what an appetizing concept.
It’s as safe as genetically modified wheat.
I wouldn’t worry about it, even if they were :)
I fear not natural products bent to man’s needs!
I frequently “glue” my meat dishes together with flour and eggs. Same thing.
I never thought I’d hear a compelling argument for vegetarianism but between pink slime and meat glue, not to mention tuna scrape, pass the broccoli.
Seeing the term “meat glue” in a headline always makes me stop and ponder. Wa... WHAT?
Holy Moley! I just got to where I didn’t puke everytime I heard about “Pink Slime!”
It is only because of the USDA that these are even commonly used. It is only because the USDA declared that they are fit for human consumption rather than just as a method of making pet food that it is ubiquitous in our food supply. And further, it is because of the USDA that these things are hidden from the public and consumer, making regulations so that if it's a certain percentage, you just don't have to tell anyone that it is in there.
The cries from an industry that was exposed and shocked at the consumer response indicates they should have gone far beyond 'USDA' requirements in letting the consumer know what they were buying.
The whines of the liars are loudest when exposed. Poor babies.
Well as long as it’s present in imitation crab (krab?), then it must be OK.
Wait until the supermarket shelves are empty; many people (a lot here) will eat damn near anything.
The butcher’s answer to oriented strand board...
what an appetizing concept.
Does it stick to your ribs?
It is made from beef clotting agents, which you eat anytime you eat meat.
My only issue is if I pay for a steak, I want to know if it is really stew meat formed together.
In December 2009, the NYT ran a lengthy article on LFTB. Deep in the article was a line taken from an email sent by a disgruntled USDA fellow in 2002, and obtained through a simple FOIA request, that referred to the stuff as “pink slime.”
Later on in April 2011, TV cook Jamie Oliver did a segment on LFTB that was pretty over the top, most notably by taking hamburger and pouring liquid ammonia on it from a gallon jug labeled with a skull and crossbones.
Fast forward to March of this year. ABC News begins running a series of “investigative” reports on the stuff, including interviews with the author of the 2002 USDA email, and hammering on “pink slime” as the most fun thing a TV reporter could say on-air that week.
The result: most fast food restaurants that used the stuff for a decade or longer with zero complaints and zero health/safety problems announced they would stop using the stuff. A lot of grocery stores followed suit. USDA, which provides hamburger to a lot of School Lunch Programs is letting schools opt-out of using the stuff and many are. In the meat industry, hundreds of people have already been laid-off and one company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the firestorm. Meat prices are already rising. Cash-strapped schools will pay more money for fattier, less healthful hamburger. People struggling on the margins to put food on the table will be socked with higher grocery bills.
Consumers Deserve Choice in Food Decisions Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB) offers low-cost, nutritious and safe food option for families
Some critics of LFTB are calling for its removal from the marketplace. But a review of the facts and growing consumer sentiment shows that families should have a choice in which hamburger to serve.
· LFTB is a low-cost way of adding protein to fattier ground beef
· The nutritional value of LFTB is no different than any other kind of ground beef · Even critics concede that LFTB is safe and nutritious
It’s wrong for self-serving “food snobs” to tell us what we should and should not eat. Consumers want to make informed choices and providing LFTB that is labeled accordingly, provides families with the information they need to make the choices that best meet their needs.
