fresh. Especially since most people rely on color and the best by date when purchasing red meat.

Since the carbon monoxide (CO) changes the perception of meat, seventy-eight percent (78%) of consumers feel that the treating of red meat with carbon monoxide (CO) is deceptive. Furthermore, sixty-eight percent (68%) would support laws that would make it mandatory for treated meat to be labeled as such.

Currently a citizen's petition was filed by Kalsec, Inc. in November 2005 that asks the FDA to disallow the use of carbon monoxide in the packaging of fresh meat.

Since adding carbon monoxide (CO) does not alter the freshness of the meat, rather just the perception of it, I do not feel it is necessary to ban the practice. It seems highly unethical but there are other secrets like this that would amaze most consumers. So, I would support a label that identifies pretreated meat. However, I would like to see a study that shows whether or not dosing meat in carbon monoxide is bad for people's health. In the end, if it is safe, I just do not want to buy something that looks good and healthy only to get it home and find out I was deceived. It is just not fair.

This is just one example of several possible examples that shows how the public can be mislead by food corporations. I highly recommend that anyone who is interested in this topic further research it on the web. You will be amazed at what you find. There are even studies out there that link the hormones given to cows to make them big and strong to the increasing earlier development of girls. It just gives you something to think about.

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