Growing Outrage Over “Pink Slime” in School Lunches

[Tiso0770]

Growing Outrage Over “Pink Slime” in School Lunches

They need to ban this, I just got word they are serving this in Kentucky for school lunch....

Ever since the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to buy seven million pounds of beef byproducts for use in the national school lunch program has made the news, there has been a rare public outcry, not often heard of in connection with food policies in this country.

“Pink slime,” which consists of low-grade beef trimmings, cartilage, connective tissue and other less than appetizing animal parts, ground up, chemically disinfected and pressed into a paste-like substance that can be used as meat filler, has been included in our ground beef supply for decades. According to a report by ABC News, 70 percent of ground beef sold in supermarkets in the U.S. contains these additives. Only certified organic meat is guaranteed to be without.

The USDA has declared “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB) – a more palatable term for “pink slime” – to be “generally safe” for consumption and does not require it to be labeled separately. In other words, unlike almost all other additives, including preservatives and artificial coloring agents, meat fillers don’t have to show up on ingredients lists or nutrition facts labels.

Since meat mixtures are more predisposed to E. coli and salmonella contamination than higher quality cuts, they are treated with a pathogen-killing chemical called ammonium hydroxide, which gives it the pink color. The company that sells ground beef treated with ammonia, Beef Products Incorporated (BPI), considers LFTB not only to be safe, but also nutritious and perfectly suited for school children to eat.

“Including in the national school lunch program’s beef products accomplishes three important goals,” said BPI spokesperson, Rich Jochum. “It improves the nutritional profile, increases the safety of the products and meets budget parameters that allow the school lunch program to feed kids nationwide every day.”

Cost considerations are undoubtedly a factor when the USDA decides what foods will be included in the program that feeds over 30 million kids every day for free or at reduced prices. Meat is expensive and using fillers can make a big difference in the budget. But it is less conceivable why the agency would take such a step at a time when it promotes higher nutrition standards in school cafeterias and urges kids to eat more fruits and vegetables and less empty calories. It’s a mixed message at best.

Even if the use of “pink slime” in the meat supply is safe, it offers no nutritional benefits to speak off. “Not only is this a potential source of killer pathogens if the ammonia levels are not controlled properly, but the overall protein quality of the beef hamburger is compromised by the inclusion of LFTB,” said Dr. Gerald Zirnstein, a microbiologist who worked at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and who is credited with the first coining of the term “pink slime.”

The backlash against the USDA’s decision has been swift and still shows no signs of abating. Within a few days following the first reports in the press and social media, Houston-based food columnist, Bettina Siegel, was able to collect hundreds of thousands of petition signatures against the USDA plans, many from concerned parents. Other initiatives across the country have reported similar responses. The widespread attention and media coverage has prompted several fast food outlets like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King to announce their discontinuation of LFTB in their ground beef.

In the end, this whole episode may turn into an opportunity for consumers to become more discriminating in their food choices. Even if the government deems certain ingredients to be safe, it doesn’t mean they should not be listed and explained in great detail and plain English for everyone to understand. When it goes in our food in supermarkets, restaurants or school cafeterias, we have the right to know, so we can make informed choices. The USDA of all institutions should not set a bad example of how to avoid scrutiny.

Timi Gustafson R.D. is a clinical dietitian and author of the book “The Healthy Diner – How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun”®, which is available on her blog, “Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D.” (http://www.timigustafson.com), and at amazon.com. You can follow Timi on Twitter and on Facebook.
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ADDED:

Ammonium hydroxide is a colorless liquid chemical solution that forms when ammonia dissolves in water. This article discusses poisoning due to ammonium hydroxide.

This is for information only and not for use in the treatment or management of an actual poison exposure. If you have an exposure, you should call your local emergency number (such as 911) or the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
Poisonous Ingredient

Ammonium hydroxide
Where Found

Ammonium hydroxide is found in many industrial products and cleaners such as flooring strippers, brick cleaners, and cements.

Ammonium hydroxide can also release ammonia gas into the air.

Ammonia alone (not ammonium hydroxide) can be found in many household items such as detergents, stain removers, bleaches, and dyes. The symptoms and treatment for ammonia exposure are similar to those for ammonium hydroxide.

