Last summer I was watching the season premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. One of the points in this episode was to learn where your food comes from. This led him to the topic of pink slime. What is pink slime (some people call it red slime)? Whenever a cow is butchered there are pieces that are cut off that aren’t considered for human consumption. There is a greater risk for E. coli and other nasty stuff in those parts of the cow. It use to be mainly just for pet food. A dog’s stomach can handle the kind of stuff ours can’t. However now this pink slime is ending up in our foods. Using a centrifuge they can separate the fat from the meat. Once they salvage this meat, there still is the concern of potential illness in humans. So to make sure that won’t be a problem, they pull out a chemical – ammonia. Yes, the meat industry actually uses ammonia to kill anything that might be in the meat and the United States Department of Agriculture is perfect ok with this. In fact, they are so ok with it that no one has to list on their labels that ammonia was ever used. The meat industry convinced the USDA, that the ammonia is just a “processing agent”. There is some limits put on pink slime. You can’t use more than 15% of it in ground beef. So it’s basically just used as a filler, but the filler saves the meat industry some serious dough. It has put a lot of dough in the pockets of Beef Products Inc, the creators of pink slime. They call the product “Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT)” or “Finely Textured Beef (FTB)”.
Ammonia is something that is found naturally in the environment. We have it our bodies. What I am concerned about is putting more ammonia into your body than you can handle. Is pink slime doing this? That I don’t know. I haven’t read any research that proves this. But it’s risk I do not want to take and it’s a risk that I can avoid. I believe the way we have treated and processed food in this country has lead to a lot of problems. People having problems with things like gluten and other allergies seem to be a more recent trend. People I have talked to in my generation and my parent’s don’t remember these things being such a problem.
Let’s go back to why they use ammonia in the first place – to kill any E. coli bacteria. This is one of those fixing the problem we caused situations. E. coli is as natural as ammonia. We have it in our bodies right now. It became a problem when people started feeding corn to cows. This caused a mutation to occur with the E. coli bacteria in the cow, which lead to a strain that is harmful to us. Biologists from the USDA and Cornell University have known about this since 1998. You can learn more about this topic from food documentaries like Food Inc.
How Can You Avoid Pink Slime?
So how do you avoid this kind of beef? Good news is that McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell have all stopped using pink slime (which means they were using it in the first place). But that doesn’t mean all fast food places stopped using it. You may also encounter it at the grocery store. You should never ever buy ground beef labeled as hamburger. That is almost a guarantee that you will be getting some grounded up pink slime in there. Recently, I have read reports about the USDA purchasing 7 million pounds of pink slime for school lunches.
How Can You Tell if You are Getting Pink Slime?
According to an ABC news report, 70% of super market beef contains pink slime. Doesn’t that make you sick. You really can’t tell when you are getting it, but you can tell when you are not getting it. Companies aren’t required to say they used pink slime in a product. So the only way to read that something 100% from whatever part of the cow (100% ground chuck or ground sirloin for example). If it does not have this 100% label or you are still having doubts, then only way to know for sure that you are pink slime free is to have a butcher grind the meat right in front of you. There are places they will do this. Next time you are at your local grocery store, grab a roast (such as a boneless chuck eye roast) and ask someone behind the butcher counter if they can grind it for you. Any grocery store interested in giving good customer service should do this for you.
What Groceries Do Not Use Pink Slime?
ABC News did a follow-up report, asking some grocery stores if they use pink slime. According to that report, these stores claimed they do not use pink slime:
1) Publix
2) Costco
3) HEB
4) Whole Foods
5) Kroger
Now just because these stores don’t add it to their fresh ground beef, it doesn’t mean you won’t find it as a filler in some form in the frozen products that contain beef. There is no way to tell on the packaging if the product contains pink slime or not. I personally do not buy nor do I recommend buying any type of frozen beef product.
For more information on pink slime in frozen beef, check out my new post on the topic.
Safeway does not make the list above as they confirm the use of ” Lean Finely Textured Ground Beef”. They think say if the government says it safe, then it’s safe for Safeway. But they did say they are reviewing the manner, so we will see. **UPDATE** As of 3/21/2012, Safeway has decided to remove pink slime from their freshly ground beef.
Does Organic Ground Beef Contain Pink Slime?
If the ground beef is labeled certified USDA organic, than it cannot contain any fillers, so it will not have pink slime in it.
