How can you tell if there's carbon monoxide in your meat?

How can you tell if there’s carbon monoxide in your meat?

Before I answer that, I’ll address another question: How did carbon monoxide GET in your meat?

Funny story.

As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, in 2004 the FDA approved the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), which employs a variety of gases to help preserve meat and, in the case of carbon monoxide, keep the meat nice and red and looking fresh.

That was just one year after the European Union banned the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging because a review panel thought the practice would deceive customers and expose them to unsafe meat. Of course, such concerns don’t bother FDA officials at all. In fact, the agency doesn’t even require manufacturers or stores to alert customers when MAP is used.

Thanks, FDA!

So – back to the original question: How can you tell if there’s carbon monoxide in your meat?

According to Mother Earth News, just poke the package. When MAP is not used, meat is wrapped in thin plastic wrap that clings to the meat. MAP, however, requires a thicker plastic (to keep gas from escaping), and the wrap won’t cling because the gas has to circulate over the surface of the meat to be effective.

Of course, you can also ask the meat department manager at your grocery store if he uses MAP in any meat packaging. If he says yes, you might want to get another kind of map, one that directs you to a store that doesn’t use poisonous gas to deceive customers.

Source:
“What You Need to Know About the Beef You Eat” Jo Robinson, Mother Earth News, February/March 2008, motherearthnews.com