WHO-TV, IA
02/09/06
Fresh Meat?
When you see bright red meat in the grocery store you probably think it just landed on the shelf. There's a new way of packaging meat which means some stores are able to keep red meat looking fresher for longer than normal. But is this new practice safe and do customers realize what they're buying?
This kind of packaged meat has been in Wal-Marts and Super Targets for some time..but just hit the shelves of metro area Hy-Vee's this week. It's been around for a couple of years but many customers don't really know what's inside th package that preserves the color. When shopping for the best piece of red meat the decision usually comes down to one thing, the best color. Elizabeth Stanley says that color is what seals the deal for her but Stanley says she's doesn't really know what goes into sealing that package of meat.
New enhanced packaging keeps meat looking just as red as it did the first day it hit the shelf and the color can last for weeks. It's called modified atmosphere packaging or map. During the packaging process, the oxygen is sucked out and other gases are flushed in, gases that help preserve that red color. The result is a package that looks vacuum sealed. Nancy Degner with the Iowa Beef Council says this is exactly what consumers want. "It actually keeps the meat fresher longer. It's flushed with a gas keeps bright cherry red color that consumers like to buy", says Degner. Usually the meat is sealed with carbon dioxide and nitrogen. But it can also include trace amounts of carbon monoxide. Something the FDA approved in 2001. So is it safe for you and your family? Doctor Joseph Cordray is a meat specialist at Iowa State University. He says he was not familiar with the use of carbon monoxide in the map packaging but says the practice is safe. "Its not deceptive at all because it is fresh, because the the process inhibited the growth of mirco-organisms and maintained color", says Cordray.
We talked to a lot of customers that didn't know about it. They like to think what they're getting is fresh not just in appearance but scientists say is in fact fresh.