*****waterlogged meat: how Wal-Mart (and others, now) are screwing you

YOu think thats bad, the reason eating hamburgers is so bad for you is for two reasons:

1) Even on the leanest pieces of hamburger I have still managed to squeeze out several(10) teaspoonfulls of fat. When looking at the hamburger again I was surprised the fat actually made up to 20% of the volume of the burger even when the burger was advertised as super lean! or less than 5% fat! I can only conclude most of this fat was injected into the beef because most of it is easily seperable from the beef after thawing before cooking. God, I don't want to know what they inject into McKie Dee's burgers.

2) Small pieces of white specks, not fat (fat is more transperant and clay-like in consistency) pop-up. I have researched into what most of the white specks are-mostly skin, ligaments, anus-rim, genitals, ears, and eye-lids. This white mass makes up roughly 10-15% of the standard burger.

When you count in these interesting points in addition to the added saline solution only HALF of your burger is real meat, and that is usually in one of the best conditions. More and more often I am also seeing cornstarch as an ingrediant in the burger and it is something I can easily remove through squeezing the thawed burger. My quess is that on the average burger, 60% of it is not 'real' beef muscle.

Have fun eating dinner tonight.

runn wrote:

Americans just aren't with it enough to boycott a place like Wal-Mart. If we would simply buy products from smaller, local businesses, we wold have better products and prices would go down.

It's a big, stupid country.

Go to business school for a week. Just because you buy from small retailers, doesn't mean cost will come down. That's not how overhead cost works.

Someone said, why are you buying meat at Wal-Mart?

HOLY CRAP, WHY ARE YOU BUYING MEAT FROM WAL-MART?!?

alpha wrote:

This stuff is old news, try buying higher priced seafood in big chain grocers like lg. shrimp or scallops, notice thy're usually frozen and covered with ice/frost. They even get really annoyed when you request only thawed pieces.

Weigh it after its defrosted, you'll find you're paying for 15-25% water. At $12-17 per lb, this sucks big time.

Actually, frozen seafood is 'fresher' than 'fresh seafood'. Same goes with vegetables as well.

Saline is a preservative used to mimic physiological conditions. We use it in our lab (with rat studies) to preserve the muscle around the bone for later mechanical testing. I don't see anything wrong with it, besides possibly being bad for those with high blood pressure.

JD22 wrote:

I have a better question...WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BUYING MEAT AT WALMART?!?!?!?!?!?!

I have a better question... why are you buying meat?

whether frozen seafood is "fresher" than fresh seafood depends. if flash frozen at sea, sure. if not, i wouldn't necessarily bank on it. you'd know for sure if your store is likely to get frequent (i.e., daily) shipments of fresh seafood. if so, i'd bet that fish is "fresher." of course, frozen seafood tends to taste not quite as good as fresh. and i'd be concerned about some of the "preservatives" that are added to frozen seafood (same goes for "fresh" that has been on ice for a few days, though). if you want good seafood, get to know the guy/gal who runs the seafood counter or fish store. they'll usually know when stuff was caught. i feel sorry for people who don't live near coasts or, at the least, large cities because they certainly don't get any of what i would call fresh (caught in last 12-18 hours).

homogenizedmilk wrote:

2) Small pieces of white specks, not fat (fat is more transperant and clay-like in consistency) pop-up. I have researched into what most of the white specks are-mostly skin, ligaments, anus-rim, genitals, ears, and eye-lids. This white mass makes up roughly 10-15% of the standard burger.

You guys should really get over your "ewwwwwww, I can't eat that" problem. Sissies. I'm not joking when I say this, there are people all over the world (not just Africa) that would love to eat a good ol american cheeseburger. You guys are hypocrites to the max. You claim to be so healthy yet every day most of you drive to work, drink beer and go out to clubs or bars full of smoke. Quit crying hypocrites.

If you want to live "healthy," you should look at yourself before trying to blame Wal-Mart or somebody else. Typical everyday americans, that's why other countries don't like us. It's always someone else's fault.

Doesn't it mention in Kitchen Confidential that Tues. and Fri. are most often the shipment dates for fresh seafood in restaurants? Don't know if the same holds true at a butcher shop.

true. but better restaurants get shipments almost every day.

poultry is injected to help keep it from drying out while cooking.

