I do not claim to know all there is to know about packaging meats, though I have listened to some interesting presentations on IMPROVING packaging and beef quality via better packaging and methods of packaging.
Previous posts by several people on this thread reveal a serious lack of knowledge that producers and others involved in the cattle/beef business really need to overcome.
fedup2, thanks for adding the points about the "controlled area" facet of the packaging, as well as the methods and time Norway has been doing this. I will add that Norway is a country associated with excellence in food quality.
BTW, don't you suppose when there are returns of spoiled meat the store is going to complain to the supplier, and that it will go right back to whomever packaged the stuff? I think they CAN and WILL find out if there is more than the most minimal problem.
Maybe I have been "lucky" in never getting bad beef in a store, and I do purchase it fairly frequently. Mainly to see what consumers are getting. To that end, I buy low cost, sometimes discolored beef from low cost stores in Pierre and Rapid City.
Have none of you noticed that beef discolors very quickly at home? I will say that our own beef from the locker is always frozen, so have to thaw it either in the fridge or very carefully in the microwave. It will discolor in a pretty short time. I question how long that cherry red color lasts in the real world, and know it is far less time than it takes for spoilage.
So, Sandhusker, that experience tells me that consumers judging freshness of beef by color alone may not be getting accurate information about "freshness". Maybe consumers need to pay more attention to "use by" dates than appearance, and also to return any product that isn't satisfactory. I have had good results returning other perishable foods both locally and in the big cities.
Sandhusker, there has been no evidence yet presented on this thread that says the meat color is the result of chemical reaction, but rather it is a result of EXCLUDING atmospheric conditions (normal air) that CAUSE the beef to change color PREMATEURELY (while it is still perfectly fresh and wholesome with NO spoilage present). If this doesn't answer your question, yes, I do have a problem with consumers using color as the ONLY guide to choosing fresh beef WHEN it may not be very accurate.
Do any of you really believe businesses WANT to pass of spoiled meat on their customers, given the problems that surely will cause them?
Mike, do you recognize the difference between the appearance of "fresshness" and the fact that beef CAN appear brownish and still be absolutely safe and wholesome? If not, why are stores allowed to grind beef that has lost its "bloom"?
The fact is that Walmart (and others) are fazing out the local butchers because it has been proven that the fewer hands the beef passes through in the process from carcass to consumer, the fewer contaminated products end up in consumers hands. Check it out! Sure there are probably cost savings, but that super packaging IN SIZES CONSUMERS WANT are far safer and give the consumer higher quality beef than the old ways. The possible exception MIGHT be where really expert meat cutters in smaller shops where high quality, top priced beef is moved in suitable quantities to make it financially feasible.
It is apparent more study is needed, certainly by producers, and possibly by unbiased government researchers. We need to know whether the modified atmosphere does CHANGE the color, or if it ALLOW the color to remain natural. We need to know how spoilage is detectable in meat so packaged. Consumers need to be informed of the modified atmospheric packaging. Given the information and choices in packaging, my guess is consumers will go for it. I sure would.
But then, I don't understand people who see conspiracies and desire and attempts to deceive and cheat customers rampant in every big business, either.
MRJ