Meat Producers Use Carbon Monoxide (to help it retain it's pink hue)

[The Straight Story]

Your Red Meat May Be Getting Some Artificial Help
Meat Producers Use Carbon Monoxide

POSTED: 7:53 am EST February 22, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Shoppers who judge the freshness of meat by its pink color may be deceived by a relatively new industry practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide, critics say.

The meat industry defends the use of carbon monoxide to help meat retain its pink hue, saying large sums of money are wasted when sellers throw away meat that is still safe to eat but is not as attractive because it is slightly brown.

"Color is the number one indicator that's used" in selecting meat, said Don Berdahl, vice president of Kalsec Inc., a maker of natural food extracts in Kalamazoo, Mich. Last November Kalsec filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration seeking a ban on the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging.

Berdahl said Tuesday that carbon monoxide-treated meat could be left on the kitchen counter for five days and would still look bright red and fresh. Carbon monoxide "also suppresses bad odors and the presence of slime, other telltale signs that meat is spoiled," Kalsec's petition said.

http://www.local6.com/food/7323213/detail.html

[FSogol]

1. Another reason to thank the Reagan Admin.

There once was a time where all the meat in this country was inspected. Now, the government helps meat packers sell us spoiled beef.

Edit: Here's WAPOs version of the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101726.html

[Angry Girl]

14. RECENT ARTICLE: USDA Only Pretended to Do Probes (for meat safety)

I wonder why this didn't make it to the U.S. media.... *cough* *cough*

The Agriculture Department has pretended to investigate anticompetitive behavior among stockyards and meat companies since 1999, but in hundreds of cases hasn't actually filed complaints, says an audit released Wednesday.

Senior officials blocked investigations from being referred to department lawyers, who can file complaints or refer cases to the Justice Department, according to the audit by the agency's inspector general.

In the meantime, employees were told to create the appearance of a high rate of enforcement by logging routine letters and reviews of public data as investigations, the inspector general said.

<SNIP>

As of last August, 50 investigations were being held up by deputy administrator JoAnn Waterfield, who had final say over sending cases to department lawyers. Waterfield quit abruptly last month without giving a reason.

Continued....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-5555253,00.html

Also, for your reading and dining pleasure:

USDA finds 1,000 violations of mad cow rules
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=255

[benburch]

2. Makes it easy for grocers to re-label expired meat.

And MANY DO.

[LincolnMcGrath]

3. Yummy!

[pansypoo53219]

4. i refuse to buy supermarket meat

old time butcher market. people come to mine to stock up on good meat. and the roasts are good and fatty for better taste. their chuck hamberger meat looks more like round. and don't get me started on the size of the chicken breasts.

[wicket]

6. same here

Growing up on a farm I got used to having the freshest meat available. The slop they try to pass off as "meat" in supermarkets these days is just plain nasty. I go to a butcher shop that is attached to a steakhouse, the freshest meat there is around these parts.

[stop the bleeding]

5. glad I am a vegetarian n/t

[RebelOne]

13. Same here. We don't have to worry about stuff like this. n/t

[The Stranger]

7. Yummy! I love steak and Carbon Monoxide!

:sarcasm:

Don't see any of the usual posters attacking the vegetarian crowd with their "yummy" posts.

[Squatch]

8. Eh...I use a butcher

[seabeyond]

9. fuck this shit i am so tired of this crap as i am trying to raise kids

ya ya ya we could become non meat eaters. fuck that shit too. i dont trust the fruits and veggies anymore than the meat

[unblock]

10. right. they've long messed around with fruit colorings.

they breed fruit and veggies for their ability to stay bright colors and not bruise, at the expense of taste and texture, and probably nutrients as well.

old news.

[stop the bleeding]

17. unless you grow your own fruits and vegetables n/t

[Tin Man]

11. I wondered why packaged burger was always bright on the outside, but gray

...in the middle.

Now I understand why - it's because they're 'backfilling' the packaged meat with CO. The CO chemically binds loose oxygen to prevent discoloration by oxidation, but the CO can't penetrate very deeply into the meat - that's why the center turns brown while the surface remains red!!!

[Angry Girl]

12. This use of CO is BANNED in Europe and the FDA proceeded ILLEGALLY

Apparently the FDA bypassed the normal procedures and went ahead and authorized it despite regulations....

Do I smell Texas Beef Cartel?

Read more about it here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x4774

[slestak]

15. CO2 is carbon dioxide n/t

[Angry Girl]

16. DOH!!!! lol Thanks! Corrected now!

[johnnie]

18. "relatively new industry practice"?

I knew about this in the 80s.

[The Straight Story]

19. Then you must be one of those mysterious "they's"

That always seem to show up in a conspiracy 'they knew it, they had something to do with it, etc'
:)

[johnnie]

20. Lol, naw

I believe I read it in "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins. It came out in the 80s.

[prairierose]

21. Yes, this practice has been around for some time...

the media just doesn't bother to cover it. Just as they don't bother to cover so many other issues that are vitally important for an imformed society.

And of course, it was the 1980's when the corporations gained so much power over regulatory agencies that we saw the rise of this type of dangerous manipulation not only of information but of our food supply.

k&r

:kick:

[iconoclastNYC]

22. Heres a pic of treated vs untreated meat

Both of these pieces of meat are 7 days old and therefore have equal chance of bacterial contamination.

Aren't you glad you can't tell the difference because of the miracles of carbon monoxide?



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/another_great_r.php

[slaveplanet]

23. Just buy large cuts

make sure that beef cost $30 or more for one piece(no, I'm not talking about filet, I'm talking $2.29/lb sirloin). Air(oxidation) doesn't have a chance to reach the middle. Cut it to meal sized portions and immediately freeze. The outer portions can be cooked that day. A nice hot frying pan does wonders for killing bacteria if you bring meat up to temperature. Other saved cuts can be ground for the best hamburger you ever bought. The cutting board, knife and heat are your friend...use them.

Even with these heinous measures the meat packing industry is using today...Just imagine what the pioneers had to go through in the times before refrigeration, salt was astronomical and unavailable in many places, and I'd wager that many a piece of spoiled meat was happily consumed.

What I'd worry about is what that piece of meat looked like before it was cooked and prepacked in some kind of stew or processed product.

[iconoclastNYC]

24. I'm not a butcher.

I dont want to come home and spent an hour prepping the food. I just want to know that it hasn't been doped to look fresher than it appears to be. This USDA decision is going to lead to more deaths (in the immunosupressed) and sickness from food poisioning.

The meat industry seems to be doing everything it can to drive people to go meatless.