In the Bush era, consumer protection and advocacy is a hurdle that businesses must overcome, often with the help of their friends in the Administration (mostly former and/or future employees of the regulated businesses in question). I don't want meat manufacturers to be able to disguise their rotten, spoiled meat with cosmetics. Talk about putting lipstick on the pig....
Meat producers are enthusiastic about carbon monoxide, which in small quantities poses no risk when consumed. By keeping meat red it boosts sales of aging but still edible cuts that would otherwise be tossed or discounted because of poor appearance -- a waste the industry says costs it $1 billion a year.
[snip]
Already, several supermarket chains, including Giant Food, Stop & Shop and Safeway, have announced they will no longer sell carbon-monoxide-gassed meats. And Tyson Foods, the nation's largest processor of meat and poultry, recently said it would stop using the technology.
Those decisions came after the companies received five-page letters from Rep. John D. Dingell, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of the panel's oversight and investigations subcommittee -- Democrats from Kalsec's home state of Michigan.
The letters asked how the companies are ensuring that consumers are not being fooled about freshness and demanded reams of data going back several years. Among other sensitive issues, the congressmen asked for data on how often the companies' refrigerators get too warm and how much spoiled meat is returned by customers.
[From Hearing on Beef Packaging Fails Activists' Smell Test - washingtonpost.com]
On the other hand, meat industry lobbyists claim consumers are clamoring for maggots in their meals. Lobbyists like
Randy Huffman of the American Meat Institute Foundation in Washington. The industry is "fed up" with the suggestion that consumers are being duped, he said, adding that the meat "has enjoyed enormous consumer acceptance."Independent scientists, my arse. Industry shills is more like it.
Huffman said new data to be presented today along with a letter of support signed by 17 "independent scientists" should help allay safety fears. But the industry has its work cut out for it.