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.
Symptoms

Airways and lungs
Breathing difficulty (from inhalation)
Coughing
Throat swelling (which may also cause breathing difficulty)
Wheezing
Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
Severe pain in the throat
Severe pain or burning in the nose, eyes, ears, lips, or tongue
Vision loss
Esophagus, stomach, and intestines
Blood in the stool
Burns of the esophagus (food pipe) and stomach
Severe abdominal pain
Vomiting, possibly with blood
Heart and blood
Collapse
Low blood pressure (develops rapidly)
Severe change in pH (too much or too little acid in the blood, which leads to damage in all of the body organs)
Skin
Burns
Holes in skin tissue (necrosis)
Irritation

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002491.htm

 

[1stAmendguy]

What's even more stomach churning is the substance that supposedly holds the different kinds of meat together. It's called meat glue.

 

[Tiso0770]

This is not even fit for a pet....floor stripper!?!?.....Ugh!!!

 

[ryanmkeisling]

"They" (you mean the state) don't need to do anything. The government is not your protector, you are. Stop buying it, stop allowing your kids to buy it in their school lunches, and complain to the school administration about putting it into your childrens food. This isn't the only meat filler/waste product on the market, and many of the fast food places use this stuff as well.

The idea that the government should pass some law to protect consumers from this is crazy and anathema to this whole movement. They are serving this country wide to a populace hell bent on getting most of its calories from protien gluttony which is not sustainable or healthy living, even the meat in the supermarket has this stuff in it. The last thing we need is more laws and more restrictions, what is needed is an informed populace willing to be accountable.

The answer is never, "they need to ban this," that is how the war on drugs got started. It isn't as if pink slime is killing people, it may contribute to poor health, but there are far worse problems in our food supply, and the way to fix it is to not buy it, not have the government spend more money to protect you. You still believe the state has your best interests in mind?

 

[Sam I am]

I'm not worried about it.



Also

dihydrogen monoxide is a colorless liquid chemical solution. This article discusses poisoning due to dihydrogen monoxide.

This is for information only and not for use in the treatment or management of an actual poison exposure. If you have an exposure, you should call your local emergency number (such as 911) or the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
Poisonous Ingredient

dihydrogen monoxide
Where Found

dihydrogen monoxide is found in many industrial products and cleaners such as flooring strippers, brick cleaners, and cements.

dihydrogen monoxide can also release gas into the air.

dihydrogen monoxide can be found in many household items such as detergents, stain removers, bleaches, and dyes.


Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
• Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
• DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
• Contributes to soil erosion.
• Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
• Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
• Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
• Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
• Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
• Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/002491.htm

 

[angelatc]

blah blah blah. Real life is too hard for some people. Apparently I"ve been eating it since I was a child, and yet I don't have cancer, allergies, autism - nothing.

They find a way to use more of the carcass (which is known as improving efficiency) and that's a bad thing?

Liberal do-gooders suck so much out of society - they're the real slime.

 

[donnay]

The elite has the best of the best foods--all organically grown and they even have an entourage go with them when they travel. They look down their noses at all of us. I hope this information shocks more people! However, it needs to shock you to your core, and you need to do something about it! Of course they could use cow patties and add MSG in it to trick people into thinking it is a gourmet meal. Don't eat fast food anymore and buy local and from people you know. Learn how to prepare food from scratch, is truly important. Not only are these foods making people fat, they are ruining your internal organs!!

About 8 years ago I found out that chicken McNuggets had a chemical in it that is used in silly puddy. I knew a McDonald hamburger could have as much as a 100 cows meat in one burger. That is truly disgusting. How many of those cows could have been sick, and how could they track it if someone got sick? Not to mention they pack soybean meal and cracked barley in the meat to stop it from shrinking when they cook it.

If your children have to eat in Public schools, pack a lunch! Most school foods are eradicated too.

 

[DerailingDaTrain]

blah blah blah. Real life is too hard for some people. Apparently I"ve been eating it since I was a child, and yet I don't have cancer, allergies, autism - nothing.

They find a way to use more of the carcass (which is known as improving efficiency) and that's a bad thing?

Liberal do-gooders suck so much out of society - they're the real slime.

Seriously? It is definitely a bad thing that they are stripping scraps off of bone that is mostly fat and then pumping chemicals into it and serving it to people without labeling it.

 

[angelatc]

Seriously? It is definitely a bad thing that they are stripping scraps off of bone that is mostly fat and then pumping chemicals into it and serving it to people without labeling it.

OMG! There's bits of dead animals in my meat!!!!