Is Pink Slime Found in Ground Turkey, Pork, or Chicken?
Pink slime is a beef product that is only used in other beef products. They don’t put it in ground turkey, chicken, or pork.
Grind Beef Yourself
Want to know for sure you aren’t getting pink slime – grind the meat yourself. You can get a hand powered meat grinder
It’s important to know what is really in your food. Don’t take it for granted. And when in doubt, grind it yourself or with the help of your neighborhood butcher. I especially would avoid ground poultry that comes already packaged, particularly in light of a big recall last year. Find a store that grounds it’s own poultry in their store daily.
Related Topics
For more on pink slime, check out the food documentary – Food Inc.
Want to learn more about ground beef? Check out my post explaining the different types of ground beef (ground round, ground chuck, ground sirloin, etc.)
Should You Be Concerned About Arsenic in Apple Juice? A post inspired by an episode of Dr. Oz questioning the levels of arsenic in apple juice supplies.
Coke Finds Fungicide in Orange Juice; U.S. Halts Imports. Early this year fungicides were discovered in orange juice imported from Brazil. Much of America’s orange juice supply contains juice from other countries (except for these brands).
Pin It
60 comments
16 pings
JohnW says:
March 12, 2012 at 6:11 pm (UTC -6)
Hi Myra,
Raising cattle is a great thing! The freshest cuts of meat will be awesome for you.
Poultry feces and cow/cattle feces are particularly high in ammonia. Farms tend to have ammonia levels (air and soil) in the air and soil comparable with that of an industrial yard that handles ammonia. I encourage you to read the document I linked to in a previous post.
Further, the digestion of the protein from the cow will naturally introduce ammonia into your body. The human body generates ammonia every day as it breaks down protein.
Have fun with the cows. It is a good safety net to have your own food source. I wish I could dothe same but I cannot.
Mary Harris says:
March 13, 2012 at 7:45 am (UTC -6)
Pink slime in schools legislation
adrianne says:
March 14, 2012 at 2:10 am (UTC -6)
Thanks for this. Never thought about just having the butcher grind it for me!
Mary Harris – thanks for sharing.
Susan says:
March 15, 2012 at 9:41 am (UTC -6)
The USDA should require that so-called pink slime be considered an additive to meat and therefore require labeling as such.
Have others noticed that the price of ground beef (relative to solid cuts) has actually gone up significantly in the past 3-5 years? Given the addition of up to 15% pink slime and the price increase, somebody is making a lot of money. I wonder if that somebody has friends at USDA.
Beverly says:
March 15, 2012 at 10:24 am (UTC -6)
Wasn’t ammonia added to cigarettes to make them more addictive?
12 union costco worker says:
March 16, 2012 at 9:31 pm (UTC -6)
I worked the meat department for a total of 3 years on different occasions, and the meat is ground and packed for everyone to see. But they make thier own fine grind, which is distributed to all their warehouses?
Carolyn Booker says:
March 27, 2012 at 9:00 am (UTC -6)
Please send this page to me. We are doing “Clean and Unclean Foods” in our classes at our ministry and we are talking about health hazards in the foods we eat.
Go to google search engine to reach my website.
NeverBuyGroundNeverHave says:
March 29, 2012 at 5:30 am (UTC -6)
I noticed that WalMart is suspiciously left out of the notations of what stores may or may not use this trash. You must be scared of WalMart, aren’t you?
admin says:
March 29, 2012 at 12:59 pm (UTC -6)
I never heard any reports from Walmart. I don’t buy groceries there, so I really don’t pay much attention to them. But I would expect they have used pink slime before. Can’t confirm either way officially.
Caleb says:
April 24, 2012 at 7:43 am (UTC -6)
i don’t think that pink slime should be in grocery stores or schools.
« Previous 1 2
Eat Like No One Else − Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution – Season 2 Episode 2 – Revolution Burgers says:
April 19, 2011 at 7:41 pm (UTC -6)
[...] added to the menu. He gets his meat for his burgers from a butcher, so he knows there will be no pink slime in them. As for choice of ground beef, he found ground chuck and ground round to be the cheapest. [...]
Eat Like No One Else − Difference Between Types of Ground Beef says:
April 20, 2011 at 8:29 am (UTC -6)
[...] only good for animals, but now is used as a filler in much of America’s ground beef (Check out my earlier post to learn more about pink slime). I thought this would be a good time to talk about different types [...]
