Pink Slime - What's the big deal?

[XoravaX]

Of course I'd like my food natural, but there is no problem as long as it doesn't cause health problems. Wasn't it that ground bones could transfer BSE and their use was greatly reduced in EU area after that BSE outbreak in the UK?

But I'm not worried about McDonalds as in Finland they use just local beef for their hamburgers, and our laws regarding any food are really strict.

And then we have lyefish in Nordic countries too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk - though it's not a delicacy IMO, really far from that.

 

[dhandeh]

If they called it 'tasty beef', instead of 'pink slime' there wouldn't be a problem. It would be nice to know exactly what went into our food though, that area definitely needs to made clearer.

 

[Keef]

I'm pretty sure that the only thing that will come of this consumer protest is another protest at how high the prices are for their grocery meat.

I could go to Dorothy Lane Market or Dot's Market here in Dayton to get fresh, highest quality, locally butchered, 100% pure beef that actually can taste a little better. I don't, because it's about 1/3 more expensive. Now every market at the big grocery chains is saying that they'll stop selling meat with "pink slime" (a name that is nigh unheard of inside the meat industry). The reason they're so happy to make this decision is so they can not only keep their customers happy, but also charge them a much higher price for purer meat that they have to buy because they have to eat.

If they called it 'tasty beef', instead of 'pink slime' there wouldn't be a problem. It would be nice to know exactly what went into our food though, that area definitely needs to made clearer.

I'm not so sure it would. The reason being that all the stupid people in the world would complain about stuff that isn't worth complaining about and suddenly we're paying $15 a pound for scrawny, air-filled, dry, bug-ridden corn cobs because they outlawed all the awesome scientific stuff that actually makes it worth eating.

 

[Danoff]

I think at one point it was said that at most the beef could be 20% filler (pink slime). So presumably it would only increase the price 20% (due to cost anyway, it could be more than that for a while due to novelty and demand).

 

[Joel]

I mean, I'm lucky in that I live in a rural farming community, and a kid on my brother's hockey team lives on a farm and they also raise some cattle. Every year we buy a half a cow from them and it gets sent to the local butcher, then we put it all in a deep freezer. it ends up being a lot cheaper than buying beef in the grocery store, and it tastes better too. For everyone else, there's nothing wrong with the pink slime stuff and the cheaper beef as Keef was saying. Also, by buying from a local farmer directly we don't have to pay the hipster tax.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Everybody's gone Flip city

 

[Dapper]

I wonder how many people know bread is fermented with fungus.
Or that almost everyone is entirely colonized with Staphylococcus and E. coli.

 

[FoolKiller]

But we are agree that making soup or sauces out of bones is a completly different thing that this "slime"??

Considering that lean beef trimmings doesn't actually have the cartilage and bones. It is heated just enough to soften the the connective tissue and then put through a centrifuge to separate the meat from the rest. It is as much meat as a slice of steak.

But let's look at why we boil the bones and connective tissue to make soups and sauces. Boiling converts the collagen in the bones to gelatin, which acts as a thickener. It also pulls the interior fluids of the marrow (where blood is made) out, which enhances the flavor.

Back to the collagen into gelatin. Guess how they make glue. Now, guess how they make gelatin that you find in things like Jell-O.

An animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue.

These protein colloid glues are formed through hydrolysis of the collagen from skins, bones, tendons, and other tissues, similar to gelatin. The word "collagen" itself derives from Greek κόλλα kolla, glue. These proteins form a molecular bond with the glued object.

Stereotypically, the animal in question is a horse, and horses that are put down are often said to have been "sent to the glue factory." However, other animals are also used, including rabbits and fish.[1]

Gelatin (or gelatine) is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called gelatinous. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolysed form of collagen, and is classified as a foodstuff and therefore carries no E Number [1] [2]. It is found in some gummy candies as well as other products such as marshmallows, gelatin dessert, and some low-fat yogurt.

Dig in.

