I got a call from a friend the other day wanting to purchase some beef. YAY! She asked me - "Is there any red dye in your beef - because my son is allergic to red dye?". I laughed and said "no crazy, why would there be"?
Then I learned an important lesson. Apparently I live under a rock - because there is red dye in most fresh beef. I know that I am privileged, because I grew up basically only ever eating our own beef that we raised on our ranch. I've never really bought beef at the grocery store. I did always notice that it looked really RED at the store. Our beef is red - but not bright red. Well the reason its so darn red is because its dyed. This is so you, the consumer, think it looks nicer.
TIP: This is also done to Salmon, Jams, Jellies, etc.
It's honestly sad that we (as in Americans) waste so much time and energy doing things to our food that have no benefit. In other coutnries people would simply be happy for fresh meat. Here in America we feel the need to dye it to make it look nicer. This adds no nutritional value and on the contrary just results in one more chemical going into your body. Also as my friend explained to me - it can be dangerous. What if your child is allergic to red dye and goes to a friends house and eats a hamburger. Who would be thinking about red dye being in a hamburger?? This can be extremely dangerous for people (especially kids) with an allergy to red dye.
Just one more reason to KNOW WHERE YOUR BEEF COMES FROM.