As Juliet said to Romeo, “What’s in a name?” The answer, when it comes to the ammonia-treated cartilage and scrap meat that goes into much U.S. ground beef, is “lots.”
The moniker “pink slime” for that foodstuff has sparked a furor that caused Beef Products, Inc., to shut down three of its four plants that produced the substance. The agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it would cut production. And most recently came a filing for bankruptcy protection by AFA Foods, Inc., which processes more than 500 million pounds of ground beef products annually, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The trouble started in 2002 when Gerald Zirnstein, a former microbiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, used the term “pink slime” in what he thought was a private email to a fellow scientist. The message leaked out, and the story grew through sharing on Facebook and YouTube, and this year it exploded, with television and Internet chef Jamie Oliver leading the charge.
Consumer activists campaigned against the product, including many in Maine. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who knows something about beef production since she raises cattle on her farm in North Haven, has introduced a bill that would require the labeling of any product that contains what the industry calls “finely textured ground beef.”
The Maine Department of Agriculture says it is not accepting for school lunches any federal hamburger containing the product. But the hamburger it sends to Maine schools amounts to only 10 or 15 percent of what the schools use in lunches. It is up to individual school systems to make a choice. Labeling may help them choose between pink slime and no pink slime.
But Phil Lempert, a food industry consultant and editor of SupermarketGuru.com, says “Labeling isn’t going to help.” As far as finely textured ground beef is concerned, he says “The fight is over,” but the industry will turn to other extenders for ground beef, “like vegetables or soy, and might open the door for irradiation vs. ammonia.”
It thus may be too late, but industry leaders continue to defend what they call “lean beef trimmings.” In a “Get the Facts” summary they say the product is 100 percent beef, processed from beef trimmed from steaks and roasts. They say processing removes fat from the beef, leaving the product 94.97 percent lean beef. The rest can be connective tissue and cartilage. Ammonium hydroxide, although demonized by consumer activists, is used to kill bacteria in pink slime, just as it is widely used in making cheese, chocolate and baking powder.
The present situation is that the ground meat industry will find other fillers to hold down the cost. Similarly, salted peanuts cost less than unsalted peanuts because salt is cheaper than peanuts. The result may be distasteful, but it is probably safe, and it’s cheaper than pure ground beef.
So the only ways to be sure of getting hamburger without the additives are to trust your butcher or grind your own. Anything else will remain mystery meat.
This is a 100% media generated “crisis”. Ammonia has been used for years to kill bacteria and control spoilage. Chellie Pingree is a typical reactionary politician, jump on any bandwagon that they think is popular in an election year. If you truly are concerned you need to buy locally, there are hard working Maine farmers out there who would love to have your business.
You are correct, ammonia has been used for years. Problem now is it’s being used as an additive for ground beef “fillers” ! This is being done to increase profits for the processors. There is no other reason to include ammonia in ground beef. This has nothing to do with the media and Pinegree is not jumping on any bandwagon. Most Americans are quite concerned about this latest attempt to profit from nothing ! I am sure that all Mainers would love to buy local ground beef…… Unfortunately most can’t afford it . I am sure however that Mitt Romney thinks using bones and ammonia to increase profits is a splendid idea !
“The things that are done in the name of the shareholder are, to me, asterrifying as the things that are done—dare I say it—in the name of God. ~John le Carre
Betcha Mittens the Romneytron wouldn’t publicize that, and let the “free market” decide whether or not we feed it to our children.
It’s not an”additive”! It’s an antibacterial making the product safer than the original.
It is added to bones and fat scraps to prolong their self life and increase profits for the processors ! What is the matter with you ? Does your family own a beef processing plant ?
You are being lulled into a false sense of security, if you believe that chemistry can make an unsafe food “safe”, or that attempts to use chemistry to make up for unsanitary agricultural practices inherent in feedlots will protect you. It can’t.
No antibacterial agent can make up for shoddy agricultural practices — least of all an ammonia gas-bath…
Industrial agriculture’s attempts to use chemicals to ameliorate the effects of unsanitary, crowded conditions have resulted in sickness and death. Meat is expensive, and should be grown cleanly, used judiciously.
Have any data on the comparative safety of ground beef vs. extended beef? I’ll bet that LTB is much less likely to cause E. coli poisoning. Prove me otherwise.
