If you're like most grocery shoppers, you select a package of meat—say, ground beef or steak or stew beef—by features like how it's cut, how lean it is, and if it looks fresh. And if you're like most shoppers, you judge freshness not just by the meat's "sell-by" date, but by its color. If it looks bright red and juicy, it must be fresh—right?

Not necessarily. It turns out the US beef industry has been packing case-ready beef (meaning it's shipped pre-packaged from a remote beef processing facility and shipped to your local retailer, rather than trimmed and packaged by your local butcher or supermarket) in a blend of gases that includes nitrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

That's right: That amazing fresh, bright, juicy red is getting a boost from gas. It's a color-enhancement process the industry calls "modified atmosphere packaging," or MAP. It's legal, legitimate, widespread—and arguably deceptive.

Hordur Kristinsson, PhD, of the Food Science and Human Nutrition Dept. at the University of Florida, is one of the region's top experts on the MAP process. According to Kristinsson, while there is no evidence that eating what he calls "carbo-beef" (carbon- monoxide- or -dioxide packaged beef) poses a health risk, "you could buy beef that still looks red but could be spoiled."

Kristinsson says scientific studies show that "the color shelf-life has gone beyond the microbial shelf life." In other words, the meat may look great but actually smells and tastes awful.

WKMG Local 6 conducted a side-by-side time test using fresh case-ready ground beef and fresh ground beef. We bought the case-ready beef at Super Target and the fresh ground beef at Publix, and kept both meats refrigerated. Seven days later the case-ready beef was still a bright, cherry red. The fresh-ground beef was light gray.

Publix refuses to sell case-ready beef that's treated with carbon monoxide because "it's deceptive." On the other hand, Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear says it's safe. "Target has high food-quality standards," says Thornton-Greear. "We follow all regulations and requirements as outlined by the FDA, USDA and other health organizations."

Kevin Sherin, MD, Orange County Health Director, has strong concerns that case-ready beef could put people at risk: "People don't realize that ground beef doesn't have a long shelf life," which may be "only a couple of days."
In July, Consumer Reports published a study using ten packages of case-ready beef. The sell-by dates suggested they were still fresh. Yet according to Consumer Reports, "two samples were already spoiled."

Food safety isn't the only issue, Sherin says. "The consumer has the right to know. We need adequate labels so the consumer can make that decision." But Marion F. Aller, Director of Food Safety for the state of Florida, says Bronson supports the FDA position that the case-ready beef is perfectly safe, and doesn't feel labels are necessary.
Aller also suggested in a letter to Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart that there was no tampering with sell-by-date labels on record: "Violations of this nature are extremely rare."

The Consumer Federation of America has asked the FDA to ban modified atmosphere packaging. To date, the FDA is standing by its policy, but it is considering placing advisory labels on packages of case-ready beef.

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Mike Holfeld is a reporter for WKMG Local 6 News, and a regular contributor to Seminole magazine.