Two summers ago 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.
Update from 1/29/2013: ABC Being Sued by Beef Products Inc (BPI)
Beef Products Inc has filed a lawsuit against ABC for defamation in their use of the term pink slime. BPI has lost millions of dollars in revenue ever since many restaurants and groceries stop using their product. Jamie Oliver is also being sued in this case, which as of 1/29/2013 was headed to federal court in Omaha.
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
or if you have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer
you can buy an meat grinder attachment
.
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).
Xiaoding
Yopu can make ground beef with a food processor, too.
Sustainable Earth
That is nasty, they should require labeling.
Darrin Towne
What I want to know is how can the public get their hands on a list of who Beef Products Inc distributes their pink slime to? There has to be a list of clients somewhere. In the meantime we really need to push harder for more honest labeling and unfortunately the USDA is not behind us on this since they allow it to be listed as a "process" and not a ingredient. This is seriously making me consider never eating ground meat again. 1
admin
I wish I had a list of those people using pink slime. I don't think companies are going to fess up unless forced and the USDA isn't about to. Grinding meat yourself is the best way to know for sure what you are getting.
Peter Piper
Remember back in 1980 when Reagan promised to get rid of those onerous regulations that were burdening our industries -- regulations such as food safety.
To me it's incredible that they can put scrap meat and chemicals into hamburger and call it food fit for humans. And we've been eating this stuff at fast food outlets for years now. Truly disgusting.
Unto Ryodi
Well i have been grinding my own beef for sometime now. What a difference. No more cupfuls of "liquid of odd origin" when u cooking. And the taste is totally different. And its a lot cheaper too. U buy a good roast or similar when its on sale, cut of the fat and grind it. and voila u have over 96% lean ground beef at half the cost. I use to live in the country where free roaming grass fed cattle was and still is the norm. first think i noticed when i came to USA was the beef with no taste sort of like chewing card board. Smile life is short.
admin
Thanks for the comment, glad to see someone grinding their own beef. Once you have the right equipment it's a money saver as well as saving your taste buds.
Debbie
I just found out about pink slime today. I could not stop crying. To think that I bought my kids happy meals. All the time I have been feeding them chemicals. I feel so terrible I am waiting for my meat grinder and hamburger press to come in the mail. In the mean time I am avoiding all ground meats. In the future I will never never again go to a fast food place. I refuse to feed my kids chemicals. I am a better parent then that and my kids deserve better. How could anyone be allowed to put this in the food and not say something? I am still so shocked.
admin
I am glad you found out the truth even if it was painful and that you have decided to make a chance in your house. Good for you!
Gary
Please correct your article. The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the meat industry. Meat products are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Accounting says
That is really disgusting I will never buy hamburger I thought I was doing better eating ground round or chuck only to find out it is not 100% beef, how GREED has taken over, just to make an extra buck add a filler containing ecoli, I will never buy hamburger or eat hamburger again, I think it is wise to just become a vegetarian no wonder farmers out live us they eat their own meat and vegetables, the stores sell top price for Ground round and chuck hamburger only to fill it with ecoli. This is just so disgusting, how anyone can toy with peoples lives.
admin
Thanks for pointing that out, I meant to write the USDA.
Pamomma
I am completely disgusted with this news my kids eat alot of hamburger. But I'm thinking not anymore we will be getting our own cows.
janecmuhonen
I am disappointed with the news of pink slime.
Maybe I shouldn't eat beef ever again.
Jane
Nic
"Pink Slime" may be a god send to you it has not hurt anyone yet . How long has it been in our food? Lately the cow population as decreased tremendously due to the over population of people. The more population we have in the world the more food we will need to feed them. We are going to have to find a way to feed them are we not, and that is what they are doing. They are finding ways to feed more people. Do you remember driving miles and miles and seeing cows everywhere. Well we are not seeing that as much anymore. The price of beef is going up if you have not looked. It use to be $1.58 and now it is $3.50 they are still talking about raising the price of beef as well due to the low population of cows. Soon it is going to be a rare to be able to afford it. Also with this company the U.S has had less cases of E coli.