Your second point is wrong. At the super market the process of making ground beef is simple. First take a number of beef loins and run them through the machine. second run through again this time adding pieces of scrap fat. There is nothing scientific about adding the fat.

The beef you eat is not "skin, ligaments, anus-rim, genitals, ears, and eye-lids" That stuff is long gone by the time the beef comes to your neighborhood store.

your turn wrote:

You guys should really get over your "ewwwwwww, I can't eat that" problem. Sissies. I'm not joking when I say this, there are people all over the world (not just Africa) that would love to eat a good ol american cheeseburger. You guys are hypocrites to the max. You claim to be so healthy yet every day most of you drive to work, drink beer and go out to clubs or bars full of smoke. Quit crying hypocrites.

If you want to live "healthy," you should look at yourself before trying to blame Wal-Mart or somebody else. Typical everyday americans, that's why other countries don't like us. It's always someone else's fault.

So what you're saying is, we should stop demanding high food standards because others on the other side of the world aren't in a similar fortunate position? Do you also believe your kid shouldn't get to learn calculus in high school because my kid isn't smart enough to do that?

So in order to stop being hypocritical, you would have us keep quiet and do as we are told by commercials, than actually (gasp) consider healthier standards?

And by the way, other countries don't like us because of just that. They see us as a very powerful nation capable of very positive things but they hate us because we don't vote, don't care to see the world from any nonamerican perspective, and are too stupid to know how much better things could be if we only pulled out heads out of our a**es.

I think you can demand high standards for your food. You've actually succeeded and been rewarded with Whole Foods market etc... It's the complaining about Wal-Mart for selling the skin, eyelids, blah, blah, blah. Don't eat it if you're trying to live healthy. Don't bitch about it if you buy it at Wal-Mart. You're the one who walked through the door. On one hand, I want to say let people make their own decisions but on the other hand, I have to say we shouldn't let some people make the choice to breed.

The responsibility is on us. Not Wal-Mart or any other business. Free market will eventually reign. Money is what talks, not your complaint. Once again, if you want to let commercials tell you what to do that's your thing, I personally will not. The hypocrite part I'm complaining about is when people listen to the commercials, do what they tell them to do, and then complain about them. For example, all the SUV's in Boulder with Greenpeace stickers on them. I'm sure you get the point as I can sense some intelligence in your post.

I'm very aware and agree there is more to why people hate America than I pointed out. I love America and being American. On the other hand, I hate America's world views and attitudes (for the most part). Unfortunately, I don't believe I have the money to make a difference. But...I do vote.

exactly. what you're seeing is the market in action. people want (or, in some cases, need) cheap stuff. they don't care all that much about what's in it. wal-mart delivers a cheap product. you want a better product, you're going to have to pay for it because it costs more. and most people live in places where they can acquire higher quality goods. so vote with your dollars. i see the mid-level grocers (they're different all across the country, i'm talking about the ones between wal-mart and whole foods) putting some of the higher quality stuff you see at whole foods in their stores - often at a savings. i'm guessing this may eventually trickle down to wal-mart.

Scrapple is pork based, not beef based. It includes all the parts of the pork that are not good enough to go into hot dogs. Sorry if leaving that out of my previous message caused confusion.

This article is not up to date-the use of CO2 in prepackeged ground meat is now allowed--typically you see it in a deep container with the plastic film not touching the meat.

Introduction

In purchasing fresh retail meat, the microbiological shelf life, color and general appearance are important features to the consumers. Underlying these features, food safety and product confidence has been increasingly emphasized. Growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria is generally reduced by stringent hygienic standards, low storage temperatures and by using modified atmospheres packaging (MAP), the latter by increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or removal of oxygen (O2). Color of meat is very important at the point of purchase, and establishing and maintaining a bright red and attractive color during retail display is still a challenge. Usually, meat is wrapped in an O2permeable film that allows blooming, but results in a poor color stability. An improved, but still limited color stability is achieved by packaging meat in high O2atmospheres, with minimum 60 % O2. High O2packaging currently has 10 – 40 % of the retail red meat market share in most countries in Western Europe, but is less common in other parts of the world.Carbon monoxide (CO) has the ability to form a stable bright red or cherry red color of meat, even in very low concentrations. The color properties of CO were known over 100 years ago, when a patent ona CO2/CO gas mixture for meat was granted (cited in Church, 1994). In 1985, the Norwegian meat industry started to use a CO mixture with 0.3 – 0.5 % CO/ 60 – 70 % CO2/ 30 – 40 % nitrogen (N2). This low CO packaging has grown to a current market share of 60 % of the Norwegian retail red meat market. CO in concentrations of 0.5 % or less is temporarily allowed for meat packaging in Norway, however CO is not permitted for this purpose in the USA and European Union (EU) (Cornforth, 1994; European Parliament and Council Directive, 1995).

