DEAR DR. GOTT:
My in-laws insist that beef sold in most supermarkets is dyed red and they soak their meat to remove the dye. Is this true?
My oldest daughter has hives often and we have traced their occurrence to red food dye. Occasionally she will have an ongoing case of hives, which we cannot trace. We think it must be stress related, but now I wonder if it might be caused by meat consumption. Aren’t meat packaging companies required to list dye on package labels if they add it?
DEAR READER:
Red meat starts out red but the longer it sits on store shelves, the more it turns brown. This is not a sign that the meat is bad, but most consumers will by-pass it for redder meat. Therefore, in 2004, the FDA gave several large meat packers permission to inject carbon monoxide into the meat package. This makes the meat stay red, often even after the product has spoiled. While the amounts used probably will not cause a health problem, it does lend itself to other difficulties. Most consumers are unaware of this “additive”. It is not listed on the label because it does not get injected directly into the meat. It also increases the chances (should your supermarket be less than honest) of purchasing outdated, spoiled or near use-by-date meat.
I do not know if US meats contain red dye. I do know that some meat companies are under scrutiny in the UK for adding food dyes that may cause cancer.
If you are truly concerned about food dyes in your meat products, you may wish to purchase them from a butcher shop. This way you get incredibly fresh product without the fear of additives from major meat packers. Another option is simply to stop eating red meat. Chicken, turkey, and fish contain the same protein, have less fat and can be used in place of beef or pork in most dishes.
I suggest that you take your daughter to an allergist to be tested. Perhaps she is allergic to more than red food dyes. In this way, you can find out the cause of her hives, provide treatment and improve the quality of her life. If the hives are truly stress related, perhaps counseling to learn ways to deal with stress is in order.
About Dr. Gott