Meat safety called into question by Congress
Why large distributors could make you sick
10:01 a.m. Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Congressional hearings have pointed to the pitfalls of treating meat with carbon monoxide.
"Treating meat with carbon monoxide allows it to keep its freshly ground red color even though the meat may have spoiled. I have a picture on the screen there is two package which were left out for 27 hours. The one that was treated with carbon monoxide is still red, while the other meat has turned brown and is quite nasty looking," said Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak at a recent hearing.
Stupak and Congressman Ed Markey have introduced legislation that would require meat treated with carbon monoxide to be labeled so the consumers will know.
According to the industry, two-thirds of all meat and chicken is no longer cut by a butcher in front of customers or in back of the supermarket case.
Now pre-packaged "case ready" meat is prepared off site at large distributors and then shipped to supermarkets.
The carbon monoxide treatment helps keep meat looking fresh in that process.
Food experts say a pound of ground beef cut by a butcher goes brown in 4 to 5 days. But meat treated with carbon monoxide by a meat packer can stay looking fresh for weeks.
Its the same with imported seafood. Stupak says his subcommittee tested seafood from China and Vietnam treated with carbon monoxide. 20 percent turned out to be bad and was refused.
"It's a problem because consumer are not informed about how meat is treated. The meat is treated with chemicals so that its going to look like its fresher than it is. I think consumers have a right to know how fresh their meat is," said New York University Professor Marion Nestle.
Industry representatives of large meat packers say the additive is harmless, and it's easy to tell when the product goes bad.
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