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3The aim of this review is to address the different ways of using CO in meat packaging, in particular aspects related to color, microbiological spoilage, pathogenic bacteria, toxicology, workers′ safety and food regulations. Inview of the controversial nature of CO, we will try sort out some myths and facts, and discuss future developments in the use of CO. Research on CO PackagingA number of reports have been published on packaging and treatment with atmospheres containing CO. The use of CO in retail meat can be divided into three categories:• packaging and storage in low CO concentrations, 0.1 – 2.0 %, mainly for color purposes (Table 1)• packaging and storage in high CO concentrations, 5 – 100 %, both for color and antimicrobiological purposes (Table 1)• pretreatment with high CO concentrations, 5 – 100 %, followed by vacuum packaging and storage, affecting both color and microbiological status (Table 2)ColorThe main function of CO in MAP of meat is to make a stable, bright red color, as a result of the strong binding of CO to deoxymyoglobin and formation of carboxymyoglobin. The spectrum of carboxymyoglobin is very similar to that of oxymyoglobin (Tappel, 1957), but

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4carboxymyoglobin is more resistant to oxidation (Lanier et al., 1978). CO in concentrations of 1 and 5 % increased the reduction of metmyoglobin, even in the presence of air (Lanier et al., 1978). Without CO present, meat in CO2/N2atmospheres is vulnerable to discoloration by myoglobin oxidation due to residual O2, occurring in beef with less than 0.1 % O2(Gill & McGinnis, 1995).Several studies have documented that low concentrations of CO, 0.1 – 2.0 %, improve meat color and color stability (Table 1). These reports include meat of beef, pork and poultry. The color improvement by CO seems to be valid if the other gases in the atmospheres are CO2, N2, O2or air. When increasing the CO concentration to 2 %, the color was characterized as “too artificial” by a sensory panel (Renerre & Labadie, 1993). Therefore, concentrations of 0.4 – 1.0 % CO can be regarded as sufficient and suitable for color purposes by MAP of meat.By including 2 % CO in air, El-Badawi et al. (1964) managed to stabilize the color of beef for 15 days, compared to 5 days in air only. Experiments of beef packaged in 0.1 – 10 % CO in N2, showed that concentrations of 0.5 % or more stabilized color for more than 30 days (Clark et al., 1976). Studies of beef and pork packaged in a 0.4 % CO/ 60 % CO2/ 40 % N2mixture, resulted in a bright red color of the meat until termination of the microbiological shelf life (Sørheim et al., 1999). The color quality and stability of beef steaks was better in the CO mixture than in a 70 % O2/ 30 % N2mixture or vacuum at both 4 and 8 °C. Steaks in the high O2atmosphere had a bright red color initially, but it deteriorated during storage, more rapidly at 8 than 4 °C. Bone blackening in pork chops was prevented by packaging in a 0.4 % CO mixture, probably as a result of CO binding to haemoglobin in the bone marrow(Sørheim et al. 1999). Luño et al. (1998,

