Someone needs to explain this please. I bought two packs of pork spare ribs from C-Town. One of them on the back non-meaty side had a bunch of blue dots. I first thought it was mold, but looked closer and figured it was colored dye so I proceeded by throwing it in the broiler. I then figured it wasn’t worth $4 to take a chance. Anyone have an explanation? Google doesn’t know. Why doesn’t Google know?
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I don’t know! I’m disappointed Google doesn’t know. I’ve seen blue ink on meat cuts before; but never like that. That’s strange… I hope someone else knows.
| November 29, 2009 @ 1:56 am
That’s alot of ink and sort of a weird pattern, it’s likely grading dye. The weird pattern may be from being placed on the white absorbent pad that meat comes on, causing the dye to sort of bleed. Or it’s from being next to a larger stamped cut.
The meat’s grade is stamped within a purple/blue shield (a harmless vegetable dye is used for the ink) at regular intervals on the outside of each carcass. hope that helps. still, i think i’d scrape it off and then eat it.
here’s my source: http://www.answers.com/topic/beef
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slice/482969651/
| November 29, 2009 @ 3:35 am
http://www.mixa.com.au/meat_branding?
| November 29, 2009 @ 4:19 am
Those dots are *exactly* the same color as the ink (made from beets, if I remember correctly) used by USDA meat inspectors. I wonder if maybe the inspector’s stamp thingy was leaking. You ought to take the picture — and your receipt, if you still have it — to the butcher at C-Town and ask them. Maybe they’ll give you some more ribs. If that fails, show them to any chef; they’d know for sure. I have a feeling they were harmless … unless, of course, they’re deadly.
| November 29, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
fun with carnivorism
| November 29, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
varicose veins?
| November 30, 2009 @ 8:45 am
lmao at the idea of there actually being a butcher to talk to at c-town!
| December 1, 2009 @ 11:36 pm