JohnW
Given a choice between ingesting a small concentration of ammonia (chemical form: NH4) or ingesting eColi, I will prefer to ingest the NH4. It is already in my blood anyway. Given our massive food distribution system and after J.ForkLiftDriver leaves the pallet of food on the loading dock 5 minutes too long, a little bit of NH4 may be the difference between an edible meal and a bad bad case of digestive disorder.
I agree that reintroducing the side pieces should be backed off some. Maybe to 10% instead of the 15% that is cited on this write-up.
I also am aware that some people in different countries eat cartilage and the other non-bone parts as they are eating the meats. This comes from the "don't let anything go to waste" mentality.
Kathy
I've been purchasing organic beef at Costco. Does anyone know if that includes the infamous 'pink slime" or any other bizarre ingrediants?
joe gonnella
what are we going to do about this as u.s. citizens?
DGow
Seriously, the meat industry convinced the USDA, come on, the USDA are people with PhD's the meat industry did not convince, way to be objective. In some capacity it must be ok to consume.
JohnW
Joe, are you suggesting banning a substance (NH4)that naturally exists in the human body?
Ben Eubanks Sr.
Everyone is out to get you and our government help them!
Did you see that the lady over the USDA said it was o.k. to use that crap and then got a job with the company that makes and made over a million and half dollars?
WHAT A COUNTRY!
crystal
My stomach hurts. I just had a hamburger from McDonald's. I told my daughter this Big Mac does not taste the same as the original Big Mac. I don't eat beef that often and the day I had one from McDonald's I hear this on the news. Yuck !!!
Vegetarian all the way. Pink Slim, Ammonia ?
darrell simon
The issue is not the actual use of this filler. The issue is that people are not told about it. We are being lied to because if most of us were asked about how much we would pay for meat most of us would probably pay more not to have this crap on our plate.
Beery Bill
It's ammonia gas, not liquid ammonia. There's no documentation to support the 70% figure.
fabian
i never new that now im going back to a vegitarean
Meaghan
Do you know if there are the same issues with ground turkey and ground pork?
Sally G
I am assuming that more expensive restaurant chains and individual restaurants (Applebee’s, Charlie Brown, Fuddrucker’s, Bobby’s Burger Palace,etc.) do not use pink slime—am I naïve? Is there a relatively easy way to check?
Sally G
Today (10 Mar. 2012), CREDO sent out a petition to the USDA to stop buying for schools; check your E-mail or their Web site. My grandfather was a butcher, even back in the ’40s and ’50s he was careful about where he ate hamburgers—it might not have been pink slime back then, but there are always those who put greed ahead of good business practices.
mandy
Crystal- Macdonald's and Buger king have STOPPED using the "Pink Slime" (or so they claim) so the difference you tasted today- was probably the LACK OF PINK SLIME. MCd has been using the pink slime hambuger meat for more than 10 years. So that is the taste you are probably used to.
With that said- will continue to NEVER eat McD food. Grosss! My parents were a little "hippie" I suppose- but SO THANKFUL they were! No happy meals in our house. I'm a mom now, and have 3 children. They have never eaten at McD or Burger K or any other fake food place. I don't understand why people are SO shocked about this discovery. Did they really think that for .99c you would get REAL MEAT?!
admin
The 70% figure is coming from what BPI is reporting.
Kelly
Thanks so much for the information. I already have a Kitchenaid; I'll be shopping for a grinder attachment as soon as I click submit!
ma
How can I found out if BJ uses pink slim?
Vicki Hyatt
A good option is to find a local tailgate or farmers market where producers stand behind the integrity of their product and know where it's been each step of the way.
JohnW
Ammonia (NH3) (called ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) when mixed in water) occurs when protein is digested in the intestines. If one goes to Texas and eats one of those 40+ oz steaks he is sure to elevate the ammonia level in his blood from eating the protein alone. NH3 is a natural byproduct of the digestion process. Our intestines put NH3 into the blood continually throughout the day. The liver and kidneys team up to take the NH3 out of the blood and into the urine as urea. The food companies likely picked NH3 in the food production process because it is naturally occurring and the human body handles it well.
In my opinion, small amounts of NH3 is well suited to do what it is asked to do - kill harmful bacteria while being a compound the body expels from the system well. I would rather bit of NH3 in each bite than a colony of eColi killing 8 of my neighbors every 6 weeks.
