Selling, sealing meat is a gas

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006 | 11:28 a.m.

Astute consumers of meat always check the date on the package. It tells them they had better eat or freeze the meat by then, or throw it out if they don't want to risk food poisoning. If the date is near or past, it also warns them away from buying that particular package.

Many consumers in today's world are rushed, however. If the meat looks nice and red, it lands in their shopping cart. It is possible the meat then lands in their refrigerator, where it remains for days, and maybe a week or more, before it is eaten. It is still nice and red, so it must still be fresh.

That's where they could be mistaken. The Food and Drug Administration, in 2002, agreed with a food company that consumers would not be harmed if a puff of carbon monoxide were added to sealed packages of meat. Since then it has granted permission to two other large food producers to do the same. Many grocery and big-box stores all over the country now sell carbon monoxide-treated meat.

The treatment creates a chemical reaction that leaves the meat red and fresh looking well past the time when it is spoiled. The meat industry, correctly, says meat that has turned brown is perfectly edible and flavorful if eaten within the date specified on the package. But consumers spurn such appearance, causing at least $1 billion a year in losses, they say.

But critics say adding carbon monoxide to the packages is dangerous because consumers are apt to be fooled into eating meat that contains E. coli and other bacteria that can horribly sicken or even kill people. Criticism is gaining such momentum that the Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times all reported on the issue this week.

The news stories carried the meat industry's point of view, that consumers should know that redness is not the only indicator of whether meat is fresh. Industry spokesmen said spoiled meat also smells, swells and looks slimy. But critics say the carbon monoxide can also mask those indicators.

Also revealed in the news stories is that the packaging does not state that the meat's color has been preserved by adding carbon monoxide. We side with consumer groups, which are now petitioning the FDA to withdraw its approval of this treatment. We are appalled that the FDA would permit such trickery.