Pink Slime

[CrotalusHH]

What do you think about the pink slime controversy?

What I know is that this company has been trimming meat for 20 years. They grind it extra fine. Since it has been processed more than other meat it has a higher risk of contamination so they sterilize it with ammonia. All the ammonia is removed. Then this meat is added to regular hamburger. At most a percent or two. This lowers the price of meat. This company has never been associated with of any of the E-coli outbreaks.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver brought the issue of pink slime out and caused a public uproar, unfounded in my opinion. Now the plants have closed and 700 people have lost their jobs.

I think this is a shame.

[global_dev]

I am not a fan of it, but if you liked to eat ground beef with filler, it I stand by your right to consume it. However, supporting 700 people who make something i don't buy or wouldn't intentionally feed my children is not high on my list of priorities..

From what i remember, beef in the US can be labeled "100 percent ground beef" even if it contains up to 15 percent of this filler.. which is a lot more than 1 to 2%

coincidentally, in the past 10 yrs I have always bought my ground patties from Costco or Five guys who apparently have never thought that this filler was up to their standards to use or sell... hell, i am even going so far as to grind my own, so i know exactly whats' in it...

My thought on this was this "beef is beef" filler was used to keep costs down and profit up...

Hopefully these people can be retrained to employ their skills on a products that I would support by purchasing.

But why do you think it's unfounded, if on all appearances no one wants it regardless of it's safety association with no issues with the e. coli bacteria?

Is it part of a healthy lifestyle? Is it something that benefits society? I am missing the shame part, please clarify who wants this stuff?

[BingeAndPurge]

Watch "Food Inc" on Netflix. It talks about it and why it is needed, and how our food standards and subsidies in the US are all out of whack. Corn-fed, CAFO beef is a breeding ground for ecoli.

As far as I know, my supermarket meat departments grind their own. You can even select a steak or roast or whatever, and they'll grind it for you at most places. I think the paste is mainly a fast food patty thing. Could be wrong.

[_JP_]

A product that has been in production for years has suffered from media hype. While nothing presented about the lean textured beef was untrue, the way that it was presented and labeled did it in. It is something that makes use of meat that would otherwise be wasted. And it still is 100% beef in the end. Chalk up a victory for the media. They have managed to create controversy where it didn't exist.

[scottish steve]

Insects are a safe, healthy and sustainable way of having protein in your diet. Doesn't mean I want to eat them. I think it's a good thing that people are not eating it anymore. I also doubt you'd be too concerned with the people who are out of work if they were from that place everyone loves to hate.
"Public Outrage at Chinese Pink Slime in American Burgers!"

[BingeAndPurge]

Our chicken gets a nice bleach bath too, which does pretty much nothing.

[scottish steve]

TRhe chicken in China is much tastier than all but the gourmet chickens in UK supermarkets. Of course when I say "gourmet" I mean "not genetically engineered to become freaks within two months and led a decent life not filled with pain"

[Slash McCoy]

I never eat fast food burgers anymore. I don't want any pink slime, either. I don't care if it is technically beef. I have my standards and I don't compromise them. The slime merchants should be free to sell their product provided that they openly disclose the nature of the stuff, including its origin and process. If the public turns their nose up at it, well, that's what free enterprise and open market is all about.

[mretzloff]

It sounds gross, but I wonder how much of the information is actually true and how much is just media hype.

[Vickers]

I wonder how much of it they would sell as a stand-alone product...

[backinit]

I think the public should be able to make their own choice.

Media hype wins again.

[smalltank]

Well..pink slime in "Kosher" labeled meat doesnt exist..but I agree pink slime should be avoided for sure

[global_dev]

A product that has been in production for years has suffered from media hype. While nothing presented about the lean textured beef was untrue, the way that it was presented and labeled did it in. It is something that makes use of meat that would otherwise be wasted. And it still is 100% beef in the end. Chalk up a victory for the media. They have managed to create controversy where it didn't exist.

Because I had no idea that this was in the ground beef I was eating does not make it acceptable to me.
Yes, i didn't get sick and yes it probably provided nutritional value, but with choice, it's not one that i would add to my diet regardless of safety.

Obviously the authorities approved it and knew, as a certain amount was allowed to be incorporated and still be called 100% beef.

It's funny... sounds like if you make a log out of this, you can't call it 100% beef? even though beef is beef?

While this is discussed as an attempt to keep prices low and a utilization of byproducts of the "typical" prior processing that would have been waste, processors can now charge for something I don't want.

Had my parents known they were buying ground with filler, they would have likely not purchased it regardless of safety. lead free paint chips are safe to eat, doesn't mean they would have bought it for me as a snack.

if you said, this product exists for many reasons. One of them is to feed the nutritionally poor and/or poverty stricken at lost cost and you made links i could say okay, or if people actively wanted to buy this product, great!

the media didn't really have to spin this one that hard. people took one look at the picture/video, read what the contents of teh pik slime were and said they didn't want it...

[global_dev]

It sounds gross, but I wonder how much of the information is actually true and how much is just media hype.

it's all true, it's safe and made of boneless cattle parts. no bones to pick about that...

I think the public should be able to make their own choice.

Media hype wins again.

the vocal public did make their own choice, the media supplied information.. all i had to do was take a look at a picture, do some research and i made my own decision.. i didn't even watch the tv "sensationalist" articles.. i do thank them for bringing it to my attention..

and i do appreciate jamieolivers campaign to get schools, kids and adults to know what they are eating.

[Edcculus]

Look the growing obesity problem in the US. I think the last thing we need is cheaper meat. Gigantic feed lots pumping out all of that nasty beef is bad enough. I think Americans need to take a long hard look at what they eat. Bringing this stuff to the publics attention is just one step in the right direction.

Soylent Green never made anyone sick either...

[CrotalusHH]

If you saw what was in chicken houses you would never eat any of that either. Cutting up animals for food is messy, it's ugly.

I think the same kind of smear campaign can run any food processor out of business.

[global_dev]

slaughtering animals is different than pink slime.

have you seen the Portland's episode about where the chickens were raised? Very amusing...

[BingeAndPurge]

If you saw what was in chicken houses you would never eat any of that either. Cutting up animals for food is messy, it's ugly.

I think the same kind of smear campaign can run any food processor out of business.

I've seen it all. I eat a lot of meat and buy what I can afford at the time, which isn't always what I would prefer. Sadly, my ideal dietary lifestyle isn't all that subsidized.

[jazzman]

From what I've read, it was much, much more than one or two percent. It was in supermarket ground beef and school lunches, as well as fast food. It has been used for much less than 20 years.

I don't care how safe it is. When I'm being charged for ground beef, I don't expect to be buying highly processed stuff that meat processors used to pass along to dog food makers or throw out. If anyone wants to sell such products, they should just label it honestly and let the consumer decide. (I think we all know how that would work out for the producer/inventor of this "lean" product.)

[Commander Quan]

Where is the outrage with chicken nuggets, hotdogs, and turkey bacon? Every one of those products have "mechanically separated" chicken or turkey products in them? This is no different.