Well, before I get into the steak issue, I would like to say that I don’t shop at Walmart. I always have a hard time finding products at Walmart that I am willing to feed to my family. To be honest, I view Walmart as a culprit to our nations poor health. Yes, it does come down to choices we make, but selling really cheap junk food in poor areas doesn’t help the issue either.
So, last summer I was watching Masterchef and noticed that they constantly advertised steaks from Walmart. Gordon Ramsey, a guy who claims to be all about quality, allowed Walmart to sponsor the show? It made me wonder. So maybe, I thought, Walmart had changed their approach to quality and shifted their gears toward healthier options. I decided to take a closer look, and apply my professional investigative skills – to unleash my inner Hercule Poirot.
Why I would never buy Walmart steak:
Walmart Steak is marketed as “USDA Choice premium steak”. Can we really trust this label? The USDA grading system is a voluntary system which is sponsored by the beef industry. Grades are assigned by USDA inspectors to all beef carcasses during processing… basing it on the age of the animal and the degree of marbling. They give the highest grade to the most tender, juiciest cuts. Well, here is a problem – the healthiest red meet comes from grass fed cows. These cows don’t get fed grains and all that genetically modifies commercial stuff, they eat grass. And the truth is, grassfed beef is not as tender and juicy. The USDA would probably not rate it as premium prime or choice beef. However, the grassfed kind is the healthiest type of beef for you. Studies have demonstrated that Grass-fed beef contains more conjugated linoleic acid, which, improves the immune system and help fight type 2 diabetes, cancer, and atherosclerosis.
Walmart, however, waters down its meat. As a rule, the entire food industry usually injects meat with water (and other chemicals) in order to enhance the taste and add more tenderness. If you look at Walmart steak, it should say in a smaller print “Enhanced with a 15% solution”. This is why conventional steak is a bit cheaper, as you are basically paying for some water. They also do it to prolong shelf life and add weight to the meat. Additionally, the word”solution” can mean a lot of things – not just water. It can be turkey broth, salt, sugar, sodium phosphates or even artificial flavoring.
Walmart steak is injected with carbon monoxide. They use carbon monoxide to keep their meats looking fresh and pink. So, if you trying to determine the freshness of Walmart meat by its color, I suggest you pick a different technique. When meat is treated with carbon monoxide, it stays fresh looking for a long time. And did you know that carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that was actually illegal to add to meat in Europe ?
My advice to you, is to carefully read the fine print of the package.
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