Perhaps you don't understand how the USDA labeling works. If it says "Ground Beef" it's all beef but it can be from any part of the cow. You want Chuck or Sirloin, that's labeled as such.
Posted on 03/27/2012 7:01:47 PM PDT by quantim
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The leaders of five states plan a visit to the only place where a beef product known as "pink slime" is still made, an effort aimed to support its embattled manufacturer, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will visit the one Beef Products Inc. plant that's still in operation to combat misconceptions and misinformation about the company and its "lean, finely textured beef" product, company spokesman Rich Jochum said.
They'll be joined at the South Sioux City, Neb., plant on Thursday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and South Dakota Lt. Governor Matt Michels.
Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based Beef Products said Monday it is suspending operations at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa where it makes the low-cost beef ingredient from fatty bits of meat left over from other cuts.
The bits are heated and spun to remove most of the fat, and the lean mix then is compressed into blocks and exposed to ammonium hydroxide gas to kill bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. The result is a product, which has been used for years and meets federal food safety standards, that is as much as 97 percent lean beef.
Critics call the product an unappetizing example of industrialized food production and dub it "pink slime."
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I have no problem with finely textured beef. Sounds like the processors are very concerned about food safety.
The food industry is coming under increasing attack by the FDA, EPA and enviro-wackos. One way to get everyone’s weight down would be a good, old-fashioned famine.
What’s coming next is an assault on vegetable oil, the most basic of food commodities, because most of it is processed using hexane (yes, one of the explosive components of gasoline). Expect to pay a lot more for it soon.
Most telling, this same story about ammonia treatment of beef came up in the NYT in 2009, when there were negotiations with their union United Food and Commercial. Workers Union,. Local 222.
If you want to destroy America, look no farther than the unions.
Eat Montana beef..:)
We love the stuff. It makes the best chili and tacos.
If anyone wants to send us your pink slime, we will put it to good use. Pack it up in some dry ice and send it here. It’s grilling season. We can add some tofu, Parmesan cheese, egg and season salt for the best burgers on the planet!
Just buy some cat food and a bottle of ammonia and you can have all you want. Oh wait, the cat food is better quality than the mechanically separated connective tissue that is pink slime. I’m so glad we purchase our meat from a local farmer. The first time we ate their beef it was like eating beef for the first time. There is no way I could go back to what is in the grocery store. It has absolutely no flavor.
If it’s so good, they can sell their “lean, finely textured beef” product as is. Put it in a package and let it compete with regular ground beef. At minimum I want to know whether this filler is in my hamburger.
This is basically the meat that was once considered too dangerous (or unappetizing) for human consumption and went into dog food and other animal feed. Beef Products, Inc. may have found a way to make it safe by using ammonium hydroxide gas, but it sure as heck isn’t a very appealing process and I really don’t want anything to do with it.
Can we buy from Beef Products Inc?
I think that conservatives need to keep this company in business.
It’s not cat food and it’s the SAME beef that we have been eating for years. And it’s treated to kill eColi.
For heaven’s sake, this is a manufactured crisis by ABC. Do you want to be with them?
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/23/how-abc-news-smeared-stellar-company-with-pink-slime/
Exactly. If it's so wonderful, package the damn stuff up and sell it instead of sliding in it as a filler. Somehow I think the vast majority of customers will give it a pass.
If people understood this process from the outset it would have been rejected by the consumer immediately. At minimum, it is extremely unappetizing.
Please see post 9.
No kidding - we do not buy beef at the grocery store. We buy it on the hoof, and have it slaughtered.
Maybe everyone here has money to buy the butcher cut ground meat or run out to the local farmer for grain fed. We don’t. When we buy “ground meat” we buy the big tubes. THAT is this product. It’s not a “filer”. It’s beef. You make a patty out of it and it’s actually leaner than some of the ground chuck patties I’ve cooked at my in-laws.
Cowboy up. Not everyone can afford the fine stuff. And when you grew up like I did, eating Scrapple and head cheese, you find that meat is meat when you’re hungry.