And for the test of dangers of it, are there test in favor of it (and not made by a gouverement or lobby?)

20 years of everyone eating it without realizing it. But putting that aside, the accusers are left with the burden of proof, as they are the aggressors.

I will be the first, but I am with Jamie on this.

But he was lying. He didn't say they use the excess trimmings for anything food related. He said they call it 🤬 Does that mean that in his recipes for stock and broth or his jelly recipe that calls specifically for beef gelatiin, that he admits to cooking with 🤬 ?

And the whole : but we need to protect us from e-coli.

look where there E-coli is coming from. The mass infection of e-coli on beef in the Us comes from how you raise and feed your cows.
If those cows could eat fresh or dry grass for the last 2 weeks before the butcher the e-coli problem would not exist

E-coli exists in nearly all warm-blooded animals. If you eat you must have it, no matter what you eat.

And if money is a problem, we don't need to eat meat every day (that came with the industrialization of food) and it is even healthier.

I need 85 grams of protein a day, according to my dietitian. Can you name non-meat source of complete proteins that I can get that from on a daily basis? Let me make it easy. The only non-animal source of complete protein is soy beans. But it is high in vitamin K, which interacts with my blood thinners.

If they called it 'tasty beef', instead of 'pink slime' there wouldn't be a problem. It would be nice to know exactly what went into our food though, that area definitely needs to made clearer.

The official name is Lean Beef Trimmings. ABC popularized the name pink slime.

I wonder how many people know bread is fermented with fungus.

I keep a live culture in my kitchen and feed it once a week.



And to add to what these comments have been saying about lean beef trimmings.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_...-suspends-operations-at-3-plants-amid-outcry/

"Pink slime" maker BPI suspends operations at 3 plants amid outcry
By CBS News Staff

(CBS/AP) Is it "so long" for "pink slime"? Beef Products Inc (BPI), the company that makes the chemical-treated meat trimmings behind the nation's ground beef brouhaha, is suspending operations at three of its four plants as officials hope to address the public outcry.

BPI will suspend operations at plants in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kan.; and Waterloo, Iowa, according to Craig Letch, the company's director of food safety and quality assurance. The company's plant at its Dakota Dunes, S.D., headquarters will continue operations.

More grocery chains drop "pink slime" from shelves: What about Wal-Mart?
Pink slime in ground beef: What's the big deal?

"We feel like when people can start to understand the truth and reality then our business will come back," Letch said. "It's 100 percent beef."

About 200 employees at each of the three BPI plants will get full salary and benefits for 60 days during the suspension, Letch said.

The plant in Amarillo produced about 200,000 pounds a day, while the Kansas and Iowa plants each produced about 350,000 pounds a day.

There are 600 people unsure of their job security, financial security, and at a time when jobs are hard to come by. I hope those who started this pointless scare are happy. I hope organizations like ABC and people like Jamie Oliver understand what their carelessness and lies have brought about.

600 families, suddenly unsure of their future because some media-types wanted to get better ratings or sell more books.

 

[Luminis]

You know, if you told people that there is something in their food that corrodes metal, will kill them when inhaled and can be poisonous in large quantities, without telling them what it actually was, they'd start to protest against that, too. Without even knowing that they're trying to remove water from their food, of course.

That's just how societey is nowadays; everyone is a social activist after watching a Kony 2012 video without actually doing anything and people will protest against anything that has a scary name. As long as it's brought to their attention by the media, obviously.

Sometimes...

 

[Solid Lifters]

This is an excellent point. If you're willing to eat a hotdog, pink slime is probably a step up.

No, it's not. Not when it comes to Hebrew National name brand hot dogs.

Pink Slime is terrible in meats, but only for the texture it gives it. You can't really taste the difference in meats with it, but you can tell the difference in texture.

Meats made with this stuff have a terrible 'mouth feel' and texture. The meat is very mushy and well, slimy. I can't stand the stuff. I no longer purchase Hillshire Farm products because they use the stuff in their Beef Polska Kielbasa sausages that I use to use in my cooking.

