Carbon Monoxide Beats Meat Oxidization

Woah! The NY Times has an article about meat packers treating their meats with carbon monoxide to prevent oxidation. The two pictures of meat I just posted on the right are the same age. The red one was treated.

Supermarket chains including A.&P. and Pathmark do not carry the treated meat, but it is showing up with increasing frequency elsewhere. In New York City, it is sold at 30 Gristede's stores, at D'Agostino markets under the labels Laura's Lean Beef and Creekstone's, and at the Morton Williams stores in the Associated chain. A spokeswoman for Safeway did not respond to phone calls and e-mail messages about sale of the treated meat there, but it was available at a Safeway market in Bethesda, Md., earlier this month. SuperTarget stores are also selling it, and Wal-Mart reports carrying it in 150 stores.

I don't know how I feel about that. If the meat is still fresh, I think I'd rather it be treated with something to keep it looking fresh. If it's not fresh, I don't want it to look fresh.

I hope someday science invents something that makes food look like it is.