No one is commenting on what the essense of the article is - governors touring the plants; Who are they and why are they doing this?
Great, you buy all of it you want. I can afford not to. It seems an awful lot of people find the process revolting and don't want it in their ground beef. Stores are responding to keep their customers.
And yes, it is filler. If it weren't they could package their "lean, finely textured beef" product up and compete with the regular stuff. And I am all for that too. If it is safe, and I have no reason to think it isn't, then Beef Products Inc. should sell it as is.
Mechanically separated chicken is pretty revolting too. I avoid stuff made of that as well. I've got no problem if you want to eat it, just let me know exactly what it is so I can make my own choice.
Did you even bother to read the article in post 9? How ABC is fighting to put this company out of business?
It’s in the article...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Texas Gov. Rick Perry
They are touring this plant because the “whistleblower” and his friends at ABC are putting the company out of business.
This is perfectly good beef. It’s all hype. If anyone thinks that the beef they get in a roll for 1.29 a pound is USDA prime, they are naive.
This is about TRUTH IN PACKAGING. When I go to a grocery store to buy ground beef, I expect it to be 100% ground chuck. Not 75% ground chuck, 25% ground beef by-product. If the market wants to offer a lower priced substitute, fine, great, I got no problem. But LABEL it. Don’t deceive customers.
By the way, you make it sound like this has been SOP for decades. How about they’ve only been doing it for a few years. My family has always bought locally raised beef up until the last few months. We immediately noticed a difference in the store bought ground beef. When we first read about pink slime, it all made sense.
Great. That should be the only beef Congress is allowed to eat while in D.C.
New slogan: “Pink Slime: The Particle Board of Meats”
It’s NOT what’s for dinner...
>>And yes, it is filler.<<
No it isn’t. It’s BEEF. It is the muscle of the cow. Not grain, not soy, not oatmeal. It’s beef. What do you think beef is? It’s the muscle of a cow.
Did you really think that the roll of beef for 1.29 was the same stuff as the Ground Chuck at 3.29? Seriously?
>>I expect it to be 100% ground chuck<<
Why in God’s name would you thing that a package that says “Ground Beef” would be “Ground Chuck”?
Don’t you read the labels? It says clearly on the label what it is.
And our politicians need the best in nutrition to function. This should be required consumption for them when they assume office.
When we buy “ground meat” we buy the big tubes. THAT is this product. It’s not a “filer”.
No, it is not.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0327/Pink-slime-Health-crisis-or-misunderstood-meat-product
Pink slime is what critics call 'lean, finely textured beef' – a FILLER used in ground beef. It's not dangerous, but it's a byproduct that some say should be clearly labeled.
Beef Products Inc., the main manufacturer and inventor of the FILLER....(more)
If you don't mind this filler being part of your ground beef then that is great. Eat up. Enjoy. If I were starving or poor, I'd be plenty happy to eat it too. But I'm not. I can afford to be picky and I don't want anything to do with it. And guess what? Many/most consumers, once made aware of this process, don't seem too terribly thrilled with it either and are refusing to buy ground beef from stores that are using it. The result, stores increasingly not going to use it in their products.
Ever eat a hot dog?
Oh and it’s been sold since 1974. That’s decades.
Makes me glad I’m a lacto-ovo-vegetarian.
Can’t stand anything from a cow. Milk gives me diarrhea. Cheese clogs me up. Who needs cows?
Makes me glad I’m a ovo-vegetarian.
Can’t stand anything from a cow. Milk gives me diarrhea. Cheese clogs me up. Who needs cows?
Calves.
The Christian Science Monitor calls it “filler” so it’s filler? Right?
How do you fill beef with beef?
Seriously, stop passing along the hype. Eat your Grain fed beef and stop helping to put ANOTHER American company out of business.
Hope you’re rich, cause when the low priced beef eaters can’t get it any more, the price for you will skyrocket. Supply and demand, you know.
