Cross-posted at the Writing on the Wal.
I have written previously about problems with case-ready meat. Now it looks like it is even worse than I imagined. As the AP explains, some meat producers are using carbon monoxide inside the cellophane:
"Color is the number one indicator that's used" in selecting meat, said Don Berdahl, vice president of Kalsec Inc., a maker of natural food extracts in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In November, Kalsec filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration seeking a ban on the use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging.
Berdahl said Tuesday that carbon monoxide-treated meat could be left on the kitchen counter for five days and would still look bright red and fresh. Carbon monoxide "also suppresses bad odors and the presence of slime, other telltale signs that meat is spoiled," Kalsec's petition said....
Carbon monoxide is used in some "case-ready" meats, products put in leak-proof, tamperproof, hermetically sealed packages before being shipped to the local butcher or supermarket. Up to 60 percent of meat sold is now case-ready, according to industry estimates, but a relatively small amount of that is carbon monoxide-treated, said Dr. Randall Huffman, vice president for scientific affairs at the American Meat Institute.
[emphasis added]
So take a guess, does Wal-Mart sell carbon monoxide-treated meat? That seems to depend upon which Wal-flack you ask. According to an Indianapolis TV station:
Wal-Mart tested the packaging process for its Arkansas and Missouri stores, but the chain stopped it because of low customer demand, 6News' Stacia Matthews reported.
Did the meat have a label that said, treated with carbon monoxide? If it didn't, how would the customers know?
The New York Times reported that this cheap meat was in 150 Wal-Mart stores, and the Waco Tribune goes beyond beef:
Wal-Mart also carries veal and lamb products spiked with carbon monoxide. But they are sold in less than 15 percent of stores, mainly on the East and West coasts, a spokeswoman said.
Only a fool eats meat from Wal-Mart. If you can't afford better meat, you can always eat less meat. After all, this is your health we're talking about here.
Update - Reading the comments, it looks like I need to clarify two things:
1. Wal-Mart eliminated every butcher in its stores to eliminate the threat that they might unionize. Therefore, the only kind of meat Wal-Mart sells is case-ready meat. I should have repeated that somewhere above.
2. It's not the carbon monoxide that bothers me, it's the fact that consumers won't notice spoilage. To me, it's like Upton Sinclair's The Jungle all over again.
JR