Have you seen the packages of beef with a bright red color on the grocery store shelves? They look so fresh that they must have been cut, packaged, and put out this morning… or were they? It turns out that the color of meat is being manipulated by unnatural means – specifically gases like Nitrogen, CO2, and even Carbon Monoxide. Yes, that scentless, deadly gas is what they spray a large amount of store-bought, pre-packaged meat with. Now, they claim it is not a harmful amount of gas, but it is causing harm to consumers across the country who buy products that look fresh but really could not be further from it. This color manipulation happens through a process called MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) and we want to show you why Vacuum-Sealed is so much better.
When Red Is Not Really Red
I am sure we can remember the time the infamous “Dress” photo floated around the internet that had people seeing different colors while looking at the same picture. Was it Blue and Black or White and Gold? It actually was all a trick of the eye. Turns out, the color of the meat in your grocery store is a trick of the eye as well. In this instance though, they want us to see a color that should not be there. Through MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging), Companies remove the oxygen that causes meat to lose its red color and replace it with a different mixture of gases to slow the process of going from red to more of a brown. This means the meat could be going bad on the inside and still look brand new on the outside, deceiving you and robbing you of buying fresh, quality products. Also, the gases they use are rarely told to customers on the package.
Brown is Better?
Now, keeping products away from oxygen is not bad; that helps the food stay fresher for longer. It is what some people add in place of it that is worse. That is why Times Right has Behrmann Meats vacuum-seal most of our beef and pork. It removes the oxygen and locks the meat in an air-tight vacuum, keeping it fresh and locking in the quality. With vacuum sealing, you may see your beef has a brownish, red color before opening it. Do not be alarmed, that is what happens when the beef and pork is kept from oxygen. When you open it up to fresh air, the cut of meat will go through a process known as “Blooming” and regain that red color as it interacts with the oxygen which gives you the color and flavor that you crave.
Don’t Follow The “MAP”
One of the most concerning things about MAP is that companies do not have to display the gases they have added to the packaging because it is not considered an ingredient. Ironically, the only way to tell if your red meat, colored by gas, is bad, is to see if the packaging is expanding from the gas bacteria produce inside. One sure fire way to avoid spoiled meat on the shelves is to never buy puffed up packages. The better option is to buy Vacuum-Sealed packages though. Even though vacuum sealing doesn’t give you that fake, bright red color, it does give you assured freshness, easy storage, and fresher products than MAP ever could. So, if you shop at a chain grocery store for your meat, be mindful of the products you buy. Color does not communicate freshness and quality the way you think it does!
