Food industry defends carbon monoxide use in meat

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two of the biggest U.S. meat processors on Tuesday defended a packaging technique designed to keep meat looking fresh at grocery stores even as U.S. lawmakers criticized it as unsafe and misleading.

Packers use carbon monoxide to stabilize the color of meat, but some Democrats said the process misleads consumers by making the products look safer than they really are, and puts the public at risk of eating spoiled meat.

Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan Democrat and chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, called the practice deceptive and "a potential health threat," and accused U.S. regulators of "turning a blind eye" toward health dangers.

Earlier this year, Stupak launched a probe into the practice and has proposed the use of a safety notice on meat and fish products treated with carbon monoxide.

Since then, food retailers Giant, Safeway Inc and Tyson Foods Inc have stopped the practice.

On Tuesday, discount retailer Target Corp asked USDA for approval to add a warning to the label of meat that has been treated with carbon monoxide sold in its stores.

At the hearing, top executives with Hormel Foods Corp and Cargill Inc told lawmakers they supported a product label encouraging consumers to depend on a "use by" or "freeze by" date rather than color to determine the safety of their meat or fish.

"Consumers are not eating bad product and are not being deceived by this technology," said Hormel Chief Executive Jeffrey Ettinger.