Our Food Should Not Be Treated with Carbon Monoxide

Last January, GAP banded together with other consumer groups and asked Congress to ban the use of carbon monoxide (CO) for case-ready fresh meat. The use of CO is a ploy that extends the shelf-life of case-ready meat by making it appear red long after it begins to spoil. As long as Congress and the FDA continue permitting this deceptive practice, unsuspecting consumers will be misled into purchasing faux-fresh meat.

It may not be too surprising that companies like Cargill, Tyson and Hormel would trick the public into buying spoiled meat products, but when a company claims to be “all natural” like Laura’s All Natural Beef, we expect it to live up to its promise. CO-treated meat is already at a supermarket near you. And guess what? It’s not labeled. So if you want your meat to look fresh only when it actually is fresh, you better let Congress and the FDA hear about it.

Be sure to check out the new cartoon Just Say NO! to Mono Meat created by our friends over at Food and Water Watch.

-- Jacqueline Ostfeld