Most U.S. school districts reject 'pink slime' for lunch programs

[xBiffx]

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp126-c1.pdf

Ammonia turns into ammonia immediately when added to water. This makes it tasteless. This is what happens when they treat meat, meaning its tasteless. I like how the study just throws out that you can taste ammonia in water at 35ppm when ammonia in water turns into ammonium ions which aren't tasteable. Nice one liner with nothing to back it up.

From the same paper though if you would like to continue using it:

Ammonia easily dissolves in water. In this form, it is also known as liquid ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or ammonia solution. In water, most of the ammonia changes to the ionic form of
ammonia, known as ammonium ions, which are represented by the formula NH4+ (an ion is an atom or a group of atoms that has acquired a net electric charge by gaining or losing one or more
electrons). Ammonium ions are not gaseous and have no odor.

I love how somehow you can taste 35ppm yet cheese has 1000ppm in some cases and you can't taste it. Ask yourself what is wrong with this.

Also:

Ammonia can also be combined with other substances to form ammonium compounds, including salts such as ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate,
and others.

This is exactly what happens when meat is treated. Which is another reason why you wouldn't be able to taste it. Like I said, its going to do nothing but make the meat taste saltier, if anything.

 

[SagaLore]

I like how the study just throws out that you can taste ammonia in water at 35ppm when ammonia in water turns into ammonium ions which aren't tasteable.

I'm pretty sure people aren't drinking the treated beef trimmings.

So what happens when the NH3(aq) becomes NH3 again?

 

[xBiffx]

So what happens when the NH3(aq) becomes NH3 again?

Nothing much. It doesn't last very long in the open air and if you inhale it, it is carried through your body almost immediately. Especially since you breathe most of it back out again.

 

[Bowfinger]

Ammonia turns into ammonia immediately when added to water. This makes it tasteless. This is what happens when they treat meat, meaning its tasteless. I like how the study just throws out that you can taste ammonia in water at 35ppm when ammonia in water turns into ammonium ions which aren't tasteable. Nice one liner with nothing to back it up.

From the same paper though if you would like to continue using it:



I love how somehow you can taste 35ppm yet cheese has 1000ppm in some cases and you can't taste it. Ask yourself what is wrong with this.

Also:



This is exactly what happens when meat is treated. Which is another reason why you wouldn't be able to taste it. Like I said, its going to do nothing but make the meat taste saltier, if anything.

Speaking of "one liner with nothing to back it up", where are you getting this claim that ammonia and ammonium ions cannot be tasted? The only evidence shown so far directly contradicts you, and when I searched for "ammonia taste", I found hundreds of matches, mostly talking about an ammonia taste in cheese, tobacco, and seafood, with many more talking about an ammonia taste associated with certain medical conditions or activities. Finally, even if it is true that ammonium ions cannot be tasted, note that the CDC paper says, "most of the ammonia changes to the ionic form of ammonia", not ALL.

Edit: I see later in that same paper they refer to the "strong taste" of ammonia.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Speaking of "one liner with nothing to back it up", where are you getting this claim that ammonia and ammonium ions cannot be tasted? The only evidence shown so far directly contradicts you, and when I searched for "ammonia taste", I found hundreds of matches, mostly talking about an ammonia taste in cheese, tobacco, and seafood, with many more talking about an ammonia taste associated with certain medical conditions or activities. Finally, even if it is true that ammonium ions cannot be tasted, note that the CDC paper says, "most of the ammonia changes to the ionic form of ammonia", not ALL.

You do realize pecans, grape fruit, peanut butter, salami and raisins, etc have more then 35 ppm ammonia hydroxide in them right? If this was at all true you'd taste it in many other food items which have more then 35 ppm of ammonia hydroxide in the process of creating these end food products.

In addition beef patties are delivered already pre-cooked at McDonald. So the cooking process before they ship along with the reheating process that occurs at the site pretty much debunks any notion that you could taste ammonia hydroxide in a burger itself.

In addition it just as plausible to believe that ground beef bought from a store would have a way stronger taste of ammonia hydroxide if we were to follow this rationale because that meat is not pre-cooked.

 

[Bowfinger]

You do realize pecans, grape fruit, peanut butter, salami and raisins, etc have more then 35 ppm ammonia hydroxide in them right?

OK, if you say so.

If this was at all true

What are your qualifications for saying the CDC is lying in this report? It strikes me as an extraordinary claim that requires extraordinary proof. Your emotional belief is not a substitute for fact.

you'd taste it in many other food items which have more then 35 ppm of ammonia hydroxide in the process of creating these end food products.

That's not true at all. Multiple flavors interact, sometimes masking specific components or blending them into something new that is perceived as its own unique flavor. An educated tongue may be able to identify some of those components, e.g., experienced wine connoisseurs, but to the unskilled palate, it just tastes like wine.

In addition beef patties are delivered already pre-cooked at McDonald. So the cooking process before they ship along with the reheating process that occurs at the site pretty much debunks any notion that you could taste ammonia hydroxide in a burger itself.

In addition it just as plausible to believe that ground beef bought from a store would have a way stronger taste of ammonia hydroxide if we were to follow this rationale because that meat is not pre-cooked.

I didn't address either point. I just challenged the repeated claim that ammonia had no taste, using information from multiple sources (the CDC report and the hundreds (thousands?) of hits on Google referring to the "taste" of ammonia, including many from medical sources). Ammonia clearly does have a taste.

As far as the more specific claim that one cannot detect ammonia in the so-called "pink slime" because the level is too low and it's removed during cooking, I can only point out that this thread links multiple documented instances of complaints from people who did taste it in their hamburgers. Perhaps every one of them is a liar, but the simpler explanation is that yes, in some cases the ammonia smell and taste become evident.

In any case, none of this means "pink slime" is notably unhealthy. It just shows that there have been cases where some detected the ammonia used in processing.

 

[kylebisme]

To those defending pink slime, I've got a question. Say you were walking a stake out to a grill and accidentally dropped into on a pile of dog shit; would you hose the steak down, spray it with a little deluded ammonia, and call it good, or would you toss the steak and find something else to eat?

 

[SirStev0]

So Grade F to Grade E?