Where on earth are you shopping? I don't even think Beef Products Inc. sell this "lean, finely textured beef" as a stand alone product direct to consumers. It is a FILLER. Where are you buying this "tube" of filler that you keep referencing?
Aldi’s, Kroger (they pulled it) and Walmart.
Beef Products Inc. sells it and it’s packaged to sell in individual stores. It’s labelled “Ground Beef”.
Look, the little people need to eat too. Sorry you have never experienced the steerage section of the grocery store, but with the way this country is going, there are more of us eating this than you know.
The Christian Science Monitor calls it a FILLER because it is a FILLER.
You are wrong. You don't even understand what it is you are arguing about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime
At the end of the process, the beef is at least 90 percent lean. It is used in meat supplies across the U.S. It rarely comprises more than 25 percent of the final meat product that consumers purchase and eat
A 2008 Washington Post article suggested that the pink slime content of most beef patties containing the substance approaches 25%.
It's called a filler because it is a FILLER.
Perhaps you don't understand how the USDA labeling works. If it says "Ground Beef" it's all beef but it can be from any part of the cow. You want Chuck or Sirloin, that's labeled as such.
If it’s a filler, what is it exactly, then?
I’m confused.
When I cook a chicken, I nibble at the bones. Am I eating the filling that’s Not-Chicken?
It's a filler in those products. You weren't buying a tube of "lean, finely textured beef" product from any of those stores. You were buying ground beef with this filler added (up to around 25% or so).
OMG that Wikipedia. ABC or someone who watched their reports or any other activist who has access to the internet, fed that in.
It’s beef. Cow muscle.
>>You were buying ground beef with this filler added (up to around 25% or so). <<
Get in real close and read the label. The 25% is fat. The rest is BEEF. The parts that they couldn’t get from between the bones, the less desirable cuts and then it’s all chopped up, treated for E. Coli and packaged in those cute tubes.
It’s BEEF.
Thanks for the clarification. When I bought ground beef I usually got the ground chuck. The ground “beef” was too fatty for my taste and just didn’t seem right. It might have been the processed part of the beef I was noticing.
Probably has a bit more gelatin, not that that’s a bad thing at all. I’m sure Americans as a whole would be better off eating a little gelatin....
By the reasoning of that poster, if you take the feet and tail of a pig, boil it and add it to a picnic ham before grinding it for sausage, everything but the ham is “filler”.
That is exactly right.
Like I said, we mix in Tofu, egg and cheese (THOSE are fillers). It makes fine patties. I’m not sure how good it is plain. It’s great for tacos though.
There’s always room for Jello. XD
The 4th branch of government needs is butt put in a sling.
No, "lean, finely textured beef" product is being added to ground beef as a filler. FILLER. What aren't you getting about this? The 25% isn't fat. It is the approximate amount of "lean, finely textured beef" added to the 75% ground beef made the old fashioned way.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46833528/ns/local_news-fort_wayne_in/t/kroger-no-longer-sell-ground-beef-containing-pink-slime/
Kroger No Longer to Sell Ground Beef Containing Pink Slime
Supermarket chains Kroger Co. and Stop & Shop say they’ll be joining the growing list of store chains that will no longer sell beef that includes an additive "pink slime."
See the words consistently used? Containing, Additive, Filler. Is it making sense now? You aren't buying a tube of "lean, finely textured beef". The stuff is added into ground beef made the way most consumers assumed. It is beef, it is probably safe, but the process is very unappetizing and people are simply rejecting it. They'd have avoided it all along if they'd known.
Holy crap, READ THE LABEL!!!!
It says 75% beef, !!!25% fat!!!. IT’S ON the LABEL. Hello!
You’re quoting MSNBC and expecting any credence? LOLOL!!!
Good night. I have to go make my hubby’s PB&J. Enjoy your Grain Fed Beef.