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52000) combined 0.1 – 1.0 % CO with gas mixtures containing 24 or 70 % O2as an approach to obtain a more natural color of beef. A minimum of 0.5 % CO was needed for stabilizing color for an extended time. Concentrations of 0.1 and 0.25 % CO also improved color, but only at the early stage of storage. Another approach for utilizing the positive effects of CO on meat color, is to pretreat fresh meat with CO, and maintain the bright red color by continued storage in vacuum packages (Rozbeh et al., 1993; Brewer et al., 1994; Jayasingh et al., 2001) (Table 2). The exposure to CO varied with 5 – 100 % for 30 minutes up to 24 hours. Jayasingh et al. (2001) recommended to pretreat beef steaks with 5 % CO for 24 hours resulting in a high color stability, but not exceeding the microbiological shelf life of the meat. In contrast, pretreatment of beef with CO followed by storage under an O2permeable film, did not improve color stability (Clark et al.,1976). Thus, continued storage under anaerobic conditions seems crucial to preserve the bright red carboxymyoglobin.The penetration of CO and depth of formation of carboxymyoglobin in the meat is dependent on the concentration of CO in the atmosphere, the length of CO exposure, and the structure of the meat (Jayasingh et al., 2001). While 0.5 % CO in ground beef penetrated at least 15 mm in one week, CO of the same concentration penetrated 3.5 mm in beef loin steaks after one week and 12 mm after 8 weeks. Exposure to CO as one of the causes for pink discoloration in cooked, uncured meat has been studied extensively, in particular for poultry (for reviews see Maga, 1994; Cornforth, 1994). Persistent redness in cooked ground beef patties was influenced by CO (Sørheim et al., 2001).

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6Patties containing carboxymyoglobin were cooked to an end point temperature of more than 80 °C while still having traces of pink color and an uncooked appearance. However, the pink color faded rapidly when the patty surfaces were exposed to air.The color of cooked meat products can also benefit from exposure to CO, as 1 % CO in a N2atmosphere stabilized the color of sliced bologna (Aasgaard, 1993). The reason for this color improvement is not known, but CO may bind to partly undenatured myoglobin.Microbiological Spoilage and Food SafetyIn MAP of meat, the effects of low concentrations of CO on microorganisms seem to be of either no or minor importance. However, Clark et al. (1976) found that by adding 0.5 – 10 % CO to N2atmospheres, the shelf life based on odor was extended and the growth of psycrotrophic bacteria was reduced at 0, 5 and 10 °C. In the evaluation of antimicrobiological effects of CO, considerations to other gases in the gas mixtures must be made. In most MAP of meat, bacteriostatic CO2in levels of 20 – 100 % is usually present. Low concentrations of 0.4 and 1 % CO did not affect microbiological loads of meat when applied in combination with atmospheres containing CO2(Sørheim et al., 1999; Luño et al., 1998). Therefore, in gas mixtures containing high levels of CO2, the possible antimicrobiological effect of low CO concentrations is likely to be overshadowed by CO2.

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7The microbiological benefits of using CO for MAP of meat is two-fold: O2can be omitted from the atmosphere, and concentrations of CO2can be high, from 60 to near 100 %. The absence of O2inhibits the growth of aerobic spoilage bacteria. In storage experiments of beef steaks, ground beef and pork chops in a 0.4 % CO/ 60 % CO2/ 40 % N2gas mixture, the shelf life, as evaluated by off-odor, increased with 2 to 7 days compared to storage in a 70 % O2/ 30 % CO2mixture at 4 and 8 °C (Sørheim et al., 1999). The microflora of the meat in the CO gas mixture was dominated by lactic acid bacteria, and this gas mixture reduced the growth of spoilage flora of Brochothrix thermosphacta and pseudomonads. Nissen et al. (2000) studied the growth of pathogens in ground beef stored in 0.4 % CO/ 60 % CO2/ 40 % N2at 4 and 10 °C. The CO mixture reduced the growth of Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes compared to a 70 % O2/ 30 % CO2atmosphere and chub packages. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was inhibited at 10 °C. However, growth of Salmonella spp. was not reduced in meat in the CO mixture at 10 °C, which emphasizes the importance of low storage temperatures for inhibiting these pathogenic bacteria.Exposure of pure bacterial cultures to high CO concentrations of 5 – 30 % in air, inhibited the growth of E. coli, Achromobacter and Pseudomonas fluorescens, but Pseudomonas aeruginosawas not affected (Gee and Brown, 1980). In another study, continuous storage of meat in 100 % CO reduced the development of off-odor and bacteria (Tsemakhovich and Shaklai, 2000). Pretreatment of beef steaks with 100 % CO for 30 minutes lowered aerobic plate counts by 1 log after 8 weeks of vacuum storage, compared to no CO pretreatment (Brewer at al., 1994).

