Consumers cannot trust color to gauge the freshness of a precut slab of beef. The shrink-wrapped steak in the local supermarket may have been sitting around for weeks but still retains the rosy redness of a fresh cut. This is all thanks to a technique, called "Modified Atmospheric Packaging," where food is treated with carbon monoxide prior to packaging. The gas retards oxidation and keeps case-ready meat from turning brown even at near room-temperature. The process does not prevent the meat from spoiling and beef treated with this technique is more likely to grow more salmonella. (Marian Burros, The New York Times, 21 February 2006)

Worried steak lovers may ask how they could identify beef treated with carbon monoxide. The answer is: they can’t. The FDA approved this process two years ago, classifying it as "generally recognized as safe" (See Fructose and GM foods for more brilliant GRAS classifications). Lacing beef with carbon monoxide does not reduce its safety, according to Laura Tarantino, FDA director of Food Additive Safety. (Rick Weiss, The Washington Post, 22 February 2006)

The problem is, the artificial redness masks what could be rotten meat. Color is the primary indicator for consumers to ascertain the quality of the beef. So argues Kalsec, Inc., a company which petitioned the FDA to classify carbon monoxide treatment as a food additive. Kalsec sells extracts intended to slow the oxidation of beef—a business threatened by the increased preference of meat processors for modified atmospheric packaging. (Rick Weiss, The Washington Post, 22 February 2006)

Business and competition is at the bottom of this recent debate after all. It would be lovely if, for once, the FDA concerns are motivated by pure public health interest.