FOOD FIGHT POLL: "Pink Slime"
03/19/2012
“Pink slime.” It’s everywhere, being talked about by everyone – from this mom blogger who is also a meat scientist, and this news report from an Albany, N.Y. TV station, to this food editor’s taste test and this science journal’s take on the matter. +
We are curious and want to know what you think! Vote in our poll below or tell us how you feel about lean finely textured beef/”pink slime” in your own words in our comments section.
To learn more about "pink slime," please read our post by Dr. James Dickson, Iowa State University.
Poll Question: What are your thoughts on "pink slime”?
Comments
Chrissy - 07/07/2012
If this stuff is so safe why has it been banned for human consumption in several countries ? Why is the product containing it not labelled so consumers have a choice ? Personally I would not want to feed it to my prescious grandchildren - I remember how long it took to ban DDT !
Karen - 03/26/2012
I don't care whether the process is safe or not. There is no reason to eat this sort of beef. I will buy cuts of beef and grind them myself.
vanessa - 03/24/2012
I want to know if this is in my food. If it isn't anything to be afraid of, then why would producers and packagers be reluctant to tell us? I can't eat out or buy hamburger ever again. it makes me sick just to think about what I could be putting in my mouth!
Greengal - 03/23/2012
You have a choice. No one is forcing this into anyones mouth.There are other things to eat other than feedlot beef. Vote with your fork!
Anonymous - 03/23/2012
I don't care to eat any food that has to be so processed.
Dr. James Dickson - 03/23/2012
Tim and Dan: In regards to your comments on the nutritional value, I am not aware of any nutritional studies on lean finely textured beef, but again it is in fact lean beef. I doubt that there are any meaningful differences in nutritional value between ground beef and lean finely textured beef. Both have approximately equal amounts of protein, roughly 17-18% of total weight. There was one report that showed that lean finely textured beef had more collagen than beef chuck, but the lean finely textured beef was not compared to ground beef or even ground chuck, but was compared to whole muscle chuck which was trimmed on all fat and connective tissue, which would have eliminated the collagen. It is hard to find data on how much collagen might be present in ground beef, and not surprisingly, the numbers vary considerably based on the composition of the ground beef and what it is made from. On the high end, the percent collagen as percent of total protein is roughly the same between lean finely textured beef and ground beef.
Dr. James Dickson - 03/23/2012
Dan: In regards to your question about whether lean finely textured beef contains the connective nervous tissue that is associated with Mad Cow Disease, the answer is NO. Period. Lean finely textured beef does not contain the material associated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalophy (Mad Cow Disease). USDA regulations prohibt the use of what is termed "specified risk materials" in any food product for human consumption, and that certainly includes lean finely textured beef.
Dr. James Dickson - 03/23/2012
Kathleen and Anonymous: If the trim used in the manufacture of lean finely textured beef was from organic cattle, then technically, the lean finely textured beef could be used in organic ground beef. However, I do not know if there is organic lean finely textured beef or not, so I really don't know if it is in organic ground beef. I really doubt it, as there is so little organic beef (and therefore organic trim) available. I doubt that they make organic lean finely textured beef, but they could.
Anonymous - 03/23/2012
Does organic and natural raised beef also contain this pink slime? Or do their higher standards not allow it?
Kathleen - 03/22/2012
I will pay extra for organic. What worries me is when you look at labels and can't pronounce half the ingredients or it says "other flavoring"....what exactly is it!!!
Anonymous - 03/22/2012
I think our ancestors had it right when they tried to use the entirety of what they produced. We have become such a "throw-away" society; I am an advocate of this lean meat and don't have any problems. I agree with Ron wholeheartedly.
dee - 03/22/2012
No wonder i cannot digest hamburger this slime is something i do not want.. why is it not labeled... another devious trick more and more vegan for me...
Ruth Everson - 03/21/2012
This is absolutely unconscionable! Presenting the consumer with this chemically treated "filler" while labeling it solely as "GROUND BEEF" does nothing but make fools out of purchasers. Apparently the only fast food franchise that doesn't use the pink slime tainted beef is McDonalds. My husband and I won't be buying burgers from anyone else, for sure, and I'll be grinding my own ground beef from on-sale cuts of meat. I hope the backlash on this is so severe that we, as consumers, won't be subjected to this in future. We have a government these days that wants to regulate every other breath we take. Where are they when this farce is being perpetrated on the consumer?
Margaret - 03/21/2012
I think it is interesting that our first lady with her whitehouse garden would allow this to enter the food system of our children.... Interesting
Gina - 03/21/2012
It's a complicated question. Environmentally, it serves us best to get the most out each animal, which is costly to the planet to raise. The goal of its use is a leaner product, and that's laudable. As a chef though, texture is a big part of the pleasure of food, and having done a side-by-side comparison, one can definitely tell the difference in texture. Do I worry nutritionally? Not so much. Do I have reservations about the "performance" of the product? Sure do. Does it piss me off that people pay good money for something they think is a piece of ground up cow muscle, but in fact is not, but aren't told.
dan - 03/21/2012
What nurishment value does connective tissue have?This is not filler it is waste. How do we know whether this contains the connective nervous tissue that is associated with Mad Cow Disease? I thought the FDA and other countries bans this because of the risk of Mad Cow Disease. We know the FDA can not really be a watch guard over what really goes in pink slime.
Tim - 03/21/2012
If pink slime offers no nutritional value, as some have stated, it is just filler. But meat treated with ammonia is just wrong. When is profit more important than long term health, the answer is never for those ethically challenged.
Cass - 03/21/2012
It sickens me that we and our children have been eating this meat garbage and it's been the "dirty little secret".
Ron - 03/21/2012
People continually amaze me. This is beef. If it were hand trimmed as close as possible and cooked on a grill we would think this was some of the most tender flavorful meat ever. Because it is separated by a method other than a knife it is somehow supposed to be inedible. It must feel good to go to bed in this country and be full and satisfied every night.
Rachel - 03/21/2012
My daughter seeing the picture of the pink slime was the best thing that ever happened. She refuses to go to ANY fast food restaurant. We have half of a beef in the freezer and my burgers taste much better that any of theirs.
Harry - 03/21/2012
When I purchase pure beef hamburger, I expect it to be pure, not dog food treated by ammonia. Keep the scraps for the dogs. Keep our beef pure without fillers or pink slime!