CLEVELAND -- Good Morning America reported Wednesday morning on meat being injected with carbon monoxide. 5 On Your Side reported on this problem about a year ago. The report is below.

The ruby red color of the meat shoppers buy may have been a result of carbon monoxide, 5 On Your Side consumer reporter Angie Lau said.

The new process is called gas flushing. The ready-packaged meat is vacuum-sealed with carbon monoxide and keeps meat looking fresh for longer.

Lau said it's an attempt by the meat industry to save a $1 billion worth of meat it throws away each year, still safe to eat but off color.

Shoppers have no idea about the meat, because no one is obligated to tell them.

When it comes to shopping for meat many people look at color before buying.

"It has to be fresh-looking red, not off-color. Sometimes it's kind of greenish, know what i mean?" Nancy Troutman said.

In fact, Lau said that's even how the experts determine freshness.

"You go by the color for sure," said Don Whitaker at the Westside Market.

Lau said there is something grocery stores, meat producers and even the FDA are not telling you. There is a secret process that keeps meat ruby red no matter what it's been through or how long it's been out when it should look brown, she reported.

NewsChannel5's consumer investigative team discovered that disguised meat was being sold under brand names at supermarket chains in Ohio.

Barb Kowalcyk is president of Safe Tables, a national public advocacy group that fights for safe food. She's also a mom who lost her son after he ate meat tainted with E.coli.

"Kevin got sick late July with what my husband and I thought was a stomach flu," Kowalcyk said.

Kevin was 2 1/2 years old.

"I will never forget when the doctor sat me and my husband down and said, 'We are sorry, but this is the worst thing that can happen to your child. There is no treatement. There is no cure. The best we can hope for is that we can fix everything once,'" Kowalcyk said. "He was on continued dialysis to control his heartrate and blood pressure He had to have drain tubes inserted in both lungs. He was on a ventilator.

For Kevin, it was all too much for his little body. He died five years ago this month.

"Had I known then what I know now, I would have made other choices for my son," Kowalcyk said.

Lau said some beef and steak that shoppers buy is now being packaged with carbon monoxide. By gassing meat with just a trace amount of CO, a chemical reaction occurs and the color of the meat turns a permanent red.

Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the U.S. Department of Agriculture objects.

Whitaker, a butcher at Westside Market, doesn't trust CO treated meat.

"We don't sell this kind of meat here, because it keeps it red and you can't tell whether it's fresh or not," Whitaker said.

Cargill Meats helped pioneer the use of CO in packaging meat, Lau reported.

Cargill is the same company that packages meats for Tops supermarkets.

That's where Lau found some examples. To show what carbon monoxide does, she left the treated meat out in room temperature for 24 hours. Untreated meat would turn brown. But the treated meat is still red.

The consumer team went shopping all across northeast Ohio to see who was selling CO-treated meat.

Lau took the meat to Dr. Mike Setter, a chemistry professor at John Carroll University. He tested the meat and the packaging for carbon monoxide.

Setter found the meat purchased at Tops and Giant Eagle tested positive, Lau reported. Even Laura's lean beef sold in major stores claiming to be free of additives tested positive.

"The lowest amount of CO was in Tops USDA cube steak. I would feel confident to say that they exposed the meat to carbon monoxide intentionally." Setter said.

Cleveland Public Health Director Matt Carroll said consumers shouldn't have to worry about the meat they buy.

"We might not notice odor, so knowing the color of meat has basically been doctored by carbon monoxide is good information for people to have," said Carroll.

Kowalcyk is angry that consumers have been left in the dark.

"What if you don't know better? That's the danger. Why aren't they telling us?" Kowalcyk asked.

Lau said grocery stores are not required to tell consumers if meat has been treated with carbon monoxide. So if you want to know for sure, ask a store manager.

In response to Lau's report, Giant Eagle said, "All of our supermarkets follow strict safety standards to continually ensure product does not remain on-shelf beyond the respective sell-by dates."

Tops told 5 On Your Side, "If customers purchase any product which is not fresh, the store has a double your money back guarantee in place to give customers a 200 percent refund."