Melmike
This is really gross I have already decided to go in half with my brother to get a calf raise it and split the cost of food butcher it so I know that my family and I are eating meat that has not been pumped with chemicals there needs to be a revolution in this country so people get it together and start organizing I cant believe that it has gotten this bad and we as citizens have not done anything about it ughhhh irritates me. Why do we let the government run us there are so many of us since when is it okay for them to feed us whatever they want and lie to us something has got to be done.This country has gone to crap!!!
Richard Date
SOMEBODY GIVE ME A CHEEEESEBURGER!
Livin in the USA--Steve Miller 1969
JohnW
Further , ammonia (NH3) is a gas at room temperatures and at the temperature of a freezer. ammonium hydroxide (ammonia mixed in water (NH4OH)) is a gas at 100 degreesF. This means there is little to no ammonia in the cooked food being eaten.
The story of ammonia with the food is really a non-issue as the ammonia does not make it to the plate and and if it does, the body handles the small concentrations well.
god
haven't eaten meat in years.
Colleen
Simple solution--quit eating meat...
PatrickS
What JohnW says is true about gaseous state of NH3. However, I disagree that all of the ammonia would be out-gassed during cooking. That would really depend on the thickness of the burgers being made and several other factors. The assumption that ammonia is natural is also flawed. Indeed, ammonia is found everywhere, but it is a waste product. It is a waste product that is eliminated from the body because if it builds up, then it becomes toxic. It is unlikely that the beef industry is putting in enough to lead to toxicity, but why bother taking the chance. It's not as if they are doing human testing to determine what levels are toxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic...except their public-wide study of course. Here is an excerpt from the Materials Safety Data Sheet regarding Ammonium Hydroxide:
Ingestion of ammonia solutions causes effects similar to those of other corrosive alkalis; severe burning of the esophagus, stomach, mouth and throat; gastritis. Possible death from shock or asphyxia may result. Although human lethal dose has not been established, any amount can be dangerous. As little as 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of 28% NH4OH solution has been recorded as fatal.
While the beef industry is not putting enough in to cause death or burning, I would like to point out that the MSDS says, "any amount can be dangerous." Furthermore, other MSDS mention that there is has been mutagenic and carcinogenic in microorganisms and mammals.
admin
That is a wonderful idea to split a calf with someone. I hope more people do that.
admin
I couldn't agree more!
LeeAnn O'Brien
Learn from history: that which is okay now could eventually cause an upsurge in cancer!
Anthony P. Inman
Is there a way to get store or producers to tell us what products contain ammoniated meat? Is there a higher incidence of pink slime in say frozan food?
JohnW
Patrick,
So everyone knows, Ammonia and/or ammonium hydroxide does not cause cancer. Atsdr (CDC), EPA, and OSHA agree that it is not carcinogenic.
Atsdr's "Public Health Statement", in fact, states "Ammonia is essential for mammals and is necessary for making DNA, RNA, and proteins. It also plays a part in maintaining acid-base balance in tissues of mammals."
The same document states "Ammonia is an essential mammalian metabolite for DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis and is necessary for maintaining acid-base balance. Ammonia is produced and used endogenously in all mammalian species. It has been estimated that up to 17 grams of ammonia are produced in humans daily. Of these 17 grams, approximately 4 grams are produced in the gut by intestinal bacteria, where it enters the portal circulation and is metabolized rapidly by the liver to urea. Ammonia is excreted primarily as urea and urinary ammonium compounds through the kidneys. Levels of ammonia in the blood from healthy humans range from 0.7 to 2 mg/L."
Ammonia is naturally in the cells of the meats we eat already. It is also in all of our muscle cells. Our bodies make it, the bacteria in our bodies make it.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=11&tid=2
Patrick, you are writing about 28% solution of ammonium hydroxide. We are talking about parts per million (ppm) levels because that is all that will be left after the cooking process . If we were talking about drinking clean fresh water, I would be talking about drinking a few glasses per day and you would be talking about death from water intoxication.
JohnW
From the document I linked to in my last post, humans ingest about 18 milligrams per day (mg/day) from ammonium salts ingestion.
Hmmm. My last post referenced 17,000 mg/day of ammonia being created naturally by the human body.
Given that minimal amounts of NH3 will survive the cooking process of ground meat, we really are talking about negligible amounts here.
