We'll miss the great carbon monoxide flavor.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: TILTING at windmills - Brief article

Richard Nixon learned the hard way that congressional investigations can have impact. Even the threat of one can sometimes help. Consider the use of carbon monoxide to keep meat "looking red and fresh." The technique definitely helps sales, and was approved by the FDA as "generally recognized as safe." There's one little problem, however, that caused the European Union to ban the practice: coloring meat "can mask visual evidence of spoilage."

Representatives John Dingell and Bart Stupak of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to major food-store chains and processors asking how, in the words of the Washington Post's Rick Weiss, "the...