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8Toxicology CO is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, which is mainly produced through incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials. Natural background levels of CO are 0.01 – 0.09 mg/m3(WHO, 1979). Elevated levels up to 20 mg/m3are recorded in urban areas. By far the most the common cause for elevated CO concentrations in the blood is tobacco smoking. CO binds to the iron atom of haemoglobin in red blood cells, forming carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb). The affinity of haemoglobin to CO is approximately 240 times higher than to O2(WHO, 1979). The binding of CO to haemoglobin is reversible, with a half-life of approximately 4.5 hours in individuals who are at rest.The COHb concentration in blood, often referred to as the COHb percent (COHb %), is a function of the CO concentration in the air, the exposure time, and the level of physical activity of the individual (Coburn et al., 1965). At COHb concentrations of approximately 2.5 %, sensitive individuals suffering from cardiovascular diseases, display changes in cardiac function and report chest pain. However, in healthy adults, no adverse health effects were described at COHb levels below 5 % (Aunan et al., 1992). The average COHb concentration in non-smokers is 1.2 – 1.5 %, compared to 3 – 4 % in smokers. According to a Norwegian expert group, COHb levels greater than 2 % should be avoided to protect the most vulnerable individuals in the population. They recommended that COHb levels should not exceed 1.5 %, taking into consideration endogenous CO formation (Aunan et al., 1992).

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9In order to prevent a maximum COHb level in the blood of 1.5 % from being exceeded, the CO concentration in the air for a 1-hour period at moderate physical activity should not exceed 24 mg/m3, amounting to a CO intake of 15.1 mg (Sørheim et al., 1997). In comparison, meat that has been treated for 3 days in an atmosphere containing 1 % CO, yielded approximately 0.1 mgof CO per kg meat upon storage and cooking (Watts et al., 1978). Furthermore, the absorption of CO from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood is far less effective, compared with the absorption of the gas from the lungs. Consequently, it is highly improbable that the consumption of one meal of meat packaged in a low CO gas mixture will result in even measurable increases in the blood COHb level.Workers′ SafetyCO as a packaging gas has been evaluated for its potential hazard for workers in meat plants. If pure CO or high concentrations of CO were used for mixing of gases in the plant, they would pose a clear risk. However, the practice of Norwegian gas suppliers is either to deliver CO as a 1 % CO/ 99 % N2mixture and then blend this mixture with CO2on site, or as a complete 0.3 % CO/ 70 % CO2/ 30 % N2mixture. This practice is recognized by the Norwegian health authorities to be safe. Concentrations of CO in working environments should not exceed 29 mg/m3(Directorate of Labour Inspection, 1996). The concentration of gases, CO included, in working environments is monitored in meat plants on a voluntary basis.

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10High O2atmospheres must be handled carefully because they are explosive gas mixtures. In contrast, low CO gas mixtures are not explosive. Strict safety regulations apply to explosive gas mixtures, increasing the cost of equipment and packaging operations. Food RegulationsDespite the extensive knowledge and benefits of using CO in meat packaging, CO is presently not allowed for this purpose in the USA and the EU. The EU considers packaging gases as additives, and CO is not on the list of such gases. However, in Norway, CO in concentrations up to 0.5 % has temporarily been permitted for MAP of meat. Although Norway is not a member of the EU, the Norwegian food regulations are gradually being adopted to EU regulations due to trade agreements within the European Economic Area. Consequently, the Norwegian meat industry in the summer of 2000 applied to the EU Commission for continued and permanent acceptance of 0.5 % CO for meat MAP. The application is now under evaluation in the scientific committee of the EU Commission, and it is supported by meat trade organizations in many European countries.In the EU and Norway as well, current labeling regulations require packages with meat and other foods in modified atmospheres to be labeled with ”Packaged in a protective atmosphere”.

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http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:iv7XbSF6RksJ:www.fass.org/fass01/pdfs/Sorheim.pdf+Carbon+dioxide+used+to+preserve+ground+meat,&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10

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I worked at Kroger as a meat cutter back in the late 80's. Thats before they started buying everything pre-packaged.

The only bad thing we did was grind the outdated steaks and roasts into ground beef to get one more day shelf life. If you ever bought ground beef and it turned bad really fast... you were probably a victim of this.

