WHY PORK IS RED MEAT ??

ASHISH M. DIGHE

In laymans terms , any meat that is red in color before it is cooked is considered red meat. This means that Beef (cow), Lamb (sheep), Pork (pig), Chevon/ Mutton (goat), Venison (deer), duck and goose is considered as red meat. The meat of most mammals is considered as red meat and may include meat from horses, bisons, moose, camels etc. Chicken and Rabbit meat are considered as white meat along with sh including tuna, whose meat though red in color is classied as an oily sh. Why is pork a "red" meat? Oxygen is delivered to muscles by the red cells in the blood. One of the proteins in meat, myoglobin, holds the oxygen in the muscle. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the color of meat. Pork is classied a "red" meat because it contains more myoglobin than chicken or sh. When fresh pork is cooked, it becomes lighter in color, but it is still a red meat. Pork is classed as "livestock" along with veal, lamb and beef. All livestock are considered "red meat." Pork always has been red meat. The only real reason it was ever considered white meat is because the pork council decided back in the 80s that the term "red meat" had a bad stigma attached to it, and it was affecting sales. So they tried to cash in on the health food craze and it worked, sales went up. Pork is much healthier today than it was 25 years ago. Pigs are raised and bred differently and the most popular cut of pork (the tenderloin) is now 42% less fat. Pork has changed, and is more healthy but it is still red meat.

The 1987 advertisement by The National Pork Producers Council that really created this confusion in the rst place.

quoted from United States Department of Agriculture website: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Pork_From_Farm_to_Table/index.asp#9