 Beef Products Inc. announced Thursday that the company has filed a $1.2 billion lawsuit against ABC News, three reporters (Diane Sawyer, Jim Avila and David Kerley) and others, claiming damages as a result of their reports on BPI's lean finely textured beef product (LFTB) more colloquially known as "pink slime." "There has to be some consequences for news organizations to be more truthful," stated Beef Products Inc. founder Eldon Roth in a video extolling the virtues of the product and outlining the company's case against the news outlet. "They hurt real people, and a lot of people." Dan Webb, the company's lawyer, wrote in a public statement, “Through nearly 200 false, misleading and defamatory statements, repeated continuously during a month-long disinformation campaign, ABC and other individuals knowingly misled consumers into believing that LFTB was not beef and not safe for public consumption, which is completely false.” The company will be asking a jury to award BPI more than $1 billion in compensatory and statutory damages, plus punitive damages for "defamation, product and food disparagement, and tortious interference with business relationships." Webb stated today in a phone call with reporters that, "The evidence is overwhelming that our product is 100% beef." BPI makes the product by grinding together beef scraps and connective tissue. The company then uses a mixture of ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide) to prevent the risk of E. coli or salmonella contamination. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) both consider ammonium hydroxide as GRAS (an acronym for "generally recognized as safe"), McDonald’s has since announced that it discontinued the use of, what the corporation calls, select beef trimmings (SLBT). The fast food chain came under fire after the episode for using the filler in its hamburger patties. "For a number of years prior to 2011, to assist with supply, McDonald’s USA used some lean beef trimmings treated with ammonia in our burgers. We were among other food retailers who used this safe product," the fast food chain released in a statement. "At the beginning of last year, we made a decision to stop using this ingredient. It has been out of the McDonald’s USA supply chain since last August." Taco Bell and Burger King have reportedly also discontinued use of BPI's product. Safeway, SUPERVALU and Food Lion supermarkets also discontinued the product. In March, a blogger named Bettina Seigel started a Change.org petition asking USDA to stop the use of LFTB in ground beef destined for school food. As a result, the United States Department of Agriculture announced that starting in the fall of 2012 it would offer school districts a choice of beef either with LFTB or without the filler. Sales declined from approximately five million pounds of LFTB per week to less than two million pounds per week, three BPI facilities closed and more than 700 employees lost their jobs, according to a company statement. Food safety attorney Bill Marler, who has been asked to represent two former FSIS public employees named in the suit, explained in an e-mail, "I just do not get the liability. I just do not see it. The lawsuit is without merit." Marler explained his understanding of the timeline, saying "The words 'pink slime' came from an internal email between inspectors at FSIS commenting on the product. Another inspector called it 'Soylent Pink' – which I thought was even better. These documents came out during litigation I had with Cargill in 2009, which the New York Times used in part to get a Pulitzer." "Then almost three years later The Daily writes a story that some chains had quietly stopped using LFTB, then a mom blogger puts up a petition asking that it be taken out of the school lunch program and ABC picks it up from there," Marler continued. Jeffrey Schneider, Senior Vice President of ABC News said in a statement, "The lawsuit is without merit...We will contest it vigorously." Previously - Clarified – Much a goo about 'pink slime' |
If it tastes fine and it's made from regular beef, I don't see any problem with it.
Shocking to see how many shill posts there are here by what looks like one person who has a clear vested interest in making this company look good, attacking anyone who doesn't want to eat unknown beef "product".
I don't want to eat pink slime, and I could care less what some random guy on the internet hired by this company has to say about it. FOAD
People – become Vegan and eat food what man ought eat to live. Do not eat and feed your children with animal waste parts mixed with some toilet cleaning chemical.
Good job ABC News for exposing the truth. The company that makes "food" out of trash and toliet cleaner must lose their lawsuit.
As soon as I meet as vegan who doesn't look like they vacationed in Auschwitz in the 40's, I'll become one.
Veganism sure helped Steve Jobs out didn't it?
Really? "Veganism doesn't cure tumors" – that's your response?
Oh, how about you see Dr McDougall before you make any further weight comments.
We should all eat more *food* and less toothpaste-looking "food products". Enough said.
People are flipping out because of the parts that are in their food? Gelatin is made from bones, red food coloring is made from bugs, and "pink slime" is made from undesirable parts. But you know what? If it tastes great and doesn't get me sick (it doesn't, thanks to the ammonium hydroxide), then I'll eat it. I can't believe people flip out over these things.
Gee, sorry the truth came out about the disgusting glop you sold disguised as food...suck it up.
