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Have you eaten pink slime ?

Modelworks

Modelworks

Lifer
With the 4th approaching I know everyone is thinking about grilling out and that usually means hamburgers . I wonder though if people have really thought about the hamburger they buy. When I see hamburger/ground beef on sale for $2.99/lb and the lowest price on the other beef is $3.49 /lb the first thing that comes to mind is pink slime. Pink slime is basically pet food grade beef washed in ammonia and ground in with hamburger/ground beef. It is cheap and that is how they can sell hamburger/ground beef for less than a whole cut of beef at most stores. I knew about it for years because my dad was butcher then manager of a chain of grocery stores for 30+ years and he told me never to buy pre-ground beef.

Can't see why the government allows this and it should have to be labeled if they use it.

http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/nutrition/pink-slime.php
Pink slime" (ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings) is the nickname earned by a formerly inedible byproduct of the beef industry. Once used in pet food, it's now a cheap additive in ground beef. Pink Slime is an additive that the federal government has approved to be mixed in with ground beef. To make "real" beef stretch further, manufacturers can use this ammonia-infused beef as up to 15 percent of the product. Pink slime is now an additive in 70% of the ground beef in the U.S., which means that if you’re eating a burger, there’s a good chance you’re also eating Pink Slime.
According to a New York Times article, The "majority of hamburger" now sold in the U.S. now contains fatty slaughterhouse trimmings "the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil," "typically including most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass" that contains "larger microbiological populations."
With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone. And since the USDA considers it a "process", Ammonia doesn't have to be listed on the packaging as a separate ingredient!
What Does Pink Slime Consist of?
Grist's Tom Philpott explains pink slime this way: it's "the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer - fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. (Beef Products, Inc. or BPI) sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens."
What Companies Use Ammoniated Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings?
According to the manufacturer Beef Products Inc. in South Dakota, if you're eating a hamburger, odds are very high that it includes their product. Producing more than 7 million pounds a week, the product is included in fast-food burgers and retail packages of ground beef. With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone.
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Eaten it for years, along with true ground beef from a cow we bought, and I'm perfectly fine. I won't let something like this ruin it for me.
 
Yeah, it's disgusting. Sadly, it isn't even close to being the only thing that is terribly wrong with our food system.
 
Yeah,.. and?

This is what scumbag good ole boys do to make profits at the expense of the public.

Pink slime really tastes like awful salty slime. Keep them away from catching fire while on the grill.
 
Modelworks said:
Can't see why the government allows this
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Because the big beef companies have paid a lot of money to various congressmen and they expect something in return. Fuck the people.

Obviously no current politicians have ever heard of a little book called "The Jungle."
 
AstroManLuca said:
Because the big beef companies have paid a lot of money to various congressmen and they expect something in return. Fuck the people.

Obviously no current politicians have ever heard of a little book called "The Jungle."
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This.

The meat industry is a lot smarter than it was back then, though. They've made it illegal to photograph the "farms" these cows live on, to take pictures of the slaughterhouses, or, basically, to convey any information about the terrible treatment of animals and workers or the shoddy quality of their product.
 
Ground beef has been mostly leftovers from more profitable cuts of beef for quite some time now... How is this any surprise?
 
Modelworks said:
With the 4th approaching I know everyone is thinking about grilling out and that usually means hamburgers . I wonder though if people have really thought about the hamburger they buy. When I see hamburger/ground beef on sale for $2.99/lb and the lowest price on the other beef is $3.49 /lb the first thing that comes to mind is pink slime. Pink slime is basically pet food grade beef washed in ammonia and ground in with hamburger/ground beef. It is cheap and that is how they can sell hamburger/ground beef for less than a whole cut of beef at most stores. I knew about it for years because my dad was butcher then manager of a chain of grocery stores for 30+ years and he told me never to buy pre-ground beef.

Can't see why the government allows this and it should have to be labeled if they use it.

http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/nutrition/pink-slime.php
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lol, so something at 2.99 is considered disgusting to you, but add 50 cents to the price and you think otherwise?
 
Schfifty Five said:
lol, so something at 2.99 is considered disgusting to you, but add 50 cents to the price and you think otherwise?
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If ground beef is supposed to be ground cuts of things like steak, chuck roast then how do you think they can sell something for less ground up than they can whole ? The lower the cost of the ground beef per pound below that of whole cuts the more scraps it contains.
 
The only hamburg I buy is from a local butcher down the street. I used to work there, so I know what goes in it.

