CO in meat

There was a big brou-ha-ha recently because some companies have been treating meat with carbon monoxide (CO) to keep the color looking good.   But the articles I read were did not address important issues in judging whether treating meat with CO is good or bad.  The reason people want fresh food is that it is safer, more nutritious, tastier.  How does CO affect these properties?  Botulism, the deadly food-poisoning, grows in an oxygen-free environment.  Does it grow in a CO environment?  If CO’s improvements are only cosmetic, that is bad.  If CO actually stops the aging process, than what’s wrong with it?   I myself am a vegetarian, but I would be interested in whether CO stops the growth of bacteria and loss of nutrients.  This is an example of why we really need better reporting on scientific matters.

Note:  Carbon monoxide (CO) is not the same as carbon dioxide (CO2).