I only wish there was an option. For those of us who don't want pink slime in their meats, give us the opportunity to have a choice. That's all.

 

[nk4e]

I went to mcdonalds after reading this thread and got a chicken sandwich.

 

[BobK]

Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made.

Hope that's not too terribly off-topic.

I'd agree, though, if it had a less unappealing name it wouldn't be an issue here.

 

[Ibonibo]

I wrote inbetween ...

Considering that lean beef trimmings doesn't actually have the cartilage and bones. It is heated just enough to soften the the connective tissue and then put through a centrifuge to separate the meat from the rest. It is as much meat as a slice of steak.

I Know that but they don't grind the bones and stuff into the sauce without labeling it. A Lobster sauce is also made out of the shell. I don't see a problem with that....below with what i have a problem

But let's look at why we boil the bones and connective tissue to make soups and sauces. Boiling converts the collagen in the bones to gelatin, which acts as a thickener. It also pulls the interior fluids of the marrow (where blood is made) out, which enhances the flavor.

Back to the collagen into gelatin. Guess how they make ...
Dig in.

I know that and are not the only parts used, but I know it and have no problem with it. It is known and labeled


20 years of everyone eating it without realizing it. But putting that aside, the accusers are left with the burden of proof, as they are the aggressors.

Below

But he was lying. He didn't say they use the excess trimmings for anything food related. He said they call it 🤬 Does that mean that in his recipes for stock and broth or his jelly recipe that calls specifically for beef gelatiin, that he admits to cooking with 🤬 ?

Well a lot of professional high quality cooks are with the same opinion, it is ****.
It is ok to make sauce with them and stuff, but never in a quality restaurant would someone serve you a steak that has been glued together or filled up to be cheaper and not label it


E-coli exists in nearly all warm-blooded animals. If you eat you must have it, no matter what you eat.
But there are different strains, and making a cow a carnivore excels this. The Us had huge problems with beef meat contaminated because of this, and again two weeks grass feeding would resolve the problem, but it is too costly. It is simpler to destroy half a million of burger meat than feed an animal right. And making a herbivore are carnivore or even canibal, can not end good

I need 85 grams of protein a day, according to my dietitian. Can you name non-meat source of complete proteins that I can get that from on a daily basis? Let me make it easy. The only non-animal source of complete protein is soy beans. But it is high in vitamin K, which interacts with my blood thinners.

You are in a special case. Agree. All I want to say it is prooven that too much meat is not healty too. Around 2-4 times a week is enough. That we are able to eat meat 3 times a day comes for the industrialization of food and has made it accessible to a lot of people. Grant that, but if you see how we alter animal to have more meat and cheaper it begins to have huge drawbacks (alone the antibiotic is enough of an argument), let aside all the peta hipsters. But 40 years ago people didn't have the availability to eat meat everyday, they still lived healthy and some were really big guys (reference for Luminis) But as exemple, seeing how chicken are raised nowadays. I don't eat them anymore..McD's chicken sandwich for 1€. How can you make such a price with "breast filets".
I rather save 35€ and buy a bio-chicken once a month are bimonthly, have 5 meals on it and cook a wonderful soup out of the carcass.

Now the reason I am mainly against this topic, is that the main problem is not the product in itself (it is still questionable) but it is the non labelling. If you know you buy gen-modified corn and are ok with it, that's fine. But someone you doesn't want it and get blinded by products because of missing labels, that is not alright.
If you label it ok. If people want to buy it because it's cheap. OK. But saying that it taste good is BS. Most of us have altered taste because we grew up with altered food. Most people will find strawberry taste is better from industy than from nature. The industry one beeing made from wood leftovers.
My main grip with this whole as already mentioned is the industrialization of food, which has it's benefits to a certain degree, but has been perverted again by greed (see similarities with capitalism).
Sadest of all is that the people who are low on the society pyrimade are getting fed the biggest turds, while the rich get to eat the healtiest food. (eating healthy is also educationally linked, if you don't know what's healthy, you can't eat healthy)
Which again has a link to illnesses, which again links to the medical insurances, linked to public costs,.....
caricaturization "So, we are feeding the bad stuff to the poor and dumb because they are disposable, while pricing the good stuff so only the upper class can have it"