Eat Like No One Else − What Happen to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution? (Is It Cancelled?) says:
May 5, 2011 at 6:47 am (UTC -6)
[...] enjoying Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution so far this season. It has brought up the topics of pink slime and we got to see some potential unique burger ideas in his Revolution burgers. However it seems [...]
Eat Like No One Else − Watermelons Exploding in China – Importance of Knowing Your Food Source says:
May 19, 2011 at 10:01 am (UTC -6)
[...] Time Farms and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Jamie showed how companies add beef filler (pink slime) that was once unfit for human consumption and use a little bit of ammonia to make it usable, which [...]
Eat Like No One Else − Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution – Season 2 Episode 3 – Where Food Comes From says:
June 3, 2011 at 9:07 pm (UTC -6)
[...] in the first episode of the season, Jamie demonstrates what pink slime is. He comes up with another demonstration that really drives a point home with the kids. He first [...]
Eat Like No One Else − Should You Be Concerned About Arsenic in Apple Juice? says:
September 15, 2011 at 8:00 am (UTC -6)
[...] trust either side. There are several reasons why I do not agree with the FDA, including allowing pink slime to be used in beef products. Also I recognize that Dr. Oz has a TV show that is in the money making [...]
McDonald’s, Burger King, & Taco Bell No Longer Using Pink Slime » Eat Like No One Else says:
January 28, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC -6)
[...] is treated with ammonia in order to make it “safe” for consumption. This meat he called pink slime. This pink slime was made by Beef Products Inc, the leading ground beef producer in the United [...]
How do we avoid ‘pink slime’ in our ground beef? « Breaking News | Latest News | Current News says:
March 12, 2012 at 12:24 am (UTC -6)
[...] Another food blog I read suggested picking up a roast such as a boneless chuck eye roast and ask someone behind the butcher counter to grind it for you. The food blogger says if they want to keep your business they will and you’ll know it’s 100 percent beef without fillers. [...]
McDonald's Removes "Pink Slime" from Burgers - Page 2 says:
March 12, 2012 at 4:34 am (UTC -6)
[...] [...]
USDA Orders Pink Slime & Bans Whole Milk – What the Real Problem Is » Eat Like No One Else says:
March 15, 2012 at 5:30 am (UTC -6)
[...] is a lot of debate raging about whether the ammonia is safe or not (check out the comments on my What is Pink Slime & How to Avoid It page or this 2009 NY Times [...]
Buying Better Food on a Budget (Grocery Geek) says:
March 17, 2012 at 2:19 am (UTC -6)
[...] about $4.50/pound which is the cheapest I’ve seen. Their conventional ground beef is supposed to be slime-free. So, we may revert to that. The jury’s still out. But, overall, Costco does seem like an easy [...]
Things that Make Me Go “Hmmm.” — Life As Mom says:
March 18, 2012 at 2:19 am (UTC -6)
[...] What is Pink Slime and How to Avoid It :: Eat Like No One Else [...]
Grocery Stores Remove Pink Slime in Fresh Ground Beef; Is Frozen Beef Pink Slime Free? » Eat Like No One Else says:
March 22, 2012 at 8:23 am (UTC -6)
[...] slime issue continues to rage on. In case you have been outside of the loop, check out my post on What Pink Slime Is. The public’s outcry against the beef filler, called lean finely textured beef has lead [...]
Is There Pink Slime in Hot Dogs? » Eat Like No One Else says:
March 23, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC -6)
[...] out these other pink slime related posts: What is Pink Slime (Beef) & How to Avoid It? McDonald’s, Burger King, & Taco Bell No Longer Using Pink Slime USDA Orders Pink Slime [...]
Another Year of Eating Well and Spending Less — Life As Mom says:
April 15, 2012 at 10:35 pm (UTC -6)
[...] no pink slime [...]
Friday Favorites: April 20th: Fitness for Women, Nutrition Tips | miamihousewife says:
April 20, 2012 at 10:58 am (UTC -6)
[...] Have you heard about ‘pink slime’? The nasty stuff that might be in the ground beef you’re buying? I knew nothing about this until recently and yeah, I was disgusted. Find out what you probably didn’t even know you were eating in Eat Like No One Else‘s article, What Is Pink Slime (Beef) & How To Avoid It? [...]