Political Skullduggery

A Food and Drug Administration official indicated yesterday that she was unaware of any scientific studies showing that the color of a piece of meat is central to a shopper's decision to buy it or not -- even though a petition recently filed with the agency describes several such studies.

In a telephone news conference yesterday, Laura Tarantino, director of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, sought to allay consumer concerns about the safety and freshness of the nation's meat supply after revelations in The Washington Post that a growing proportion of prepackaged meats in the United States are spiked with carbon monoxide -- a gas that keeps even rotten meat looking red and fresh.

The agency has been asked to ban the practice, but Tarantino defended the FDA's decision to classify it as "generally recognized as safe," which allowed the meatpacking industry to use the gas without seeking formal FDA approval.

Carbon monoxide "does not reduce the safety of meat," Tarantino said, referring to meat-company-sponsored studies indicating that treated meat is not more likely to harbor harmful bacteria than conventionally packaged meat.

That aspect of safety is essentially undisputed. But Tarantino appeared unacquainted with a significant body of data -- some of it generated by the meat industry -- indicating that red color is a central cue used by shoppers to determine the freshness of meats, which are increasingly sold in sealed, "modified atmosphere" packages.

The issue is not just about buying preference here.

If the meat still looks good well after the consumer has purchased it, some people might go ahead and serve it up to their families, regardless of smell or slime considerations.

Not everyone in the U.S. is an Einstein.

posted by Effwit @ 9:54 AM