Beef Myth Busting Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Is there any difference between the ground beef we find at the grocery store compared to what we get from our local farmer or rancher?
JBT FoodTech’s David Hayden says ground beef in the grocery store will typically be a bright cherry red color, while what you get from the farmer or rancher will be more of a purple color …
HAYDEN … “The reason being is that package at the grocery store is an oxygen permeable package,” Hayden said. “It allows oxygen to free flow through the film that you see over the top of ground beef. It allows the oxygen to actually bind to the myoglobin protein in the product, allowing it to bloom into a nice, bright cherry red.”
So, if you take ground beef in “chub” packaging and open it up, allowing it to breathe for ten to fifteen minutes, it will turn from that purple color to bright cherry red, just like the grocery store beef.
There is a lot of regulation around ground beef, Hayden says, and what you get from the grocery store is not pumped full of additives and moisture …
HAYDEN … “No ground beef sold on the market straight from the source from your farmer or rancher or from the grocery store can have anything other than ground beef in it. The USDA just will not allow it. That is part of the regulation around ground beef. In addition, ground beef can also not be less than 70 percent lean. The product that you are purchasing has to be at least 70 percent protein and no more than 30 percent fat.”
Hayden says not every person has access to a farmer or a rancher that sells direct, so demonizing consumers who do not have that option will only create problems.
