any people assume that the red drip or purge that occurs in packages of raw meat, or when frozen meat is thawed, is residual blood. However, there is very little blood remaining in meat following animal harvest because of the thorough bleeding and removal of blood that occurs during commercial harvest and processing. In the case of wild game, typically there is also very little blood remaining in muscles following harvest (see previous Butcher Shop column in the February, 2022 issue of DDH). The red color that is visually obvious in drip or purge is due to myoglobin, which is the pigment present in meat that is responsible for meat color. It is very similar to hemoglobin, which is the pigment in blood, both of which generate essentially the same color when exposed to
