In a grocery store, looks can deceive. This is a place where natural yellow competes with Yellow No. 5 and past-their-prime apples keep a waxy shine. Even the color of meat can be misleading.

They are light in color because of their low capacity to use oxygen during exercise; there is simply no need for a high abundance of the iron-rich oxygen shuttle, myoglobin.

Light versus dark – the color of the turkey meat is due to the job of the muscle by: Joshua Selsby Professor of Animal Science, Iowa State University, The Conversation, Nexstar Media Wire ...

"Color is the No. 1 indicator that's used" in selecting meat, said Don Berdahl , vice president of Kalsec Inc., a maker of natural food extracts in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Light versus dark – the color of the turkey meat is due to the job of the muscle by: Joshua Selsby Professor of Animal Science, Iowa State University, The Conversation, Nexstar Media Wire ...

"It's not unusual to see that off color," Magoulas said. "The color of meat sometimes changes. If it doesn't smell or have stickiness and was bought by the 'sell by' date, it should be okay. If it ...

Phosphates impact color The phosphates commonly used in meat processing to improve juiciness, tenderness and cook yields can impact color development and maintenance in both fresh enhanced and ...

Consider first the dark meat, which is found largely in the legs. This type of meat comes from muscles that get lots of use as turkeys spend their time walking around being turkeys.

Light meat lovers claim dark meat is greasy; dark meat devotees complain that light meat is dry and lacks flavor. Few meat eaters are ambivalent on the matter.