Properly-raised animals have, time and again, shown MUCH lower bacterial counts, and less dangerous bacteria than even the most adulterated and irradiated cuts you find int eh store. Why?
“Feeding grain to cattle has got to be one of the dumbest ideas in the history of western civilization.” ~John RobbinsCattle are beautifully designed to utilize grasses that humans cannot digest, turning it into meat that we can. The pH level in the stomach (or rumen) of a grass-fed is higher than that of a human, so bacteria that grow are unlikely to survive our own stomach acid. When we feed them corn, we acidify their stomachs to be more like our own; in crowded, factory-like conditions, dangerous E. Coli evolved to survive inside you and me. Cattle MUST be fed copious amounts of antibiotics, or die from this un-natural diet — that’s where “antibiotic resistance” comes from….Chemicals, ammonia baths, and radiation bring with them their own problems and do not solve this one entirely, as outbreaks of dangerous disease still occur. If we stopped the ammonia; the antibiotics in the feed — WITHOUT changing our agricultural practices, bacterial count would be higher and you et. al. would say “I told you so”. You cannot fix this at the processing plant alone.
Dude, its gross!
The media didn’t “generate” the facts surrounding this process; it EXPOSED them — a very different thing. Now let the “free market” decide!
“Free market” advocates depend on deception and lies to maintain their profits. It’s about concealing and fighting any regulations to make them disclose to the public.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlnNAwLJkBc&feature=related – Video of slaughter house.
http://www.cancerproject.org/survival/cancer_facts/meat.php – English and German vegetarians get 40% less cancers than meat eaters.
Eat mooooore pasta!
“pink slime” = ”
ammonia-treated cartilage and ‘scrap meat’ ”
Which looks like “pink slime”.
What’s the problem ?
Are people so naive to think that they have ANY right to know what’s IN the “food” they buy in America ?
The USA has THE most adulterated food in the world. Manufactures are not required to disclose what they did to the “food”, what they added to it, and repeated past attempts to require them to properly label their products have consistently failed.
Most “food” has so many additives and adulterants in it that there isn’t even enough room on the packaging to list it all, even if it were required. People are OK with this. I say fine, you get what you deserve, obesity, heart disease, cancer, you DESERVE it for doing absolutely NOTHING about manufactures contaminating the “food” you buy, and by being oblivious, even defiantly ignorant about it.
I’m over 60 and this is the first time I’ve heard of pink slime. When I trim my meat at home the fat ,gristle, and any connective tissues are thrown away instead of ground up and treated with ammonia gas and fed to my children and grandchildren.
The fat, gristle, and connective tissue are removed in a centrifuge leaving 97% lean ground beef. That’s it, nothing is added. The result of this scare is that millions of pounds of beef will now be wasted. One estimate I read was that 1.5 million additional cattle will need to be slaughtered every year to make up for the loss of this product. All while we continue to eat tons of processed food with all kinds of additives without giving it a second thought.
Meat factories throw away more than the family farm ever did — perfectly good bits as we are conditioned to utilize only the “marketable” cuts.
There is LESS waste from an animal properly raised; butchered and put up by people who treasure every bit, offal and all; who appreciate the sacrifice…..
That’s why we need a new paradigm for food production — these industrialized processes, with the help of huge subsidies from taxpayers, make meat cheap at the point of sale, from the point of view of the consumer. Michael Pollan has said, that it did “democratize” meat in a way. People of modest means eat meat daily, often at every meal, wasting much…. That is unique in our history.No we cannot uphold consumer expectations for their health, the planet and our fellow creatures in the existing paradigm. We need to grow up, and accept that meat IS expensive, but can be stretched AT HOME (if you use ammonia that is your business).
When I was a young boy on an Oklahoma ranch we ate tongue, brains, and hog’s knuckles and feet. All fresh, slaughtered on the range. It tasted lots better than the slop at the local Hannaford.
And that’s fine. You knew what you were getting — you just repeated the names. And you got it fresh, not processed with amonia.
The problem here is that this filler (call it “pink slime,” an obvious put-down, or call it “finely textured beef,” an obvious industry spin) is generally added without our knowledge. I want to know what is in my food. No mystery meat, please.
Sorry — shareholder profits DEPEND on your NOT knowing how your food is prepared, so….
Maybe “spin” but much more accurate than than “pink slime”.
Call it what you like — it will never be “wholesome food”.
