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Keeping beef looking fresh by updating to LED lighting

Retailers lose over $1 billion annually by having to discount meat

By Liam Nolan & Paul Nolan

A bright red color is a common way consumers try to identify the freshest packs of ground beef. But now researchers are saying a switch to LED lighting from fluorescent lighting can slow grocery-store beef from discoloring over time.

University of Missouri scientists published results of a recent study in the October issue of the Journal of Animal Science. They examined how lighting affects myoglobin (the protein responsible for meat pigmentation) and lipid oxidation.

Retailers typically use fluorescent lighting, however, recent research has shown that fluorescent lights can raise the temperature of meat, speeding up the process of discoloration.

And while LED lights produce less heat, they are less common in stores because of cost and installation.

U.S. Department of Energy stats indicate that only a small percentage of lights in the U.S. now are LED. But, by 2035, the figure is expected to be around 85 per cent. That transition will also lead to major energy consumption drops.

The Missouri study found that the longer the ground beef was in the display case, the more the beef became discolored, regardless of lighting. On each day, a case with no light had more bright red color to the meat than the other two test cases. Intriguingly, on the fifth day, the patties that were kept under the LED lighting kept a better and brighter red color than the patties that were kept under the fluorescent lighting.

Discounting of older meat accounts for losses of over $1 billion annually for U.S. retailers.


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Funds Ditch Ag Commodities, Chase Stocks Amid an End to Middle East War, & Trade Deal Buzz

Video: Funds Ditch Ag Commodities, Chase Stocks Amid an End to Middle East War, & Trade Deal Buzz


The 12-day war between Iran-Israel came to an end sending crude oil futures plunging as the big fund speculators removed the war risk premium.

The weather risk premium in the Ag complex is sending corn, wheat and soybean futures lower on month-end selling ahead of the market moving USDA quarterly grain stocks and acreage reports on June 30th.

Instead, funds were chasing and sending tech stocks higher with the S&P 500/NASDAQ indexes setting new all-time record highs!

June 1 USDA Hogs and pigs report was slightly bearish while the U.S. $ Index traded to new contract lows as the de-dollarization that began in 2014 continues.

Feed in the form of soybean meal futures for livestock producers got cheaper, trading to new contract lows.

The Stats Canada seeded acreage update was bullish canola and wheat.