Tag Archives: ANSC 307

Persistent pinkness in ground beef patties

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Persistent pinkness in cooked ground beef patties is of considerable concern for food service establishments. Consumers view ground beef patties that are pink in the middle as being undercooked and unsafe when, in reality, these patties may be fully cooked and safe to eat. Persistent pinkness can be caused by reducing agents, pH, nitrite contamination, and/or carbon monoxide from gas ovens. Raw beef contains myoglobin, which combines with oxygen to form oxymyoglobin, which has a bright red color. Meat color is regulated (mostly) by a heme ring on… Read More →

Brown color inside packages of ground beef

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One of the frequent questions we have received from consumers over the years is this one: “Why is my package of ground beef red on the outside, but brown in the middle?” We have had this question and answer on the Meat Science web page for years and have received many notes from retailers who have thanked us for providing this response to a question they have received many times from skeptical consumers. In steaks and roasts packaged in overwrap film, the color of the outside of the… Read More →

“A Steer’s Not All Steak”

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While I was cleaning out my files and trying to scan some of them for safe-keeping, I ran into this wonderful brochure entitled a A Steer’s Not All Steak, which was written by the Beef Industry Council of the National Live Stock and Meat Board decades ago.  I am not sure when this brochure was first prepared, but I do remember seeing it in the 1970s. Why this brochure means so much to me is that I always teach about this concept in ANSC 307 when I talk… Read More →