Ground beef recall.

[Rusty]

Anybody know if they still inject (or by some method) carbon monoxide gas in the meat to make it look red for a longer period of time.

I guess even spoiled meat can look good when CO is used.

[Gearhead]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Anybody know if they still inject (or by some method) carbon monoxide gas in the meat to make it look red for a longer period of time.

I guess even spoiled meat can look good when CO is used.

The prepackaged ground meats you see in the store are packaged with a shrink (or stretch) film which flushes the meat with a myoglobin blooming agent to give it a bright red color for a longer time, extending the fresh look in the cooler. Meat which is packaged without the oxygenating film will turn brown quickly, even though it's fine. It's all about product presentation. If you're curious if the agent is used, open the package and pull the meat apart. If it's only red on the surface, the agent is present. It doesn't penetrate below the surface.

I designed packaging machinery for years for a very large shrink film manufacturer and when it comes to manufacturing and packaging food, I've seen it all. I will never (ever) purchase prepackaged frozen hamburger patties after a trip down south to a well-known meat packing plant. They were grinding "beef" into patties, freezing and packaging it. What they used were hearts (dropped one on the floor, picked it up and put it back into the grinder) oats dyed red (no, I'm not kidding) and an overabundance of flies buzzing around because it was hot and they had the doors open for ventilation. They were also operating a barbecue out back and eating the hamburgers they were making.

I heard a story about another packing plant which takes cows with "cancer eye" and other tumors and grinds it all up for frozen hamburger patties for at least one large fast food restaurant. As long as it can walk, it's fair game. How about the ones that fall off the hook after they've been eviscerated? They land on a floor covered with bovine excrement, and they are hoisted back up and sent on their way (to our dinner plates).

Or you could bypass all that and buy local from a guy who raised (and maybe even named) his herd.