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Carbon Monoxide in your Food

Two years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided it was OK to pump a little carbon monoxide (the toxic stuff found in tailpipe exhaust) into the pre-packaged ground beef you buy at the grocery store.

Why? To keep it looking nice and fresh – even if it’s on the verge of spoiling. The gas helps meat retain a bright, red color for weeks, instead of slowly turning gray as it goes bad.

The meat industry says there’s nothing harmful about it, but even if you don’t mind a little carbon monoxide in your evening meal, consumer groups say this practice deceives people into buying meat at or over its expiration date because it still looks fresh. Eating meat that has started to spoil can cause food poisoning.

There are no labels on the meat stating whether it has been packaged this way. If consumers want to know, it’s up to them to ask their local grocery store whether it buys meat packaged in this way.

For more information on this story, go to click here or read the article in the Denver Post.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org