Pink Slime – What is it?

Pink slime, also known as lean finely textured beef (LFTB) or boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT), is a beef-based food additive that may be added to ground beef and beef-based processed meats as an inexpensive filler in the United States. (Although legal and classified as “safe” by the USDA, pink slime is not legal as a food additive in Canada and the United Kingdom. Source areas may include the most contaminated portions of cattle, such as near the hide which is often exposed to fecal matter. It consists of low-grade finely ground beef scraps and connective tissue which have been mechanically removed from the fat. The recovered material is processed, heated and treated with ammonium hydroxide gas or citric acid to kill E. coli, salmonella, and other bacteria. It is finely ground, compressed into blocks and flash frozen for use in as a filler in beef products.

The additive itself cannot legally be sold directly to consumers and is instead used as a filler that can constitute up to 15% of ground beef without additional labeling, and is also used as a filler in other meat products such as beef-based processed meats. Prior to the invention of the disinfection process, beef scraps could only be sold as pet food or as an ingredient for cooking oil.

The term “pink slime” was coined in 2002 by Food Safety and Inspection Service microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein. It usually refers to low-grade beef trimmings from connective tissue. Manufacturer Beef Products, Inc. and meat industry organizations have countered the public concern by stating that the additive is in fact beef, and has begun using the slogan “beef is beef.”

In the U.S., beef can be labeled “100 percent ground beef” even if it contains up to 15 percent pink slime, and currently in the U.S., only if a USDA Organic label is present can consumers know that the beef contains no pink slime. Consumer advocacy groups[which?] have pressed for mandatory disclosure of additives in beef, but a spokesperson from Beef Products Inc. said there was no need for any additional labeling, asking “What should we label it? It’s 100 percent beef, what do you want us to label it? I’m not prepared to say its anything other than beef, because its 100 percent beef.”

Most Americans were surprised to learn that “pink slime,” also known as lean finely textured beef, has been used in ground beef and sausage for 20 years.

The product is beef that is separated from fat in beef trimmings, then treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill pathogens such as e. coli and salmonella. Ammonia is also used in processing baked goods, cheese, chocolates,
puddings, condiments, dairy, fruits, vegetables, cereal and sports drinks, according to FDAimports.com, a Washington -based consulting firm.

Now such major food retailers as Publix Supermarkets, Costco Wholesale and Whole Foods Market have made it clear they have never sold products containing “pink slime.” Others, such as Winn-Dixie, have announced they will no longer buy fresh ground beef containing the product. Walmart said it would begin offering beef that does not contain “pink
slime,” but did not state it would no longer sell beef that does contain it.

What else don’t we know about our food? It seems like almost every week, we learn something surprising about our food supply.

Many Americans might not know that about 70 percent of processed foods on grocery store shelves contain ingredients that have been genetically engineered. The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require those foods to be labeled as such.

Genetically engineered foods, also called genetically modified organisms are created using gene-splicing techniques. The DNA, or genetic material of one species is transferred to a different species.

For example, golden rice is genetically modified rice that contains beta carotene, or vitamin A. Genes are implanted in rice genes from daffodils and a bacterium.

The federal government is considering whether to allow genetically altered salmon, dubbed “Frankenfish” because they grow at twice the normal rate, to be sold for human consumption.

The right to know what’s in our food, specifically GE foods, sparked a national campaign that began in October asking the FDA to require GE-food labeling. The FDA contends there is no difference between GE foods and those that aren’t.

Just Label It is a national coalition of 500 organizations dedicated to the mandatory labeling of GE foods. More than 1 million Americans signed its online petition at justlabelit.org, the group says.

“Pink slime, deadly melons, tainted turkeys, and BPA in our soup have put us all on notice that what we eat and feed our families is critically important,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group.

T.A. Wyner, Palm Beach Gardens Green Market organizer, and board member of Gold and Treasure Coast Slow Food chapter, said, “The evidence shows more study is needed and based on the science, I am fearful of the consequences of accepting the foods and increasing the seeming ‘takeover’ of the “modified” foods.

“We used to distribute bumper stickers which read, ‘Ask where it’s grown,’ and our patrons do. We will now need bumper stickers to read, ‘Ask if it’s modified,’ ” Wyner said.

Wyner said she’d prefer that no foods or ingredients were genetically engineered; then there would be no need for labeling.

FDA requires more than 3,000 other ingredients, additives and processes to be labeled, but not transgenic ingredients.

The food industry, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, opposes the labeling, saying it would be expensive and would be viewed by consumers as a warning. GE foods are safe, the group says.

Nearly 50 countries have mandatory labeling policies for GE foods, including South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Australia, New Zealand, the entire European Union and many others, said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety.

Colorado mother and author Robyn O’Brien, who founded the AllergyKids Foundation, a JLI partner, after one of her children had an allergic reaction to breakfast, said, “Americans are responding to the call for GE foods labeling because they want more information for their families. Like allergen labeling, GE food labels would provide essential and possibly life-saving information for anyone with a food allergy. Being responsible for the health and safety of my children, I believe it’s my right to know about the food I feed my family from allergens, to ‘pink slime’ to GE foods.”

Bill & Sheila’s Food Safety – Pink slime, Bacterial Infections

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