Fresh beef, veal, pork, and lamb all have characteristic colors. For instance, fresh beef is usually bright, cherry red in color. Many consumers look for these colors as a sign of quality when purchasing meat. Some people become concerned when the products in the meat case at the grocery store do not have the expected colors. The color of meat, however, is the result of chemical reactions between pigments in the meat and oxygen in the atmosphere.
Visit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website and search for “The Color of Meat and Poultry” to read a fact sheet about the color of meat. Then answer the questions that follow.