Other than that, I can vouch that Kroger has VERY good meat. (back in the late 80's anyway)

I travel alot on my job and buy groceries instead of eat out to stay healthy. In California where I live, there are very few 24 Hour Wal Marts. People here generally don't know what the anti-Wal Mart fuss is all about that we hear on the news. I didn't either until I started travelling to other parts of the U.S.

Groceries at Wal Mart are really cheap. Tuna steaks are moderately priced. Overall, shopping at the 24-Hour Wal Mart saves you a ton of money over Marsh, Albertsons, Hy-Vee, Ralphs, Stater Brothers, Safeways, Vons, PW, Bashas, Dillons, Giant, Fred Mayer, Kroger, A&P, Bi-Lo, Smart & Final, Priced Chopper, Lucky, etc.

It's hard to pass up the prices. If I had a 24 Hour Wal Mart close to me when I was in college I would have shopped there.

And there you go. Mal-Wart is "all about low prices". That's the optimization they use. Ask any engineer about optimization and they'll tell you that it means that you increase performance in one area (in this case up-front cost to the consumer) at the expense of performance in other areas. It's very simple. I never expect the lowest cost anything to be of the highest quality (but that doesn't necessarily mean that highest cost is highest quality either because someone could be playing you for a fool). Consequently, although I assume that Mal-Wart may be competitive on price, I would not expect to get high quality, reliable, merchandise there. For this reason and many others, I do not shop at Mal-Wart, but I understand that for some people, the only thing that matters is up-front cost.

One reason why the meats are packaged the way they are at Mal-Wart is because a few years back their butchers were very close to getting organized (unionized). Unions are anathema to Mal-Wart, and to prevent them from getting a toe-hold, management simply fired all of the local butchers and went to a centralized system.

As far as fat/lean is concerned, always be aware that unlike virtually all other foods sold in the USA, the fat percentage of meat is by weight, not by calorie. For example, if you pick up a load of bread that says 5% fat, you know that if you ate 100 calories of bread you'd have consumed 5 calories worth of fat. For meat, 5% fat means that for every 100 grams of meat you eat, 5 grams are fat. This will be WAY more than 5% of calories. So-called "90% lean" meat, for example, gets over 50% of its calories from fat, not 10%. Using this same logic, you could drop one pound of lard into a bucket with 9 pounds of water and call it "10% fat" even though it's 100% of calories from fat.

For people from California and other places where there aren't 24 Hour Wal Mart Supercenters everywhere, there are generally two types of Wal Marts, the regular 'Wal Mart' and the 24 Hour Wal Mart Supercenter. The former does not sell many groceries, just milk, soda, some dry snacks and canned soups, the later has a huge grocery store with vegetables, fruits, tofu, fresh fish, fresh meats, dairy, and frozen foods.

In some parts of the country, such as Indianapolis, the 24 Hour Supercenters are spaced only 5 miles apart. Whereas in the Frisco area, there are few, Gilroy, and Stockton, that I know of. Keep in mind all this info is from the top of my head, I could be a bit or even alot off.

The groceries are generally all made in the U.S.A. I can see though, how the small mom and pops get driven out of business easily by the Wal Mart behemoth. I find travelling around that supermarket prices vary. I think some charge more based on whether there are any competitors around.

Since so many NCAA and USATF championships have been at Sacramento State in recent years. I heard friends at the hotel I was at near the stadium, complain at this summer's NCAA Championships about the ridiculously high prices at the Safeway supermarket nearby Sacramento State. I shopped there too, and yes it is expensive. Again, maybe Safeway charges more at that location based on the lack of competition, I don't know that business. People on a budget who can't afford it will go to cheaper places. That's there choice. I can't blame them.

This is standard practice throughout the industry to maximize profits. If they can pump 10 percent water into meat, that is essentially an added 10 percent profit on each piece of meet minus the very low cost of the actual pumping of the water in terms of labor and materials. Is this ethical..no but it is hardly surprising..

Go to your post speed watering hole and order a mixed drink or a shot...do you really think that the bar does not wate down their booze. It is not a question of yes or no but how much.

If a bar owner waters down a bottle of Jack Daniels by adding 20 percent water..do you think anyone will really notice especially if it is a mixed drink? How aperson who is titally loaded and is drinking shots...I think not