February 21, 2006

US FDA urged to ban carbon monoxide treated meat

US consumer advocates are urging the Food and Drug Administration and the meat industry to stop using carbon monoxide on meat packages as a "pigment fixative," saying the practice deceives shoppers who depend on colour to help them avoid spoiled meat, the Washington Post reported on its website on Monday (Feb 20).

The gas, harmless to health at the levels being used, gives meat a bright pink colour that lasts for weeks. However, critics are saying the agency violated its own rules by allowing the practice without a formal evaluation of its impact on consumer safety, the report stated.

The hope is that it will save the industry much of the US$1 billion it says it loses annually from having to discount or discard meat that is reasonably fresh and perfectly safe but no longer pretty, the Washington Post report said.

"This meat stays red and stays red and stays red," said Don Berdahl, vice president and laboratory director at Kalsec Foods in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a maker of natural food extracts that has petitioned the FDA to ban the practice.

If nothing else, Berdahl and others say, carbon monoxide treated meat should be labelled so consumers will know not to trust their eyes.

"We feel it's a huge consumer right-to-know issue," said Donna Rosenbaum of Safe Tables Our Priority, an advocacy group in Burlington, Vermont, created after four children died and hundreds became sick after eating tainted hamburgers from Jack in the Box restaurants in 1992 and 1993.

Meanwhile, industry officials deny the claim that carbon monoxide is a "colourant"-- a category that would require a full FDA review--saying it helps meat retain its naturally red colour.