Red meat is dyed?

[Keket]

I've been told by some people that red meat in grocery stores is dyed to look more red, to fool the consumer into thinking it's fresher. And that the liquid that comes out of a piece of meat isn't blood/proteins, it's the dye.

Can anyon confirm this? I've done an internet search, but all I'm getting is FOAF stories. It seems suspicious to me, since it would run afowl of food labelling laws.

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Originally Posted by Keket

It seems suspicious to me, since it would run afowl of food labelling laws.

Wouldn't that make it turkey, duck, or chicken, rather than red meat?

[Keket]

D'oh. Afoul. Yes. That may be the funniest typo I've ever made.

It's almost supper and I'm starving, can you tell?

[Eddylizard]

I have been told (little or no proof) that red meat in sealed plastic packages has carbon monoxide added to the sealed pack to form carboxyheamoglobin in the red blood cells which is a stable and attractive shade of red.

ETA http://hsibaltimore.com/2006/09/05/c...-preservative/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021901101.html

[AnglRdr]

We purchase shares in a calf along with the rest of The Girl's family, which is then privately processed and packaged in "Not for sale" containers, so there is no need to dye the meat.

It is red.

[amorrison50]

Waffles.

white text

[amorrison50]

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

We purchase shares in a calf along with the rest of The Girl's family, which is then privately processed and packaged in "Not for sale" containers, so there is no need to dye the meat.

It is red.

Same with venison.

[rhiandmoi]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/...ltry/index.asp

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

I have been told (little or no proof) that red meat in sealed plastic packages has carbon monoxide added to the sealed pack to form carboxyheamoglobin in the red blood cells which is a stable and attractive shade of red.

ETA http://hsibaltimore.com/2006/09/05/c...-preservative/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021901101.html

In addition, meat counters use lighting that makes the meat look redder. Some of the stuff seeping out of the meat is the water that may be pumped into meat during processing to "plump it".

I used to get great deals on buying up meat from supermarkets that had brown tinges where the blood was naturally breaking down. Absolutely nothing wrong with the meat (just needs rinsing), but people wouldn't buy it. I was getting £6 cuts for as little as £75p (mainly beef and lamb). It kept my elderly relatives in meat for ages (I ended up buying them a freezer to put it in) and a lot got chopped and stewed for the feral colonies at the cat shelter as a weekly treat.

[Troberg]

Isn't nitrite used to get a nice, red color on meat?

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

We purchase shares in a calf along with the rest of The Girl's family, ...

I am trying to figure out just what is being said here - is the calf part of The Girl's family, or are you just buying shares of The Girl's family?

Originally Posted by llewtrah

I used to get great deals on buying up meat from supermarkets that had brown tinges where the blood was naturally breaking down. Absolutely nothing wrong with the meat (just needs rinsing), but people wouldn't buy it. I was getting £6 cuts for as little as £75p (mainly beef and lamb).

My parents used to get a good bit of their meat this way and it was never a problem. Well, until they left it in their freezer too long and it got freezer burn. I wish the stores around here would still do that. We find some markdowns at Kroger, but usually not by all that much, maybe 25%

Say, is the bolded part above the proper way to write it when something sots 75 pence, or did you just have a lapse between using decimals or not?

[Eddylizard]

Originally Posted by A Turtle Named Mack

I am trying to figure out just what is being said here - is the calf part of The Girl's family, or are you just buying shares of The Girl's family?

I suspect you are joking, but if not I assume that "the girl" is part of AnglRdr's friend or close family circle. She and "the girl", "the girls family" and others all contribute something towards the upkeep of the calf, then when it is slaughtered they all recieve a share of the meat proportinate to what they have contributed.

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by A Turtle Named Mack

Say, is the bolded part above the proper way to write it when something sots 75 pence, or did you just have a lapse between using decimals or not?

Meant £0.75 / 75p, but trying unsuccessfully to multi-task!

[Joostik]

Originally Posted by Keket

And that the liquid that comes out of a piece of meat isn't blood/proteins, it's the dye.

It is neither -- it's Myoglobin.

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by Joostik

It is neither -- it's Myoglobin.

No, blood (probably only a trace), water, and decomposition products. Myoglobin and hemoglobin would both be present and both are about the same color. In addition, almost any complex mixture of organics will ten to be yellow to pink to red depending on exactly what it is and how long it has been sitting exposed to air.

Whatever the pink liquid is, it is still mostly water. Myglobin and the like would make up only a small percentage of the liquid. A decomposing cell releases more water than it does myglobin (or hemoglobin) or anything else.

[Eddylizard]

So out of curiosity when a piece of meat gets that pearlescent green sheen after a few days what is that?

[Linnea]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

So out of curiosity when a piece of meat gets that pearlescent green sheen after a few days what is that?

birefringence

[Joostik]

Originally Posted by jimmy101_again

No, blood (probably only a trace), water, and decomposition products. Myoglobin and hemoglobin would both be present and both are about the same color.

As you said, probably only a trace. In most meat products blood, which is not just hemoglobin but blood cells and all, should in principle not be present. The difference between white and red meat is not the presence of blood:

Muscle fibers need fat and oxygen for fuel. The fat comes from fatty acids in blood, and the oxygen is carried by the protein hemoglobin in blood. The hemoglobin hands off the oxygen to a close cousin, myoglobin, a protein liquid which travels through the muscle and passes it to the fibers.

In general, the more exercise a muscle gets, and the older the animal, the greater the need for myoglobin, and the darker the color of the meat. Red meat holds moisture better and is more flavorful than white meat.

Meat Science and Ribs

co-incidentally when I was looking at mince in my local shop, Ithought it looked "fat and plump" not just firm and coarsely minced.......

sorry I have to put this in.......