I really would rather have a small amount of NH3 sprayed on my ground beef (that I cook away) than have a colony of salmonella make many people sick, or even dead. Ammonia already is generated in all of our bodies in exponentially greater quantities than the man induced parts of the food source give.
This entire Nh4Oh/Nh3 in the ground meat thing is a non-issue.
Oregonhammer
JohnW, Thank you for your posts. I'm a meatcutter and have had a few customers, occasionally, complain about "big supermarket chains that try to sell tainted or chemically sprayed or injected beef to unsuspecting customers," " regrinding hamburger to make it bloom out", and my favorite, " adding old steaks and roasts to hamburger, that's why it's dark in the center." (Here's a secret folks, it's called oxygenation, lol.) It doesn't matter if you point out the TRUE facts, people know what they know and you can't tell them anything different.
To all of you who want to become vegetarians, you'll find that eating alot of veggies, especially green veggies will put a higher level of cyanide in your system. Believe it.
Melmike, how long do you think it will take for the calf to be ready for slaughter? Have fun waiting.
And Admin, it's true that the filler IS making money for BPI, BUT it is ALSO saving some serious dough for consumers.
As for making sure you're not getting this product, meatcutters, at the end of the day, will grind their beef trim from all of the cutting they've done that day. Just ask your butcher for any market trim, or grab a nice chuck roast or crossrib roast, for about a 10 to 15 percent hamburger or a rump or top round roast for leaner hamburger. Have a great day all. Peace.
Myra
This is one reason why I want to start raising my own beef. I already raise all of my family's poultry and eggs, also I have dairy goats and own a share in a cow. I simply don't trust any government agency to regulate my food, what they may consider fine and safe may be something I simply don't want myself or my children consuming. Plus the fact that if there were to be some sort of national disaster, a severe earthquake or even a terrorist attack, I don't want to have to rely on what meager supplies the grocery store will have to offer.
Colette
We the public need to make our voices heard, boycut the beef industry and ask the beef growers to request the USDA to label this product exactly like it is, PINK SLIME , right on the package. We should at least know what we are paying for. I agree to raise your own beef is the best thing but not everyone is capable of doing this for many reasons, economics, space, time, health restrictions, etc. Everything is about greed and money and our health is always at stake in every circumstances. Don't let our government decide everything about our lives, lets speak out, we want to have more controls of our own lives. If the general public makes enough noise, maybe they will be heard.
terry
And you wonder why we have so much effing cancer. Yuck.
JohnW
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
Pink slime in schools legislation
adrianne
Thanks for this. Never thought about just having the butcher grind it for me!
Mary Harris - thanks for sharing.
Susan
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
Wasn't ammonia added to cigarettes to make them more addictive?
12 union costco worker
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
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
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
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
i don't think that pink slime should be in grocery stores or schools.
Marie
This is scary. I learned about this "Pink Slime" about 6 months ago; just from the photo of it upset my stomach, I really felt sick. I have not have beef since I saw the actual pictures of pink slime. I live cheeseburgers. Surprisingly I have lose a pound. I was wondering about the kosher beef?
JT
While 'pink slime' as such is not used in ground meats other than beef, they do add something similar to ground poultry products. It's commonly called 'mechanically separated chicken' (or turkey). It's most commonly used in pre-formed patties and sausages. With the patties, it's pretty easy to see the stuff oozing out as they cook. Not a pretty thought, but that's the meat industry for you.
Why do they use stuff like this? It's pretty simple. With honest to goodness ground meat with nothing added, a significant part of the volume is air. Back in the 1970's or so, they started grinding ice with the meat so the empty space would fill with water and increase the net weight. Consumers got wise to that when they noticed that a pound of raw burger cooked down to 9-10 ounces. Pink slime fills in the air spaces and doesn't cook out, plus it eliminates a waste product that they would otherwise have to pay someone to haul away.
Yuck... no thanks!
patrick lamb
Want to know where ink slime went? Check Marie Collanders.
Tammy
amazing how our government allows this practice, how they allow the people of the untied state to eat this crap we mean so little to them we are the cow the pig the cattle here wake up America make a stand an protect our children at least we deserve better then this an a lot more.
Susan
Thanks for the simple solution have it ground for you!
Eric Samuelson
Simple and it works. Thanks for stopping by!