Pink Slime

Bearfootfarm · #61 03/16/12, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oz in SC V2.0

But THIS meat by product is specifically treated for it...why?

Why is there a need?

Why do you ask all these questions, when they have been answered in the links provided?

Boneless lean beef trimmings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its a PRECAUTION, not a necessity.
ONE company uses Ammonia gas.
The other does NOT

Quote:

The typical beef production process results in beef trimmings, consisting of fat and meat, that frequently had been cooked down to recover the oils from the trim because it was not profitable to otherwise separate the meat from the trimmings.

However, today much of these beef trimmings are sent as USDA-approved cuts of meat to special separation plants, where centrifuges separate the beef from the fat.[1]

Quote:

In July 2011, Beef Products Inc. announced that it would become the first beef processor to voluntarily begin testing for an additional six strains of E. coli.[7] According to The New York Times, the launch of this type of testing stems from an E. coli outbreak in Europe and frustration at delays by regulators to classify new types of E. coli as adulterants.[8]

Quote:

A December 2009 New York Times article called into question the safety of the meat treated by this process, pointing to occasions in which process adjustments were not effective.[3]
The following week, the newspaper published an editorial, "More Perils of Ground Meat," reiterating the concerns posed in the news article. Several days later, the editorial was appended with a retraction, stating that it had incorrectly claimed there had been two recalls of ground meat because of this process, and that "No meat produced by Beef Products Inc. has been linked to any illnesses or outbreaks."[9]
An episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution depicted Jamie Oliver's interpretation of the production process, in which Oliver douses beef trimmings in liquid ammonia in front of parents. In videos produced by the American Meat Institute and Beef Products, food safety expert Dr. Gary Acuff of Texas A&M University was interviewed[10][11] and identified potentially misleading inaccuracies in the Oliver segment.

oz in SC V2.0 · #62 03/16/12, 04:54 PM

What is funny to me is that E. coli in meat is caused by it being contaminated with poop...crap...doodoo...

But we skirt round that because most people don't want to know their is crap in their burger.

And the company that is marketing this meat by product feels it is necessary to decontaminate it's product voluntarily...

Yum,that must be some clean meat by product....LOL.

oz in SC V2.0 · #63 03/16/12, 04:57 PM

Easy solution is that the ground beef with this by product added should simly be labelled as such...

Then the consumer can CHOOSE to buy it.

There is no reason to NOT label it as such is there?

Marilyn · #64 03/16/12, 05:06 PM

Of course it should be labelled as such for all consumers/purchasers, not just the children in school. Once kids leave school, they consume the ground meat that their parents purchased at the grocery store. Unfortunately, that meat is not required to be identified as slimed or non-slimed. That's the question.

All consumers should have the information needed to make an informed decision, not just school cafeteria purchasing agents.

Ravenlost · #65 03/16/12, 06:23 PM

This is just one of many reasons why I don't buy beef. We eat venison.

manfred · #66 03/16/12, 07:33 PM

I'm not buying any ground beef until I find a way to verify as to if it contains this additive and I'll bet I'm gonna be among millions.
I sure would not want any stock in these companys right now.

arabian knight · #67 03/16/12, 08:19 PM

I just some some tonight and will be putting it on the old grill tomorrow as the temps will be in the 80's~!! How neat it is for this time of year.
I have not got any calf yet to raise and am out of ground beef and most other cuts as well, oh well thats life. I will be buying store bought beef for quite some time yet till I get another steer raised up.

arabian knight · #68 03/16/12, 08:22 PM

There are a bother of stores that do not carry this kind of meat including Costco, Kroger, just do a Google Search for the list. Or click on the link I posted in post #55 has a small list in it, of the stores that do not carry any of this kind of beef, if you are that concerned.

Bearfootfarm · #69 03/16/12, 08:30 PM

[QUOTE=oz in SC V2.0;5777437]Easy solution is that the ground beef with this by product added should simly be labelled as such...

Then the consumer can CHOOSE to buy it.

There is no reason to NOT label it as such is there?[/QUOTE]

Should the label say "beef with added beef?

It's not a "by product".

It's just more meat.

Bearfootfarm · #70 03/16/12, 08:35 PM

Quote:

What is funny to me is that E. coli in meat is caused by it being contaminated with poop...crap...doodoo...

Do you wash your hands before you eat or cook?

Quote:

And the company that is marketing this meat by product feels it is necessary to decontaminate it's product voluntarily...

Another decision based on public opinion and perception rather than fact.
You already saw WHY they do it.

Lately, more have gotten ill from E Coli on Spinach and Tomatoes than any "slime"

arabian knight · #71 03/16/12, 08:36 PM

[QUOTE=Bearfootfarm;5778070]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oz in SC V2.0

Easy solution is that the ground beef with this by product added should simly be labelled as such...

Then the consumer can CHOOSE to buy it.

There is no reason to NOT label it as such is there?[/QUOTE]

Should the label say "beef with added beef?

It's not a "by product".

It's just more meat.

I do believe some do say "finely textured beef" on the package. That covers the deal.

salmonslayer · #72 03/16/12, 08:41 PM

I read an article from a food critic who bought some ground beef with the so called "pink slime" and some without and he proceeded to make some burgers out of it. He said they both tasted good but the burger with the pink slime was a bit less moist and had a slightly different texture that included ocassional bits of what he thought was gristle.