Consumers should be free to choose between leaner, less expensive hamburger made with LFTB, and more expensive hamburger
“Hy-Vee (grocery stores), after saying it would no longer carry the product, is now saying it will mark the products and customers can decide.” (SOURCE: Des Moines Register, April 3, 2012)
“The nation's largest grocer, Walmart, said its ground beef contains LFTB, but the supermarket giant will soon offer consumers a choice.” (SOURCE: Food Safety News, March 22, 2012)
“Tell consumers what they're buying. Give them an option. Let them make the choice.” (SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2012)
The US Department of Agriculture, the beef industry and consumer activists support labeling that gives consumers a choice in hamburger
“The USDA said this week that beef processors could affix labels on ground beef packages informing consumers that the product contained the trimmings.” (SOURCE: Des Moines Register, April 5, 2012)
“Hy-Vee spokeswoman Ruth Comer cited a surge of support for the beef trimmings as a factor in the chain’s reversal of an earlier decision to take ground beef with the product off its shelves. Hy-Vee now will offer consumers a choice from separate, identified displays of ground beef.” (SOURCE: Ibid)
“’We believe USDA’s decision to allow companies to voluntarily include information on their label regarding (lean, finely textured beef) content will be an important first step in restoring consumer confidence in their ground beef,’ (Beef Products, Inc. spokesman Rich) Jochem said.” (SOURCE: Ibid)
“Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called the labeling ‘appropriate.’ ‘We don’t have a concern about its safety, but it certainly has captured a lot of attention and showed that the level of consumer concern shows that more information is needed,’ she said. ‘And so labeling would be appropriate.’” (SOURCE: Asbury Park Press, April 5, 2012)
Safety and Nutrition
LFTB is used to improve hamburger with which it’s been blended and costs less “A study conducted last fall by a University of Arkansas student has shown Lean Finely Textured Beef, or lean beef trim, added at levels up to 20% in ground beef, improved fresh color, reduced spoilage and increased tenderness.” (SOURCE: Drover’s Cattle network, April 6, 2012)
“… tenderness, measured by the force required to cut a patty, was better in the burgers containing Lean Finely Textured Beef. In addition to shelf-life advantages and enhanced eating quality, he said there are economic benefits. ‘It reduces the cost of a pound of ground beef by about 20¢ to 25¢,’ said (University of Arkansas meat science professor Jason) Apple.” (SOURCE: Ibid)
LFTB is safe, nutritious and is used to make leaner ground beef at a lower cost “… the treatment the product received in the media was unfair because it is not only safe, but also nutritious and allows grocers to sell leaner ground beef at a lower cost. ‘It's beef, but it's leaner beef which is better for you,’ Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said. ‘We take this off the market then we end up with a fatter product that's going to cost more and is going to increase the obesity problem in this country.’” (SOURCE: ABC News, March 29, 2012)
“Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, said he didn't think the product would disappear from supermarkets. ‘It's safer, leaner and less costly,’ said Concannon, who was in Omaha last week for a regional meeting of food bank administrators. (SOURCE: Omaha World-Herald, March 27, 2012)
“’There is no question that these products are safe. It's unfortunate that voices outside of Iowa have chosen to misrepresent this product, with little concern for how it impacts the working families in our communities,” (Christie) Vilsack said. ‘I would have no problem with my children or grandchildren eating beef from BPI as part of a school lunch or other meal, as I likely have during my 38 years in classrooms across the state.’” (SOURCE: Sioux City Journal, March 28, 2012)
Beef Industry, Consumers ‘Slimed’ In Media Attack Smear campaign against beef industry a 21st century version of the Alar Apple Scare
A series of sensationalized reports by ABC News has ignited a national consumer scare over finely textured lean beef, despite the product’s long record of safety and nutrition.
· It is 95% lean beef used to make fattier hamburger leaner and healthier
· The production of this beef has been approved and repeatedly affirmed by the US Department of Agriculture
· Midwestern governors are gathering Thursday, March 29, in support of the product
· Food safety activists praise the beef and how it’s produced
· It was the focus of a 2008 Washington Post article, ‘Engineering a Safer Burger’
ABC News and others have launched a massive ‘pink slime’ scare campaign against the beef, leading to higher food costs for consumers and hundreds of lost jobs.
The ‘Pink Slime Scare’ is parallel to the 1989 Alar Apple Scare – a media-driven scare campaign to increase television ratings by smearing an industry and a safe, nutritious product. Here’s a sampling of what some critics of the media coverage are saying.
