Meat Treated With Carbon Monoxide

U.S. lawmakers are criticizing the practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide in order to make the meat look fresh. They say that the process is unsafe and misleads consumers by making meat products look safer when they are not.

This process, used in factory-wrapped (or case-ready) meat, replaces most of the oxygen in the package with the introduction of other gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and also small amounts of carbon monoxide which react with the pigment in meat to produce a red color. The shelf life for ground beef sealed in that mix of gases can be extended from about 14 days to 28 days, and about 10 days to 35 days for whole cuts.

Two of the biggest U.S. meat processors, Cargill and Hormel Foods, have defended this packaging technique, claiming that it’s safe. Tyson, Safeway, Giant and Stop and Shop have all discontinued the sale of such meat.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Agriculture Department said they stand by the safety of the carbon monoxide practice and only if new data says otherwise would the process would be looked into. The FDA approved this treatment technique in July 2004.

Countries in the EU, Canada, Singapore and Japan have banned the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging.

Source: “Food industry defends carbon monoxide use in meat” Reuters, 14 November 2007; “Hill Debates ‘Carbon Monoxide Meat” ABC News, November 13, 2007; “Seeing red: Spoiled meat may look fresh” Consumer Reports, July 2006

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