I stop it's getting lengthy

 

[Danoff]

I only wish there was an option. For those of us who don't want pink slime in their meats, give us the opportunity to have a choice. That's all.

Well that's not something that can/should be accomplished via legislation. You need to have other like-minded people to create a market for it. Lucky for you, that seems to be happening.

 

[Luminis]

I only wish there was an option. For those of us who don't want pink slime in their meats, give us the opportunity to have a choice. That's all.

Isn't that the case? I mean, one could always just go to a local farmer/butcher/bio store or whatever they're called and buy the meat there. One choice that isn't there, though, is super cheap meat of the highest quality. But that will never happen.

 

[Keef]

I went to mcdonalds after reading this thread and got a chicken sandwich.

There's a "pink slime" for chicken too. Nuggets and McChickens will probably have it. Premiums and Southern chicken seem decent enough.

I only wish there was an option. For those of us who don't want pink slime in their meats, give us the opportunity to have a choice. That's all.

Well that's not something that can/should be accomplished via legislation. You need to have other like-minded people to create a market for it. Lucky for you, that seems to be happening.

There already is a market for it. It's called local meat markets and higher-end grocery stores. I could go to various markets in my area that sell better quality, all-natural meat and don't even carry the cheaper stuff. Only problem is that it's more expensive. The same price as everything else is going to be here soon.

What should happen is that retailers mark lesser meats so people can make an informed choice. Many people would still choose the cheaper option, especially once they see the nutrition label which isn't much different at all. The retailers are more than happy to stop carrying all cheaper meats because that just means the consumer has no choice but to pay higher prices for everything. This is like consumer-designed price gouging.

 

[FoolKiller]

If you label it ok.

Because I am not splitting all that back out, I'll just respond to this. I have no problem with voluntary labeling and am opposed to rules that prevent labeling, like the regulation that prevents labeling food as not genetically modified.


But ultimately, my point is that there is nothing about pink slime to make it into some public outcry. Nothing is done to it that home cooks haven't been doing in some form for generations. And as someone who grew up in a household where you don't leave meat on the bone, and now will suck out the marrow and gnaw the tiniest bits of meat from a bone, I think the outcry is due to media hit pieces, mischaracterizations, and outright lies.

To be honest, to me I wonder if this isn't just the next thing in the attack on vices (this is not the first red meat hit piece I have seen this year), because some in power and in the media think that we are too stupid to to make our own decisions.

But it looks like it is working. There have been 600 jobs suspended over this.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

To be honest, to me I wonder if this isn't just the next thing in the attack on vices (this is not the first red meat hit piece I have seen this year), because some in power and in the media think that we are too stupid to to make our own decisions.

The other being the observational study telling us that eating more red meat leads to higher mortality?


Soon we'll only be allowed to eat vegetables.

 

[FoolKiller]

The other being the observational study telling us that eating more red meat leads to higher mortality?

You mean this study?
http://news.discovery.com/human/red-meat-diet-health-death-120313.html

Yes. I am too suspicious about this attack on food though, so I dug into some details.

Participants in the study who ate red meat -- particularly processed meat -- on a regular basis were more likely to die over a 20- to 30-year period, compared with those who didn't consume red meat regularly.

The results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry, nuts or legumes, was associated with a lower risk of death over the study period.

NEWS: Why Cats, Other Carnivores Don't Taste Sweets

The results held even after the researchers took into account factors that could affect a person's risk of dying, including age, physical activity and family history of heart disease or major cancers.

