Carbon Monoxide as a Food Additive

How many times have you thought to yourself, "Know what would make this meal perfect? Carbon monoxide!" I'd venture to guess none of you have ever thought that, being that carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and toxic! So, why then does the meat industry inject carbon monoxide in the packaging with meat? Revenue.

Carbon monoxide is FDA approved to be used as both an color additive and a color fixative. The Codex Alimentarius, the international standards set by the World Health Organization, describes color additives as, "an agent that adds or restores color in food", and color fixatives as, "an agent that stabilizes, retains or intensifies color." At least 2/3 of meat (beef, chicken, and fish) is not cut in front of the customer, prepared off-site, and treated with carbon monoxide to retain that fresh appearance. Studies, such as that of Jayasingh et al, are attempting to extend the lifespan of this pigmentation retention upwards of 21 days. (Jayasingh)

So, why is this troubling? Let us first look at the carbon monoxide itself. The deleterious effects of CO occur because CO binds more strongly than oxygen to hemoglobin in red blood cells, impairing oxygen transport to tissues. At a COHb concentration of about 2.5%, individuals with cardiovascular disease display changes in cardiac function and might report chest pain. (American Association of Meat Packers)

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

Low Levels of Exposure:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Temporary loss of muscle coordination
• Memory Damage
• Vision Damage

High Levels of Exposure:

• Impaired ability of blood to carry oxygen
• Convulsions
• Coma
• Respiratory Failure
• Lowered birth weight
• Nervous system damage in off-spring

Long Term Effects (Both Low/High Levels) of Exposure:

• Heart Disease
• Central Nervous System Damage
• Death

Just how much carbon monoxide is somebody exposed to when eating meat packaged this way? While unable to find the level of carbon monoxide present in the meat itself, there is a presence of 4000 ppm within the package. Cigarette smoke, by comparison, has only 2,600 ppm. (American Association of Meat Packers) These are numbers from AAMP, the American Association of Meat Processors, so there may be a conflict of interest as these are people within the industry wishing to dupe the consumer. The numbers may actually be much higher.

Moving past the dangers of carbon monoxide, there is an inherent risk of a consumer eating spoiled meat, as it looks fresh. Salmonella is a risk unless you've cooked the meat at over 150 degrees farenheit. E. coli is another risk, and while cooking the meat may kill the E. coli bacteria the toxins they release will remain. Bacillus and Clostridium, bear spores. Intense heat deactivates them, but they produce spores that resist freezing and cooking. These spores result in illness. Clostridium spores produce botulism, a major cause of food disease. Staphylococcus bacteria die from cooking, but leave toxins behind as well.

Symptoms of some of these food illnesses include:

• Nausea 
• Vomiting 
• Abdominal Cramping
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Fever
• Weakness/Fatigue
• Seizures
• Coma
• Kidney Failure
• Intellectual Disability (Long Term)
• Slowness of movement (Long Term)
• Blindness (Long Term)
• Hemiparesis - Inability to move one side of the body
• Death

 As posed within the Internet Journal of Food Safety, several questions remain about this practice:

• What percentage of carbon monoxide used in MAP is absorbed by the packaged meat? 
• Do meats of different animal origins (pork, chicken, beef, lamb, duck, deer, etc.) absorb carbon monoxide differently? If so, why?
• Do different cuts of meat absorb carbon monoxide differently? And if so, why?
• How does cooking (types: frying, baking, roasting, grilling, boiling, barbequing) affect the percentage of carbon monoxide present in cooked meat?
• What percentage of carbon monoxide is transferred to the consumer? 
• What are the possible health effects (short and long term) of consuming carbon monoxide?
• What are the possible molecular and cellular interactions that may result as a consequence of consuming carbon monoxide packaged meat products  (Pattron)

Also, why have other countries such as Japan, those in the European Union, and Canada banned such a practice, but the U.S.A. hasn't?

I'm afraid we must end with more questions than answers this time around.

Works Cited

American Association of Meat Packers. n.d. Web. 19 November 2012.

Jayasingh, et al. Evaluation of carbonmonoxide treatment in modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging to increase color stability of fresh beef. n.d. Web. 19 Novemeber 2012.

Pattron, Deryck Damian. Internet Journal of Food Safety. 2007. Web. 19 November 2012.