But the difference in price was significant per pound so for some people the choice would be fairly obvious. I would like to see the labeling to include what parts of the animal were included and then those who fear this can opt out but some of the comments are a bit over the top. We raise our own but to be honest, I have no illusions about what goes into ground beef no matter if its pink slimed or not so it doesnt really bother me and I would likely buy it if it was that much cheaper.

Sonshine · #73 03/16/12, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabian knight

How about soaking fish in Lye? That has been done for years. It is called Lutefisk. LOL

Or soaking corn in lye to make hominy.

Acer Rubrum · #74 03/16/12, 10:27 PM

Sounds like Pink Slime is basically just bologna and vienna sausages, thrown in with the ground beef hamburger to make it stretch further. lol. Not such a big deal to me.

If you are going to eat an animal, what difference does it make whether you are eating the muscles or tendons? How is one "icky-er" than the other? They were both bovine live tissue with a blood supply, before butchering day.

However- if there is a difference in the protein levels of Ground Beef With Added Pink Slime, versus Grade A Pure Muscle Meat Ground Burger, it seems only fair that it should be duly noted on the packaging.

MARYDVM · #75 03/16/12, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

Why do you ask all these questions, when they have been answered in the links provided?

Boneless lean beef trimmings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its a PRECAUTION, not a necessity.
ONE company uses Ammonia gas.
The other does NOT

It as an absolute necessity due to the high levels of bacterial contamination.

According to a 2003 study financed by Beef Products, the trimmings “typically includes most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass” and contains “larger microbiological populations.”

In other words, it is contaminated by the manure crusted hides of the feedlot cattle.

You forgot to mention that your Wikipedia site (obviously written by a Beef Products supporter) says the company that does not use ammonia instead uses an acidification process to kill bacteria. No one is able to sell this stuff for human consumption without heavy chemical sterilization.

And even after adding what that Wikipedia site laughingly calls "a puff of ammonia" the Beef Products filler was not found to be as safe as the company claimed:

"School lunch officials said that in some years Beef Products testing results were worse than many of the program’s two dozen other suppliers, which use traditional meat processing methods. From 2005 to 2009, Beef Products had a rate of 36 positive results for salmonella per 1,000 tests, compared to a rate of nine positive results per 1,000 tests for the other suppliers, according to statistics from the program."

Bearfootfarm · #76 03/16/12, 10:58 PM

Top 7 myths about "Pink Slime:
Top 7 Myths of “Pink Slime” « Pink Slime is a Myth

Quote:

<H3>Myth 7:

Quote:

Because ammonium hydroxide is an ingredient, ground beef containing boneless lean beef trimmings should be labeled.
Fact:

Ammonium hydroxide is not an ingredient added to the product – rather, the product receives a puff of ammonia to eliminate bacteria safely and effectively. When combined with moisture naturally in beef, ammonium hydroxide is formed, which is a naturally occurring compound found in many foods including baked goods, cheese, chocolate, and puddings, in our own bodies and the environment.

It is used in the production of each of these foods as a processing aid and not an ingredient, so not “on the label” of those foods either. It is safe and has been approved by FDA since 1974 and specifically approved for its food safety benefits in beef processing since 2001

</H3>

MARYDVM · #77 03/16/12, 11:23 PM

Problems with Myth#7

The product receives a highly pressurized injection of ammonia gas that raises the pH from 6 to 10 - a level of alkalinity not found naturally in puddings,baked goods, or living bodies. The ammonium hydroxide is in a high enough concentration to be detected by both taste and smell.

The FDA approval of this process in 2001 was facilitated by the official who left her post at FDA to join the board of Beef Products International as soon as her mission was accomplished. This action is described as being "not illegal - then."

Bearfootfarm · #78 03/16/12, 11:34 PM

Quote:

The ammonium hydroxide is in a high enough concentration to be detected by both taste and smell.

If you can smell it, the gas has left the meat, which is normal at higher temperatures
The alkalinity isn't "natural" which is why it kills bacteria, but it's not harmful either.
It's the same level as Milk of Magnesia, but the quantities are very small

Quote:

The FDA approval of this process in 2001 was facilitated by the official who left her post at FDA to join the board of Beef Products International as soon as her mission was accomplished. This action is described as being "not illegal - then."

Approval could be revoked at any time if it's really causing problems

Truth is, the majority of the population has been eating it over 10 years with very few complaints, and most never detected an ammonia taste nor odor.

Quote:

This action is described as being "not illegal - then

I have no doubt some reporter used that phrasing, since it's much more melodramatic than simply saying "legal"

Bearfootfarm · #79 03/16/12, 11:47 PM

Quote:

You forgot to mention that your Wikipedia site (obviously written by a Beef Products supporter) says the company that does not use ammonia instead uses an acidification process to kill bacteria. No one is able to sell this stuff for human consumption without heavy chemical sterilization.

Or by someone who just sticks to plain facts without sensationalism?

I can't copy and paste the whole thing.
That's why I provided the link.

I don't see any links that show evidence of all the derogatory claims about it

Quote:

According to a 2003 study financed by Beef Products, the trimmings “typically includes most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass” and contains “larger microbiological populations.”

Quote:

In other words, it is contaminated by the manure crusted hides of the feedlot cattle

That's a pretty big leap in descriptive terms

tailwagging · #80 03/16/12, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

I DO know you can take the BEST Prime Rib, and grind it fine enough, and it will LOOK just like "pink slime"

then put it back together with "meat glue" and no will ever know! baaahhhaaaa