Target to start labeling carbon monoxide-treated meat
Posted by: admin in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: Products and services, Wal-Mart (WMT), Marketing and advertising, Target Corp. (TGT)
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) will soon start having its meat vendors label their products as having been treated with carbon monoxide. In general, treating fresh meat with carbon monoxide makes meat appear fresh to the shopper, much like treatment with sodium nitrite does. Both products, however, are really not something you want to ingest into your body. The only problem is that labeling laws don’t really require this information to be highlighted on meat labels.
So, Target wants to be more truthful with its customers. Remember, it’s Target’s product you’re buying — not Hormel’s or Cargill’s. Even though those two companies are the main meat vendors, the last stop is Target’s shelves. Target made a very good decision. Empowering customers with information is something that retailers better wake up to. Your competitor will if you won’t.
The new labeling will read “Color isn’t an accurate indicator of freshness. Refer to use or freeze by date.” Just like food coloring is used to spruce up pre-packaged and processed foods, the inclusion of carbon monoxide in fresh meats (well, not that fresh) is something many customers want to know about. Next up, we’ll see if Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) responds to Target’s initiative and requires the same labeling changes from its pre-packaged meat vendors.
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