It's About Hamburger Meat ...

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fzappa13

Well-known member
I've noticed for years that I would break into a package of hamburger meat and it would be pink on the outside and brown on the inside. I assumed that it was just the meat market manager covering older meat with newer to sell it. Yesterday I opened a pre-sealed container of hamburger meat (packaged like sausage) that I had thawed out, seasoned and left for a while. When I returned the meat on the outside was pink and the meat on the inside was noticeably browner. anyone one know what they are putting in ground beef to make it do this. I've done a little googling and ... nada.

... And I'm not referring to Pink Slime ... I think.
 
annabenedetti

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
From the USDA:

THE COLOR OF MEAT
5. When displayed at the grocery store, why is some meat bright red and other meat very dark in color?
Optimum surface color of fresh meat (i.e., cherry-red for beef; dark cherry-red for lamb; grayish-pink for pork; and pale pink for veal) is highly unstable and short-lived. When meat is fresh and protected from contact with air (such as in vacuum packages), it has the purple-red color that comes from myoglobin, one of the two key pigments responsible for the color of meat. When exposed to air, myoglobin forms the pigment, oxymyoglobin, which gives meat a pleasingly cherry-red color. The use of a plastic wrap that allows oxygen to pass through it helps ensure that the cut meats will retain this bright red color. However, exposure to store lighting as well as the continued contact of myoglobin and oxymyoglobin with oxygen leads to the formation of metmyoglobin, a pigment that turns meat brownish-red. This color change alone does not mean the product is spoiled (see explanation in question 2).
6. Why is pre-packaged ground beef red on the outside and sometimes grayish-brown on the inside?
These color differences do not indicate that the meat is spoiled or old. As discussed earlier, fresh cut meat is purplish in color. Oxygen from the air reacts with meat pigments to form a bright red color which is usually seen on the surface of ground beef purchased in the supermarket. The interior of the meat may be grayish-brown due to the lack of oxygen penetrating below the surface.
 
annabenedetti

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
Or it could be carbon monoxide.

Meat coloring

Carbon monoxide is used in modified atmosphere packaging systems in the US, mainly with fresh meat products such as beef, pork, and fish to keep them looking fresh. The carbon monoxide combines with myoglobin to form carboxymyoglobin, a bright-cherry-red pigment. Carboxymyoglobin is more stable than the oxygenated form of myoglobin, oxymyoglobin, which can become oxidized to the brown pigment metmyoglobin. This stable red color can persist much longer than in normally packaged meat.[72] Typical levels of carbon monoxide used in the facilities that use this process are between 0.4% to 0.5%.
The technology was first given "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002 for use as a secondary packaging system, and does not require labeling. In 2004, the FDA approved CO as primary packaging method, declaring that CO does not mask spoilage odor.[73] Despite this ruling, the process remains controversial for fears that it masks spoilage.[74][75] In 2007, a bill[76] was introduced to the United States House of Representatives to label modified atmosphere carbon monoxide packaging as a color additive, but the bill died in subcommittee. The process is banned in many other countries, including Japan, Singapore, and the European Union.[77][78][79]
 
patrick jane

patrick jane

BANNED
Banned
i worked at a big grocery deli in the 80s, even then they had particular lighting, adding beet juice to ham salad and sandwich spread, perfectly harmless. kidding, we ground up butt ends of various bolognas and lunchmeats, some not so pretty, and mushed it together in mayo, relish and beet juice fore color. didn't take much juice. same process with butts of ham for ham salad. we buy meat at a "fancier" store than other items. i would complain, or find a new meat shop -
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
I'm going to try an experiment. Later this week I'll get some Wally World ground beef and some from an old country meat market I do business with and see what happens.
 
elohiym

elohiym

Well-known member
fzappa13 said:
I'm going to try an experiment. Later this week I'll get some Wally World ground beef and some from an old country meat market I do business with and see what happens.
Click to expand...

Suggestion: Get grass fed beef from the country meat market. :idunno:
 
zoo22

zoo22

Well-known member
Like anna said, carbon monoxide. When they package it, they suck the oxygen out and inject carbon monoxide. Not only beef, chicken and fish too.

I increasingly despise the meat industry. I've cut down a lot on meat. I pretty much stick to meat from the farmer's market or a butcher where I can learn about the farms. It's more expensive, but I eat it less, and I appreciate it more. It tastes better, it's healthier, and the animals have a more decent life.
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
zoo22 said:
Like anna said, carbon monoxide. When they package it, they suck the oxygen out and inject carbon monoxide. Not only beef, chicken and fish too.

I increasingly despise the meat industry. I've cut down a lot on meat. I pretty much stick to meat from the farmer's market or a butcher where I can learn about the farms. It's more expensive, but I eat it less, and I appreciate it more. It tastes better, it's healthier, and the animals have a more decent life.
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Sorta like me and whiskey.
 
annabenedetti

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
After learning about the chicken ranching industry a few years ago, I switched to free range eggs. The ones I buy are from a farm in my county, and I like that, I like the idea of local foods and supporting local small farmers and ranchers. Also, I buy ocean-caught fish, never farmed fish, and organic produce when I can, since I'd rather not have sixteen different pesticides on my strawberries.
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
annabenedetti said:
After learning about the chicken ranching industry a few years ago, I switched to free range eggs. The ones I buy are from a farm in my county, and I like that, I like the idea of local foods and supporting local small farmers and ranchers. Also, I buy ocean-caught fish, never farmed fish, and organic produce when I can, since I'd rather not have sixteen different pesticides on my strawberries.
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I drove down wind of a chicken processing plant once ... thankfully I had already stopped eating the stuff long before. I cook it and folks rave about it but ... you couldn't tell it by me. Love eggs though ...
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
Okay, I finally went down to my local small business butcher and got some hamburger meat. Kansas grain fed. When I got home and made burgers the meat was red through and through. I suspect my suspicions were correct. Something is up with big market burger meet.
 
Angel4Truth

Angel4Truth

New member
Hall of Fame
fzappa13 said:
Okay, I finally went down to my local small business butcher and got some hamburger meat. Kansas grain fed. When I got home and made burgers the meat was red through and through. I suspect my suspicions were correct. Something is up with big market burger meet.
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yes, it has more fat and because its prepackaged its a few days older - and has drained more already (youll notice the white cloth at the bottom of the meat inside the tray will be filled with blood)
 
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fzappa13

Well-known member
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against aged beef. I'm fine with it being brown. I'm just a little curious about what sort of chemical subterfuge is going on here.
 
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