Treating Meat with Carbon Monoxide is Okay - US FDA
Date: 22-Feb-06
Country: USA
Food and Drug Administration officials said the practice did not endanger food safety and did not mislead consumers.
"Colour is not a good indicator ... There are ways to tell meat is not fresh," said Laura Tarantino, director of FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety. Among them are foul odours when a package is opened or if the package bulges from gas buildup.
The Consumer Federation of America and Safe Tables Our Priority say FDA should prohibit use of carbon monoxide is so-called modified atmosphere packaging. In a Jan. 17 letter to FDA, they said the practice "is inherently misleading."
"By extending the appearance of freshness ... the addition of carbon monoxide masks the true colouration and any evidence of spoilage or microbial contamination is not apparent," said the letter, submitted as part of a challenge to the practice by Kalsec Inc. The challenge was filed in November 2005.
Tarantino said she could not suggest a date when FDA would rule on the petition.
The US meat industry suggested FDA expedite its review of the petition, which it described as a squabble between business competitors. There was no food safety risk, said the American Meat Institute, a trade group for meat processors.
"Carbon monoxide packaging systems stand to make obsolete Kalsec's product," wrote AMI. "That's what this entire petition and accompanying PR campaign are all about."
Tarantino said use of carbon monoxide in meat packaging began a few years ago. A variety of other foods also are sold under modified atmosphere packaging.
