Our View — Put a stop to fooling consumers

The Free Press

November 19, 2007 12:23 am

— Maybe the solution is to wrap meat only in old-fashioned butcher paper.
If meat were sold in non-transparent wrapping, then this issue about whether or not to treat meat with carbon monoxide to retain color would go away.
But because that’s highly unlikely, the meat companies that use the process should at the very least label packages to disclose the meat is treated for cosmetic purposes. If pumping carbon monoxide into meat makes it more red, and therefore gives the impression of being fresher, consumers have a right to know that.
The EU, Canada, Singapore and Japan all have banned the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging, according to U.S. House Energy and Commerce Oversight Chairman Bart Stupak.
One FDA official said he believes most people are aware meat is packaged with carbon monoxide. Our guess is that would be the same number of people who knew their children’s toys were coated with lead paint.
The meat-packaging controversy is the latest to surface in a string of recent food-related problems. Just this month 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria were recalled by Cargill. And meat hasn’t been the only concern. Contaminated spinach sickened numerous people this year as well.
Government oversight of food safety has a huge public relations problem, and the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging is the perfect example of misplaced priorities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2004 had said the packaging would be deceiving, but then the department reversed itself after meat companies produced more data in support of using carbon monoxide.
Now the USDA, after a congressional panel hearing last week, said it will review the 2004 data.
Using deceit to sell meat should leave a bad taste in consumers’ mouths. Yes, people like their meat and their produce and their bread to look fresh and colorful, but treating food with dye, or gas, or preservatives that result in that “fresh” appearance need to be disclosed.
“Use by” dates are the best indicator of meat freshness. Some retailers have quit carrying the carbon-monoxide treated meat. Others, such as Target, are requesting they be able to continue to sell the products with labeling to reflect they’ve been treated with carbon monoxide.
If use of carbon monoxide in packaging meat continues to be used, then at the very least, the labels should be mandatory. It will be up to consumers to determine whether they want to buy products treated with the same gas they try to protect their households against by installing detectors.