Here is the detail that most news stories don't reveal.

The researchers analyzed data from 38,000 men, whose average age was 54 at the study's start, and 84,000 women, whose average age was 47. Every four years, participants answered questions about their diets, indicating how often they ate certain foods.

Let me do some quick math.

54 + 20-30 = 74-84 years of age.
47 + 20-30 = 67-77 years of age.

You mean I might die of heart disease or cancer at 74-84 years of age? NO!!!!!!!!


Hang on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

United States 78.3

So, if I eat red meat every day I might die at an average age?

But all those headlines about how red meat will kill you...

 

[Solid Lifters]

Well that's not something that can/should be accomplished via legislation. You need to have other like-minded people to create a market for it. Lucky for you, that seems to be happening.

I don't want legislation, I just want a choice. I want to be able to compare A with B. Then, I'll be happy.

Is it only me that thinks processed meat in the recent few years have gotten 'mushy?' A lot of stuff I used to cook with is no longer tollerable.

Oh, and I do make a choice, but I wish I didn't have to. I'd like to buy those old brands, again. Back when the quality and taste was better. But I guess it's time to move on.

What's a really good Beef Polska Keilbasa?


EDIT: Ah, the good old days...

 

[Touring Mars]

I don't see the problem in raising awareness of what is actually going in to food. After all, making informed choices requires having information and knowledge.

Major buyers of LFTB are dropping it in response to consumer demand - once people know what it is, they don't want it. What's wrong with that?

What should happen is that retailers mark lesser meats so people can make an informed choice

Agreed. And if that was happening, I would wager that as many people would stand to lose their jobs.

It's regrettable when anyone loses their job, but it is also regrettable that this industry relies of consumer ignorance in order to create and sustain these jobs in the first place.

 

[Luminis]

I don't see the problem in raising awareness of what is actually going in to food. After all, making informed choices requires having information and knowledge.

Major buyers of LFTB are dropping it in response to consumer demand - once people know what it is, they don't want it. What's wrong with that?

I'd agree that spreading information is a good thing. Problem is, the way in which those information are presented is misleading, to say the least. I'd say that situation at hand isn't due to the actual information that has been given to the public, but because of the relatively disgusting nomenclature.

Not that this seems to be something new, though. The media aren't passing on some information, they're using that information to shape the opinion of the general public. And the way I see it, they're doing it by intentionally selecting what parts of those information are being spread and how they're being presented.

And what's the result? People who are of the firm opinion that they're fed ground bones when, in fact, they're eating meat that has only been seperated from said bones, which, as has been pointed out, is nothing unhealthy or even special.

 

[Danoff]

I don't see the problem in raising awareness of what is actually going in to food. After all, making informed choices requires having information and knowledge.

Major buyers of LFTB are dropping it in response to consumer demand - once people know what it is, they don't want it. What's wrong with that?


Agreed. And if that was happening, I would wager that as many people would stand to lose their jobs.

It's regrettable when anyone loses their job, but it is also regrettable that this industry relies of consumer ignorance in order to create and sustain these jobs in the first place.

There's nothing wrong with raising awareness and shifting consumer demand. But there is also call for legislation on this - which I detest. There is also a lot being made out of very little here. Most people wouldn't think twice about having a hot dog for lunch and then doing a little house cleaning with some ammonia. But they're revolted by the idea of 20% (max) of their ground beef being essentially hot dog (but a little better than a hot dog), and having less ammonia in it than they'd have exposed themselves to while cleaning. From that point of view, I'd say there is a lot of over-reacting going on.

 

[Dapper]

I think legislation regulating the buying and selling of goods, especially food, is exactly what the government is for.

Had the government done what is outlined in the constitution, there would be no room for public outcrying because the public, via the govt, should have already been regulating this through legislation.

 

[Keef]

Had the government done what is outlined in the constitution...

