City alderman targets meat treated with carbon monoxide
City alderman targets meat treated with carbon monoxide
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City alderman targets meat treated with carbon monoxide
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Post #1 - March 2nd, 2006, 11:34 amI think this is good news in such a time when everything in society is too drive profit over everything else (including individual health and safety). Big business will always cut corners to make a profit and hopefully this ban will protect consumers when buying red meats in the large chain supermarkets.
Chicago grocers would be banned from selling meat treated with carbon monoxide, and retailers would be prohibited from peddling gift cards that lose value, as part of a spate of consumer-friendly measures proposed Wednesday by Ald. Edward Burke (14th).
Some producers use gas on meat to retain its pink color while it is displayed in supermarket cases. The meat industry contends the product remains safe to eat after losing its natural color, but Burke said the European Union already has prohibited the practice, concluding it can be used to mask spoilage.
"I think consumers ought to have the right to examine the product and see how it looks," the alderman said. "If it ... is tired and old, the seller shouldn't be allowed to use artificial means to make it look fresh."
Under his proposal, violators would face fines ranging from $250 to $500 per offense. If approved by the City Council, the ordinance would go into effect 180 days after passage.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 9650.story
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Post #2 - March 3rd, 2006, 4:12 pmI think this, like Moore's foie gras proposal, means that Chicago aldermen don't have enough to do when it comes to governing the city, so they're mixing themselves up in areas in which they have no expertise. This is an issue for the FDA or, at the very least, the state department of agriculture.
Makes a nice headline for Burke, though, doesn't it? The alderman who cares about your health. Does he care what this proposal may do to the price of meat in the city if retailers have to go outside their regular suppliers to get untreated meat? Is he also going to ban special lighting and pink-tinted plastic wrap?
The color of meat is not a reliable indicator of freshness under any circumstances.