Controversy erupted immediately following the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to purchase 7 million pounds of ammonium hydroxide-treated beef as a part of school lunch programs nationwide.
Officially called “lean, finely textured meat,” by the USDA, the treated beef is more commonly known as “pink slime” due to its color and pudding-like consistency. Boneless beef trimmings and connective tissues are not able to be sold individually, so meat manufacturers grind the material, put it though a centrifuge, and add it to ground beef as a cheap filler.
“In the meat industry, there’s something called least cost formulations,” stated New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss. “Companies will mix and match trimmings from different parts of the cow and different suppliers. This material is … slightly less expensive.”
However, contamination rates are much higher for this mixture. Trimmings are from the outermost part of the cow, where contact with cowhide and excrement can transfer the harmful pathogen, E. coli, to the meat. Therefore, it is necessary to purify the meat with gaseous ammonia—ammonium hydroxide—which is able to kill the bacterium.
Both the USDA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have declared both the treatment and consumption of “pink slime” as safe, and as of now there is no evidence to the contrary.
“Ammonium hydroxide is naturally found in beef, other proteins, and virtually all foods,” stated the website of Beef Products, Inc. “It is widely used in the processing of numerous foods… to ensure the safety of these foods before they are delivered.”
Despite this approval there has been a significant amount of alarm from consumers concerning the USDA’s purchase of 7 million pounds of the meat—and how it is destined for educational systems nationwide. An online petition to stop using “pink slime” in school food on change.org has collected over165,000 signatures so far.
“School children should be fed real food, not scraps that would otherwise be used for dog food,” said Andrew Golub, a petition signer. “I am appalled that even a single dollar of public money would be used to buy food containing this garbage.”
Many were concerned about the implications for impoverished children, who rely on the public school system’s free and reduced lunch program for their breakfast and lunch every day.
“Utilizing this non-food product to feed the poorest children of our nation is disgusting,” said Diamond Moebus, another signer of the petition. “Essentially, allowing this is like stating that children who live in poverty deserve no more than dog food.”
Others are more concerned about the pathogenic dangers and nutritional value of the filler more than the chemicals used to treat it.
“Ammonia does not cause a major health risk to our bodies.” stated 9Health reporter Dr. John Torres. “The big concern is that this is a chemically processed food; it doesn’t have nearly the nutrients of normal beef.”
Even fast food chains including McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Burger King—not traditionally known for their advocacy of healthy eating—have announced that they will no longer use ammonium-treated beef. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, have already banned it from human consumption.
The filler may still be found in grocery-store ground beef, but there is no way of knowing whether it has been added. Because the FDA has pronounced ammonia a “processing agent,” it is not required to be listed on any food label.
