| You are planning a terrific barbecue | | | | SuperFresh, Kroger, Publix, Stop & |
| this weekend and fresh sirloins on the | | | | Shop, A&P, Wegmans and Whole |
| grill are on your menu. Pictures | | | | Foods.During my younger years, I |
| yourself going to the grocery store and | | | | actually knew a person who worked in a |
| finding the most beautiful, pink, juicy | | | | butcher shop and learned much more than |
| cuts of meat… Does that mean they | | | | I really wanted to know about beef |
| are fresh? Not necessarily… It | | | | liver, chicken necks and other |
| has come to the attention of the FDA | | | | meats… So, I feel that there is a |
| that a lot of local grocery stores are | | | | real need to dispel the American |
| now treating their meats with carbon | | | | perception of fresh meat. When your meat |
| monoxide to keep their meat looking | | | | (such as a beef chuck roll or sirloin |
| fresher longer. This debate is sizzling | | | | tip) arrives at your butcher, the meat |
| within Congress and the FDA almost as | | | | itself is not pink nor is it brown. |
| hot as a grill on a sweltering summer | | | | It’s more of a dark reddish color |
| day.The public assumption is that the | | | | and extremely juicy (bloody). Once the |
| pinker the meat is, the fresher the cut | | | | package of meat is open, the first cuts |
| and this is absolutely untrue. This | | | | are the same dark red color. Once air |
| human assumption is what grocery stores | | | | hits the meat, primarily the natural |
| are counting on to increase their | | | | carbon monoxide that is found in your |
| lackluster meat sales. Following such | | | | breathing air, the meat begins to turn |
| “meat scares” as mad cow | | | | the common pink color we are used |
| disease and the avian flu in chickens | | | | to.This process normally takes |
| which have decreased meat sales | | | | approximately twelve hours. Your meat is |
| throughout the United States, the only | | | | packaged in plastic wrap and after a |
| way that these butchers have to combat | | | | twelve hour period begins to turn the |
| the lack of sales is to increase the | | | | brownish color that is associated with |
| shelf life of the meat that is cut. It | | | | meat “turning bad”. Does |
| is a fact that meat that has been cut | | | | this mean the meat is bad? Maybe… |
| will begin to turn brown as it starts to | | | | but most likely not. Sometimes, simply |
| “go bad”. The use of carbon | | | | the fluorescent lighting that is |
| monoxide turns the meat a bright pink | | | | commonly used in grocery stores will |
| which can last up to 10 days at 50 | | | | cause discoloration in the meat. The |
| degrees. Does this mean that the meat is | | | | best way to check is by leaning the |
| still good? Absolutely not! But that | | | | package over and checking the color of |
| isn’t what the American Meat | | | | the “juice”. The |
| Institute is saying. However, the FDA | | | | “juice” should be bright red |
| and a number of other consumer groups do | | | | and not dark brown. In summary, the |
| not feel that enough testing has been | | | | freshest cuts of meat will be dark red |
| done to verify its safety.Many consumer | | | | in color with very bright blood and a |
| groups are pushing a bill in Congress to | | | | piece of meat that isn’t fresh |
| ban carbon monoxide treatment to meat | | | | will be grayish brown in color and the |
| until more FDA testing has been done. In | | | | blood will be a brownish red.While |
| the meantime, there are a number of | | | | shopping for your great sirloin steak |
| grocery chains that refuse to use carbon | | | | this weekend, be sure to ask your local |
| monoxide treated meat. These stores | | | | butcher if the meat that they are |
| include Wal-Mart, Acme, Food Lion, | | | | selling is treated or not. |