Every single story about chicken nuggets is prefaced with "you may not want to read this" and then they tell us absolutely nothing surprising. The chicken nuggets that are made by grinding up chicken meat are chock full of random chicken parts? What are the odds?
Really the only surprising thing is how much study has been done on chicken nuggets, and yet all they can tell me is they're full of chicken.
Seriously. What did we learn through this article?
Most chicken nuggets are made with the "pink slime" mechanically-separated product?
Most products made entirely of "pink slime" are going to have disgusting parts of an animal we would not ordinarily eat if presented whole?
This was news... like what, 15 years ago? I think the part that is news is the fact that anyone still doesn't know any of this.
I mean, blissful ignorance is great and all, but it gets tiresome when it is willful ignorance that has ignored what could be called history at this point.
Also - I'm not entirely certain you can say McD's nuggets are in this category anymore. They could have lied, sure, but they made a huge stink of the acknowledgment of the truth and the switch to all-white-meat chicken nuggets.
Not to say it's the best chicken you can find, and it's still probably cut-up left-overs, but it's certainly not pink slime.
You have to label it "mechanically separated _____" if it contains pink-slime of whatever animal type. If that's not on the label, and it's not a shady operation operating on the fringe that is possibly lacking FDA approval (McD's could never get away with it), it cannot contain pink slime type products.
That said, there are plenty of smaller chains that offer pink-slime nuggets. Most pre-made ones you can buy in stores are pink-slime.
Aside from the questionable preservatives that go in pink slime, the food itself is safe and a good hearty mix of nutrients, and a terrific use of the entire animal.
It just typically requires certain added stabilizers and preservatives that we could all do without.
Most of those chemicals can be found in many other foods though, so you have to be vigilant and not just settle at "I'll avoid pink-slime and be good."
Most are considered 100% safe, but it's still weird eating anti-foaming agents and propylene glycol. I try and avoid ice creams with propylene glycol, just because... but it's tough to avoid in daily life these days... it's everywhere.
It's GRAS (generally recognized as safe, a rating by the FDA), so it shouldn't be a big concern, but I don't like it. Probably more so because its one of the more easily pronounced common additives to food.
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