Skoip the last sentence and I’ll give you a “like”.
I don’t need the like that badly.
No wonder Pingree and other beef growers are against it.
Give up eating so much red meat especially hamburg. Or buy it locally. It’s obvious we can’t trust the corporate food industry to be concerned with anything but profit.
So, you trim steaks and roasts that way, ALL the gristle and connective tissue?
This is not “adutalerated” food!
The term is “adulterated”, and, yes, it absolutely is.
The contents of this product sound a lot like what makes up hot dogs, but I don’t hear any furor over them.
Oh No!
Now my wife won’t eat hot dogs or any other products like it. What is the the man at home going to feed his wife????? Smile
It’s about expectations — everyone knows what is in hot dogs, but when they buy ground beef, they are EXPECT a wholesome, pure product; sort of like the pictures in ads…..
Many moons ago I worked in a New London Connecticut packing house. I don’t eat hotdogs OR sausage.
the GOP has spoken : there nothing with feeding the lowly masses meat scraps blasted with ammonia.
I get more discouraged everyday !!!
That isn’t for the GOP to decide; the “lowly masses” will decide….
Since when did this get partisan?
..not partisan, but class. Ammonia as the latest weapon in the “class war”.
The best way to know what is in your beef is to buy locally raised beef from a farmer you trust who uses a local butcher who you trust. One who has no problem with you coming into his slaughterhouse and watching him work as you talk about the weather and the price of tea.
I agree wandini — that happens sometimes!
Of course, accurate labels are good, too. No mystery meat, please.
Now you’ve done it. I cook the meals in my house because my wife works hard. Since she has found out about the slime problem she will not eat any hamburg at all. Do you have any idea how many weekly meals are made with hamburg? I do! Can one live on chicken alone? She can! smile… For my sake stop playing around with our meat and get rid of the slime. Who you gonna call? The slime busters!
A concerned retarded husband. I meant, retired…smile
Gene
I’ll bet you’re smart enough to operate a meat grinder — in your wife’s presence of course! (smile)
You’ve heard about the butcher who backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work …
Now that’s funny right there…
I no longer eat meat, I don’t trust it. Disgusting. I agree with your wife :)
Did you know you can make Spaghetti sauce with chicken?? It tastes GREAT!!!
It’s good with lentils, too.
….and soy, but I thought if I posted that I would be accused of liberalism.
Interesting (and potentially hilarious) how the 180 degree inversion of (unnecessary) partisanship on this issue has become.
I think soy is more progressive libertarian…
So the Republcans get the steak and we get reconstituted guts injected with chemicals to make them safe and look like meat. This is an example of the real trickle down economics. Takes slime to make it trickle. Vote for the job creators they know whats best for you. NOT
Guts? Injected with chemicals? Partisan? Hardly.
If they want to sell that stuff so badly, why don’t they offer “finely textured ground beef” as a stand alone product? Then they’ll see if we want it or not. Probably sell that chit for 50 cents a lb.
Now, let’s not get carried away with that “free-market” stuff…;-)
My grandparents’ meat grinder is kept close at hand, and works beautifully. They also knew how to “make friends with your butcher”.
No amount of ammonia is sufficient to ameliorate the effects of unsanitary conditions; of bad agriculture.
Cue the “..but we create jobs!” ….an excuse for every ghastly, yet profitable thing corporations do.
Absolutely disgusting. What’s next Soylent Green?
I guess there’s no author for this editorial. But, a couple of points: I remember when, if one wanted ground chuck or sirloin, the meat-cutter at the deli would grind it fresh before your eyes with only enough suet to make it stick together. THAT was good hamburger. Now, there’s coloring added to make it look more appealing and who knows what other additives as a “hamburger helper” so the wholesaler can maximize its profit. I would prefer to know by a label on the package precisely what is in the meat products we by. I’ve also heard that if the consumer observed the process of making hot dogs and sausages, that we might avoid eating them too.
Buy your meat from your local organic farms. We have Tide Mill here in Eastern Maine, I am sure there are others. Get on the school board. Make that entity buy locally. The great thing about a “free country” is regular people can make things happen….. IF they are willing to work at it!
“Rich people march on Washington every day” ~I.F. Stone
Regular people CAN make things happen, and are just now waking up to the fact that it isn’t about electing the right people and sitting back; trusting blindly those who have purchased our government.