I've never heard of this 'pink slime' before.
 
Modelworks said:
If ground beef is supposed to be ground cuts of things like steak, chuck roast then how do you think they can sell something for less ground up than they can whole ? The lower the cost of the ground beef per pound below that of whole cuts the more scraps it contains.
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primals are cheaper than steaks and roasts to begin with, regardless of grade.

then, ground meat is generally going to be from ungraded cows, which is cheaper than graded beef.
 
Matthiasa said:
Ground beef has been mostly leftovers from more profitable cuts of beef for quite some time now... How is this any surprise?
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I don't think that people realize this isn't excess fat or leftover cuts. This is the worst of the worst. Meat so bad that it contains bacteria in large amounts and can only be made consumable by washing it in ammonia or sodium hydroxide. The stuff that would have only been sold in pet food 5 years ago. How many people would be willing to buy steak that they had to wash with ammonia before they could cook it ?
 
my dad was butcher then manager of a chain of grocery stores for 30+ years and he told me never to buy pre-ground beef
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I imagine the restaurants are using that or worse...

Pink slime" (ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings) is the nickname earned by a formerly inedible byproduct of the beef industry. Once used in pet food, it's now a cheap additive in ground beef.
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D:
contains "larger microbiological populations."
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Food poisoning will be on the rise soon, it seems...
he federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone
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Yet people want to remove soda from high schools...
What Does Pink Slime Consist of?
Grist's Tom Philpott explains pink slime this way: it's "the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer - fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. (Beef Products, Inc. or BPI) sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens."
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D:

Can I buy ground round or sirloin at the grocery store to avoid this or do they place the pink slime into all "grades" of ground beef? Also, what about Kosher ground meat (like Hebrew National)?

I might just buy myself a meat grinder...
 
I get my grass-fed black angus beef a side at a time (which I split with a friend) once a year from a farmer friend of mine. The hamburger is lean, tasty and awesome.
 
Why is ground beef cheap?
Ground beef is typically the remnants of other, larger cuts of meat. When the butcher cuts a steak, there is waste. The butcher has two choices: throw it away and get nothing or grind it up and sell it for $2.99/#. Are you buying scraps? Yes, but you buying scraps of chuck, sirloin, top loin, etc for far less than market price.

Is ground beef soaked in ammonia?
No. Ground beef can be rinsed with a light ammonia solution, which is then washed off, to kill bacteria but it is not "soaked" in ammonia. Many foods are treated in a similar fashion (pretzels are rinsed with lye) but it is perfectly safe when done properly.

Is pre-made ground beef dangerous?
Generally, no. In the instances where you do hear of problems they usually relate to e.coli resulting from improper cleaning of the grinding dye. E.coli loves to hang out in butcheries and much of the meat you eat has some e.coli on it, but the act of cooking kills surface bacteria. With ground meat, surface area is increased through grinding, meaning that e.coli can hang out virtually anywhere. Undercooked ground meat is the #1 cause of food-borne illness in the US. This is not related in any way to any alleged "pink slime".

Really, this is just like the 'chicken nuggets are ammonia-soaked pink slime' FUD.
 
If you want to learn about beef grading, check out Texas A&M's site: http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading.html

If you want to know that there is no "pink slime", check out the USDA site:http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/ground_beef_and_food_safety/index.asp

What's the difference between "hamburger" and "ground beef"?
Beef fat may be added to "hamburger," but not "ground beef." A maximum of 30% fat is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef. Both hamburger and ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added. The labeling of meat food products must comply with the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the meat inspection regulations and labeling policies.

Most states and cities set standards for store-packaged ground beef which, by law, cannot be less than Federal standards. If products in retail stores were found to contain more than 30% fat, they would be considered "misbranded" under Federal law.
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Is ground beef inspected and graded?
All meat transported and sold in interstate commerce must be federally inspected. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) carries out USDA's responsibilities under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. These laws protect consumers by ensuring that meat products are wholesome, unadulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged.
For meat being transported and sold within a state, state inspection would apply. State inspection programs must enforce requirements at least equal to those of Federal inspection laws.

Ground beef exported to the U.S. from USDA-approved eligible nations must meet all safety standards applied to foods produced in the United States. They must employ equivalent sanitary measures that provide the same level of protection against food hazards as is achieved domestically.

Grades are assigned as a standard of quality only. It is voluntary for a company to hire a Federal Grader to certify the quality of its product. Beef grades are USDA Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner. They are set by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Most ground beef is not graded.
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