Actually, this "pink slime" debacle is an interesting case because it is a great example of what would happen if the government did as the Constitution prescribed, which is not get involved. This is an entirely consumer-driven effort to change the policies of the producers and sellers. There is no government involvement. Producers and sellers are considering their consumers' concerns are are changing to comply and keep the consumer happy.

I don't necessarily agree with it but this is exactly what should happen in a Constitutional society. That's why I haven't complained that the government is driving the change like they usually insist on doing.

 

[Dapper]

Keef, get out your lil pocket constitution and start reading.
The government's job is to get involved, at least that is what the constitution says. It is written in very clear, explicit English. Anything sold interstate is regulated by guess who.

Edit- at Foolkillers assessment of that 30yr study of red meat eaters: I can't see where adding 20 to 30 years to the average age people in the study has anything to do with what was pointed out... That if you eat processed red meat your life may not be as long. The study doesn't say if you skip red meat you will live passed the average life expectancy! The people that ate red meat died sooner than the ones that didn't. Adding 30 to what's essentially an arbitrary number and then posting the average life expectancy is not proof the study is wrong. Find where the people who ate red meat lived as long as the others or longer or you have nothing to refute what was studied.

 

[Danoff]

I think legislation regulating the buying and selling of goods, especially food, is exactly what the government is for.

Had the government done what is outlined in the constitution, there would be no room for public outcrying because the public, via the govt, should have already been regulating this through legislation.

The FDA did get involved and gave the meat industry the go-ahead to hide this information from consumers. Private consumer groups have jumped on this and broken the story open anyway.

So much for government protection.

Keef, get out your lil pocket constitution and start reading.
The government's job is to get involved, at least that is what the constitution says. It is written in very clear, explicit English. Anything sold interstate is regulated by guess who.

Ah, the commerce clause. Misunderstood so severely. The commerce clause was put in place to promote trade between states, not to oversee the details behind it. It was to prevent states from putting up trade barriers with each other, embargoing certain states, or taxing them unequally. It was also put in place to promote and control the flow of trade with other countries.

It was NOT put in place so that the government could control every aspect of what is sold and how. The term "regulate" back then meant "to make regular", ie: to remove trade restrictions allowing the flow of trade between states to be unobstructed by politics or state policy.

Regardless, people are not upset about interstate commerce. They're upset about intrastate commerce. They want their grocery store (within the state) to have to put a giant skull and crossbones on any meat that has anything that someone might refer to as icky or "slime" before it gets sold to them (within the state).

So you're dead multiple ways on the commerce clause. McDonald's selling you a burger in your town is not interstate commerce, and the interstate commerce clause isn't supposed to do what you think it is.

Game. Set. Match. Thanks for playing.

 

[Moglet]

You know in those adverts where they say "Your toilet contains billions of germs and they come back EVERY DAY. Most normal bleaches will NOT remove them. Ours does! BUY IT NOW TO CLEAN YOUR TOILET YOU FILTHY SODS"?

They're basically admitting that their product is utterly pointless. If your toilet has billions of germs in it and you use it daily without any problems, then you don't need to kill them all off. They simply aren't dangerous and getting rid of them won't change a thing about your toilet using experience.

It's the same with 'pink slime' and most cheap food. Why the panic when they're not doing any harm? As soon as people start dropping dead around me from food preservatives and additives then I'll stop eating them. Until then? I love me a cheap pink slime burger and I don't care how it was made. If I want a quick cheap burger I'm not going to go and find somewhere that sources the purest meat, I'm going to go to the cheapest place that's tasty! 👍

 

[Dapper]

The commerce clause was put in place to...

It was NOT...

Game. Set. Match. Thanks for playing.

The funny thing is you need to add a whole lot of crap to make what is written in the constitution fit your stance.

Meanwhile, in reality, the text confirms my pov.

 

[Danoff]

The funny thing is you need to add a whole lot of crap to make what is written in the constitution fit your stance.

Nope, you just need to understand the constitution (oh, and the definition of "interstate").