What, exactly should that label say? "This meat contains meat that was processed in the most efficient manner possible, keeping the price of food down for everyone?"


Seriously, they've processed it this way for decades. Liberals aren't happy people, and they just want to drag everybody else down with them. The whine-of-the-month club.

 

[angelatc]

The elite has the best of the best foods--all organically grown and they even have an entourage go with them when they travel. They look down their noses at all of us. I hope this information shocks more people! However, it needs to shock you to your core, and you need to do something about it! Of course they could use cow patties and add MSG in it to trick people into thinking it is a gourmet meal. Don't eat fast food anymore and buy local and from people you know. Learn how to prepare food from scratch, is truly important. Not only are these foods making people fat, they are ruining your internal organs!!

About 8 years ago I found out that chicken McNuggets had a chemical in it that is used in silly puddy. I knew a McDonald hamburger could have as much as a 100 cows meat in one burger. That is truly disgusting. How many of those cows could have been sick, and how could they track it if someone got sick? Not to mention they pack soybean meal and cracked barley in the meat to stop it from shrinking when they cook it.

If your children have to eat in Public schools, pack a lunch! Most school foods are eradicated too.

So grow your own food and leave the rest of us alone already. My kids are fine - leave them alone too. You can quit preaching to us. We already realize that you're far smarter than we are. OK?

 

[UtahApocalypse]

My problem is not so much the "pink slime" itself. The problem is that it is not identified as an ingredient. I believe that consumers have a right to be able to choose what to eat based on full knowledge of what it is. When I buy 100% Beef that is what I want, not 99.9% beef with unlabeled, or documented additives.

Speaking of labeling.....

 

[Sam I am]

My problem is not so much the "pink slime" itself. The problem is that it is not identified as an ingredient. I believe that consumers have a right to be able to choose what to eat based on full knowledge of what it is. When I buy 100% Beef that is what I want, not 99.9% beef with unlabeled, or documented additives.

Would you go so far as to say that food producers should be obligated to put a complete and detailed ingredients list on their products?

 

[angelatc]

My problem is not so much the "pink slime" itself. The problem is that it is not identified as an ingredient. I believe that consumers have a right to be able to choose what to eat based on full knowledge of what it is. When I buy 100% Beef that is what I want, not 99.9% beef with unlabeled, or documented additives.

Speaking of labeling.....

So you're here, advocating that the government force food manufacturers put labels on their food.

I so wish I didn't have kids - it appears that there's not a chance in hell the liberty movement is ever going to succeed.

 

[UtahApocalypse]

So you're here, advocating that the government force food manufacturers put labels on their food.

I so wish I didn't have kids - it appears that there's not a chance in hell the liberty movement is ever going to succeed.

where did I call for government intervention?

I didn't so quit putting words into my mouth.

COMPANIES should post the information on the product, or at least online. Should Government force them? No, I never said that. I would choose to business with such a business over one that did not.

 

[angelatc]

where did I call for government intervention?

I didn't so quit putting words into my mouth.

COMPANIES should post the information on the product, or at least online. Should Government force them? No, I never said that. I would choose to business with such a business over one that did not.

So you're eating all organic already then?

 

[donnay]

So grow your own food and leave the rest of us alone already. My kids are fine - leave them alone too. You can quit preaching to us. We already realize that you're far smarter than we are. OK?

I do grow my own food, and damn proud of it too. It's hard work but someone has to do it!

You seem to be caught up in that false left/right paradigm. You know the one where everything is blamed on liberals.

 

[bolil]

"low-grade beef trimmings, cartilage, connective tissue and other less than appetizing animal parts, ground up"

Bananah nah nah... I'm loving it. Thats the good stuff.

 

[donnay]

So you're here, advocating that the government force food manufacturers put labels on their food.

I so wish I didn't have kids - it appears that there's not a chance in hell the liberty movement is ever going to succeed.

You assume people want government involved. There you go thinking like a rabid neocon!

In a truly free society people would be the regulators, but how can one regulate what they buy if they don't know what the hell they are buying???

 

[Danke]

 

[angelatc]

You assume people want government involved. There you go thinking like a rabid neocon!

In a truly free society people would be the regulators, but how can one regulate what they buy if they don't know what the hell they are buying???

Why do you think they don't already know???? Again, leave people the hell alone already. Just because they aren't rabid about the same things you are doesn't mean they're ignorant or uninformed.