Arkansas News, AR
10-31-07
Beef producers defend carbon monoxide in packaging
By Aaron Sadler
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The nation's major beef producers on Tuesday defended a method of preserving the meat's color by infusing it with carbon monoxide.
Food industry executives told the House Agriculture Committee the process has no adverse health effects because the air composition in the packaging used in the process is less than a half-percent carbon monoxide.
Environmental groups argued beef infused with the gas poses a health concern because even spoiled meat will maintain its bright red color.
Consumers determine whether to eat the product based on its color, they said, and there is no indication whether carbon-monoxide treated beef is fresh or safe, according to the group Food and Water Watch.
Springdale-based Tyson Foods, Inc., stopped using the process in August, but not for safety reasons, said Gary Mickelson, a company spokesman.
Tyson Foods had used carbon monoxide in "a very small percentage" of beef packaging, he said.
"We decided to discontinue this practice because of a lack of consumer demand for this type of packaging, not because of any food safety concern," Mickelson said. "We believe the technology, which is approved by the USDA and FDA, is safe for the consume and we continue to explore other ways to safely use it."
Richard Roop, senior vice president for science and regulatory affairs at Tyson, testified at Tuesday's hearing about the company's efforts to prevent bacterial outbreaks in beef, but did not discuss the packaging process.
He left that to executives of companies like Cargill and Hormel Foods, who provided about a dozen samples of the packaging to lawmakers.
Consumers will not buy beef unless it has a distinct red color, which is why food producers began using carbon monoxide in the first place, experts said.
Oxygen causes beef to lose its color. It also accelerates spoilage and can affect taste, said Joe Sebranek, a food science professor at Iowa State University.

Packaging with a high concentration of oxygen has a shelf life of about two weeks, while the low-oxygen packages that contain carbon monoxide could stay fresh for more than a month.
Hormel prefers the vacuum-sealed packaging because it lessens chances for contamination compared to other types of packages, said Phil Minerich, the company's vice president for research and development.
The meat producers said makers of a spice that gives beef a red color had generated "false" health concerns over the packaging.
Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said the spice company was invited to testify at Tuesday's hearing, but declined.
Food and Water Watch brought six sealed packages of ground beef to the hearing room - its officials were not asked to testify - to illustrate that spoiled beef would maintain its color. The meat, the group said, had been kept at room temperature for two days.