Do stores put food coloring in hamburger; and if so, how prevalent is it?!
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Yes, they do it....and they even repackage the meat if it is a day or 2 old, by mixing it up so the browner meat on the outside gets mixed in again.
I think most place do this and it is acceptable because meat will last a few days and it is really not spoiled.
but what I hate about the meat here now that I a living in the Philippines is the way they add water to the ground meat to make it weigh more....
watch out for this in America too. ground meat, even the 22% fat type should still be rather dry and crumbly, not sticky and soggy.
no laws about moisture content in the USA either.
yes, grocery stores do inject a colored liquid into ground beef. it keeps the outer layer red and has a mild preservative in it. it's not unhealthy, and is as common as poultry farms injecting chicken pieces ith high-sodium broth. the injection has to be less than 1% by FDA regulations.
friend is a butcher (not a meat salesman like at grocery stores, a BUTCHER)