“For 30 years, (Iowa Gov. Terry) Branstad said, U.S. consumers - including he - have been eating the product that is 100 percent beef, 95 percent lean, quality beef that costs less, is healthier and is processed to kill bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. He and (US Agriculture Secretary Tom) Vilsack said the latest ‘scare’ is similar to past panics about apples, mad cow disease and H1N1 ‘swine flu’ that adversely affected fruit, beef and pork producers.” (SOURCE: The Lincoln Journal-Star, March 28, 2012)
“… calling their product ‘pink slime’ is completely false and incendiary. Consumers need to understand that this product is meat, period, and that the use of ammonia hydroxide in minute amounts during processing improves the safety of the product and is routinely used throughout the food industry.” (SOURCE: ‘In Defense of Food Safety Leadership,’ by Nancy Donley, Food Safety News, March 17, 2012)
“ABC has covered the story almost round the clock in recent weeks with stories on ‘World News with Diane Sawyer’ and ‘Good Morning America.’” (SOURCE: Dan Gainor on Fox News, March 23, 2012)
“ABC News has hyped its reports by using the term ‘pink slime’ 52 times in just a two-week span.” (Ibid)
“In the traditional media, ABC News ran a series of reports using the term this month. ‘This shows the impact of the social media,’ said Kevin Concannon, former director of the Iowa Department of Human Services and now Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. ‘There is absolutely no evidence that this product is unsafe, and it is low-fat.’” (SOURCE: Delaware Online, March 28, 2012)
“Although there have been no reported cases of illness or disease traced to the product, a collective revulsion factor fed by postings on Facebook, You Tube and an ABC News series prompted the widespread halt to use of a product that has been on supermarket meat counters since the early 1990s.” (SOURCE: The Des Moines Register, March 27, 2012)
“About 10 years ago, he (Beef Products, Inc. founder Eldon Roth) and his engineers began working with ammonium hydroxide, a food additive already approved by federal regulators for use in processing cheese, chocolate and soda. It also exists naturally in beef. By increasing the level of it in beef, Roth hoped to reduce its acidity and create less hospitable conditions for bacteria.” (SOURCE: The Washington Post, ‘Engineering a Safer Burger’, June 12, 2008)
“The plants have even won over some of the beef industry's harshest critics -- people such as Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Safety Institute for the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and Nancy Donley, the president of Safe Tables Our Priority (STOP), a group that represents victims of food-borne illness.” (Ibid)
“’USDA continues to affirm the safety… for all consumers,’ the inspection agency said in a release on Thursday, ‘and urges customers to consult science-based information on the safety and quality of this product.’” (SOURCE: The Kansas City Star, March 15, 2012)
Consumers will be paying more to put food on the table because this media scare campaign driven by shoddy journalism is forcing increased costs in the beef industry.
“Beef consumers are concerned, especially with the cost of all groceries going up right now.
‘Generally we'll buy hamburger instead of going out and buying good cuts of meat, because of the cost of it. (So if hamburger goes up) then it will definitely deter us from buying it,’ says local shopper Ruth Ann Johnson.” (SOURCE: KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City, March 28, 2012)
"Ultimately, it will be the consumer who pays for taking this safe product out of the market. The price of ground beef will rise as ranchers work to raise as many as 1.5 million more head of cattle to replace safe beef no longer consumed because of the baseless media scare.” (SOURCE: Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, News release, March 28, 2012)
American governors are standing together to defend this beef and the hundreds of families stricken by job losses caused by false, sensationalized reporting designed to drive TV ratings and scare consumers.
"This is a disservice to the beef industry, hundreds of workers who make their livings producing this safe product and consumers as a whole." (SOURCE: Joint statement by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, on behalf of South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, Lawrence (KS) Journal World, March 28, 2012)
"’While lean finely textured beef was given a catchy and clever nickname in 'pink slime,' the impact of alarming broadcasts about this safe and wholesome beef product by Jamie Oliver, ABC News and others are no joke to those families that are now out of work,’ said American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle in a written statement.” (SOURCE: The Des Moines Register via USA Today, March 27, 2012)
“Doug Mead was a systems technician at BPI for five years and said that the closing will affect the community significantly. Mead said that it is difficult to find jobs in the area and that ground beef prices likely will rise from the plant closings. Mead is critical of the coverage that BPI's product has received in the media. He said that the reports of ‘pink slime’ are untrue. ‘This pink slime thing is a joke,’ Mead said. ‘But you can't fix stupid.’” (SOURCE: Garden City Telegram, March 27, 2012)
Call it what it is, scrapple, sausage, etc. and gelatin and all the people go yum yum.
This is the liberal push to vilify meat just like they did to smokes.
Do not substitute elmer’s glue if yur out of transglutaminase enzymes at home.
The historical origin of Soylent wafers?