I agree
I don’t know, I get that this obviously isn’t the highest quality of food, but what’s the alternative? You really think we’re going to be able to convince the phony budget hawks to abandon a sliver of their tax cuts for the wealthy in order to allocate more money for school lunches? Come on.
More money for school lunches could come from less money to subsidize factory farms. School children vs. Big Ag.’s lobby — uphill to be sure. It’s an argument we have to press until we win.
well if they get free school lunch then their parents are already on food stamps. If they pay for school lunch then they are lazy kids/parents. We always made or had our lunches made for us and ate cheaper and better the cafeteria food.
How about school’s just cut out cafeteria’s and spend that money on current text books?!!?
Children receiving free or reduced school lunches are NOT necessarily receiving food stamps; families on food stamps are not necessarily idle — many have more family members in the workforce than those in which we grew up, but, for some reason, a generation for which people fought and died for decent labor conditions have turned around and dismantled the standards to which they owe their own middle class lifestyle.
I say, take our tax money and serve nourishing food to EVERY school child, free of charge, that there may be no stigma. Oh, and use that money to buy ONLY un-processed, nourishing food straight off the farm — every penny should buy NOURISHMENT, and nothing should go to food industrialists’ profits.
…saves money AND the health of the next generation. …a win-win — EXCEPT for Wall Street.
I’ll agree with the first paragraph but the rest starts getting extreme. And how do you propose funding the doubling and then some of the cost of your proposal?
Simple, have the people who have the money to pay more to support the society that they are a part of.
School lunch “extreme”? Do you have a more fitting use for our tax dollars? …such a relatively small amount of money compared to war and corporate welfare.
Actually, a number of chefs who have gone into schools and replaced pre-packaged, canned, corporate “products” with wholesome, nourishing un-processed food from the farm VERY easily SAVE school districts money. Healthier, and tastier, too. I would return to the public policies, including tax structures, in place when I was a school child; when my parents were schoolchildren. Since that time, as wealth has concentrated at the top, the tax obligation on that same wealth has shrunk beyond the point it can be drowned in a teacup — of course holders of that wealth demand billions from us…
This isn’t bleeding heart liberal stuff — the most prosperous generation of people in history slash, slash, slash at OUR public wealth; privatizing every thing (while cooing to each other that Social Security and Medicare will be there for THEM, just like the New Deal that they destroyed for everyone else) … denying future generations what their parents gave them.
We OWE our children at the very least what we had.
This material can’t be fed to animals in Europe, but it’s supposed to be good enough for our kids? My response to the manufacturers is “don’t pee on my shoes and tell me it’s rain”.
I do not want to be uneducated as to what is going on out there in the big, old world, but there are things I guess I just don’t want to know about.
Keep me in my hole with my blinders on and feed me the steak and hamburger like always…
Corrupt industry just loves people like you.
Not true; if you knew what was in every bite of food that you shoved into that mouth, you would stop eating; maybe you could add some imput or knowledge instead of insulting a comment that wasn’t as serious as you’d like it to be…
As long as you watch out for high bacteria counts and other spoilage, you should be OK.
And people wonder why I buy Kosher products…
http://fu.gy/20Y
If you have to kill the germs by spraying and pouring Ammonia Detergent to make it edible, it is better fed to peoples pets instead. Better yet why don’t you Republicans export this pink slime to China and see what happens. About the layoffs at the plants, most workers were Illegal Criminal Aliens that should not be in the USA to begin with. Maybe they can make the Pink Slime in Mexico and keep the Illegals there. See if the Mexicans will put the slime in their Tacos with Ammonia Salsa.
Not ammonia detergent, ammonia gas, not poured, etc. etc.,
Interesting editorial, plays both sides of the (should be non-) issue.
It is still beef, more meat, less fat, and less bacteria than “real beef”. Oh, and guess how much connective tissue and cartilage (even bone fragments) are in “reel beef”, especially steak? Sounds like a great “filler”, far beeter than the other suggestions and even better than ground beef itself.
Also, guess how much outrage irradiation will cause, even though it’s superior to any chemical treatment. Not that ammonia isn’t a good, safe treatment, it is.
Tempest in a teapot, all due to an ill-advised pejorative by someone who should know better.
How about agricultural practices that negate the NEED for ammonia treatments/irradiation?
Oh, right — not as much cash for Wall Street….