I'm not talking about your label. I was talking about what percentage of "pink slime" is in ground beef that contains "lean, finely textured beef" product. The answer is approximately 25% or less. You have no idea what you are even talking about. You seem to think you've been buying "lean, finely textured beef" product (aka pink slime) as a stand alone product. You have not been. It is an additive, a filler, something mixed into the ground beef made the old fashion way. The stuff is 90-94% lean anyway. Any "tube" of ground beef that is 75% lean couldn't possibly be "lean, finely textured beef" product even if they sold it that way (which they don't).
You’re quoting MSNBC and expecting any credence? LOLOL!!!
Your wrong and you are either too dense to realize it or won't admit it. You've now rejected the Christian Science Monitor, Wikipedia, MSNBC, and it is obvious that you will not accept any link I give you as evidence that you are completely incorrect and simply don't understand the issue. I could have pulled any of 100 stories from CNN, FOX, or anywhere else explaining that "lean, finely textured beef" product is a filler, an additive, something ground beef "contains". It is not a stand alone product. When it is added to ground beef, "lean, finely textured beef" only makes up about 25% (at most) of the final product.
Enjoy your Grain Fed Beef.
Thank you, I will. Enjoy your "lean, finely textured beef" product filler while you can still get it. Though it does look to me like the public has rejected it and it will go back to being used exclusively in dog/animal feed.
The reality is that gelatin is actually very good for wrinkles and joints among other things. But I guess I shouldn't fight so hard, because if nobody uses pink slime, then gelatin prices will fall.
I am 5th gen cowman...I am the first of my family NOT to raise cattle (but I grew up on the family’s ranch). My uncle used to (before the gov came down on small biz to drive the packing biz down to 5 companies), owned a meat (beef) packing company. They made/sold everything from halves to ground beef
I know an awful lot about beef.
And LTGB is NOT what you want/expect from ground beef.
It’s so low quality of cuts that it’s not acceptable for the low-end hot dogs (beef).
Think about that. There is an old saying about cheap hot dogs....they are made of lips and #$@holes. FTGB, by definition are those fleshy areas that are highly contaminated with e-coli (don’t think i should go further here).
The only solution is to kill the bacteria. That leaves you with a few options
1) Radioactive (most americans would not like that)
2) Chemical (man-made) — like Ammonium
3) Chemical (natural) — like Citrus oil
Next time you are in the store, and pick out some low-quality hamburger that is probably colored with dye, when you get home, give it the smell test. If it smells like urine, then draw your own conclusions about whether or not it’s had ammonium added (hint - the bladder of the cow can’t comtaminate 1500 lbs of meat to that extent!)
BTW, also, you might hear about when selecting steaks to look for “marbleing”.....HA HA! That’s the OLDEST trick in the BEEF BOOK!
You take an old beef cow at the end her prime, put her in the pen and feed her high protein feed and antibiotics for 45 days and she marbles out real pretty.....Nice layers of fat between meat layers that’s tough as a boot!
The rancher gets pennys for his product, and you get charged big bucks. WHY?
Because the government drove the small guy out the business. This “small guy” however, is doing unethical things with beef. It’s tarnishing the reputation of “100% American Beef”.
here’s what GONNA happen. Look for Beef (in the store) prices to collapse in the net 3-6 months. Why? BECAUSE PEOPLE DON”T WANT PISS IN THIER MEAT!
So they traded SH&T for PISS! That’s an improvement? As for me, I want neither. I prefer to eat a little less quantity, at a better quality.
If you want cheap protein, look for eggs or pork.
I hunt and dress animals, and have slaughtered cows & pigs. Hunters and farmers carefully avoid the bowels of animals, because that is where the E Coli is that this specific process kills. E Coli is found in the lower intestines, in the poop.
If you are comfortable eating food that is contaminated with what is found in the bowels of animals, go for it. We know that it is contaminated, because that is what the process the trimmings undergo is specifically meant to kill. The ammonia gas is specifically to kill the E Coli, and it works most of the time.
Eating poop is not conservative.
I do not settle for seconds when it comes to my family, as they are the most important gifts God has given me. They are worth more than all the beef trimmings in the world.
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