I see some of the propaganda machines are here too (Jess). Anywho I was taught don't waste anything and that is all that BPI as done, they are using everything from the cow they can. As I have read up on this seems that LFTB (pink slime) is 100% all beef product. Though I am not pleased with the chemical process it is needed in these times of E coli outbreaks which is from meat from around the world. People do have a right to choose but they need to media to report honestly in this case ABC did not nor did others that just picked up the story and ran with it without checking out all the facts. I think ABC will ended up settling out of court and I think they should apologize for all those that lost their jobs just so they could get a bump up on their ratings.
Chris, suggest you read Fast Food Nation (don't watch the "movie" based on a fictionalization of it). I too believe in not wasting stuff, but Pink Slime is just simply something I don't need to consume. Ever.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/31/business/fi-feed31
FDA urged to ban feeding of chicken feces to cattle LA TIMES
Food and consumer groups say the practice increases the risk of cattle becoming infected with mad cow disease. A beef industry trade group say a ban isn't needed.
October 31, 2009|Jerry Hirsch
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A fight is brewing over the practice of feeding chicken feces and other poultry farm waste to cattle.
A coalition of food and consumer groups that includes Consumers Union and the Center for Science in the Public Interest has asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban the practice. McDonald's Corp., the nation's largest restaurant user of beef, also wants the FDA to prohibit the feeding of so-called poultry litter to cattle.
Members of the coalition are threatening to file a lawsuit or to push for federal legislation establishing such a ban if the FDA doesn't act to do so in the coming months.
Farmers feed 1 million to 2 million tons of poultry litter to their cattle annually, according to FDA estimates.
ABC is getting sued because the meat guys got caught and the news got out....love it !
Not sure who is in the right. I do know Hulk Hogan would eat a lot of beef chicken and even raw eggs back in the 1980s. Hulk did have some big arms ran a 5 min mile and had a 585lbs bench press. I have known a few Vegan people in my day,nice people not the strongest of people, but studies show they tend to have a iq of 108, not to shabby. Here are a few links on beef the good the bad and as I am known the ugly.
http://news.menshealth.com/beef-good-for-your-heart/2011/12/20/
http://rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/beef-research-lean-beef-good-for-heart-health/article_c20e345c-5c14-11e1-809c-001871e3ce6c.html
http://chriskresser.com/red-meat-is-still-not-bad-for-you-but-shoddy-research-and-clueless-media-are
It's not the "beef scraps" that bother me even though that sounds like undesirable beef was used, it's the "connective tissue" thing. To me, that sounds gross. I don't want to eat connective tissue or at least not know about it.
The "scraps" are primarily trimmings off the external surface of the carcass – the area immediately underneath the skin. This subcutaneous fat typically is the thickest fat on the animal and is what needs to be trimmed the most. When trimming the fat, it is very easy to also remove appreciable pieces of lean, which is now "wasted". This trim frequently constitutes the majority of the trim from a carcass. Ground beef, by law, cannot contain more than 30% fat, so these super fatty trimmings must be mixed with other leaner trimmings to make ground beef. These other trimmings are probably already running somewhere in the range of 10-15% fat, or more, so this isn't an avenue to get rid of much of the super fatty external trim.
Now, enter the LFTB process. The meat is heated only to about 100F – enough to liquefy a large percentage of the fat that is present. The heated mass is spun in a centrifuge to remove most of the fat, and the solids that are left are subjected to a slight ammonium hydroxide treatment as a "pasteurization" step, ground into large pieces and frozen. There is nothing "slimy" about either the appearance or texture of the product. If the ammonium hydroxide bothers you, it really shouldn't. It is used in the process of making many, many non-meat food products including some breads and candies. And while on this subject – nearly every carcass processed in the U.S. today is subjected to a surface spray of one of a variety of weak acids – acetic, peroxyacetic, lactic, etc. – as an anti-microbial intervention almost immediately after skinning.
You are subjected to 'connective tissue' every time you eat meat. "Gristle" is just the most recognizable and most concentrated form of connective tissue. There is connective tissue scattered throughout every muscle, holding the bundles of muscle fibers together. Every single muscle also is surrounded by a connective tissue sheath, although it is almost imperceptible in most cases. Collagen is by far the most prevalent protein found in connective tissue and is the very substance from which gelatin is made. It is impossible to extract "lean meat" from pure connective tissue. There is no "lean meat" there, so if the intent is to make a "lean meat" product, nobody in their right mind would put pure connective tissue into the process hoping to get "lean meat" out.
Honestly, the issue isn't whether this product is safe or not, it's the fact that it is disgusting and people don't want to eat it. The only reason there was any demand for it in the first place was because they could hide it in other products to make them cheaper. No one would have willingly eaten it if they'd known it was there.
And the major reason that most find it "disgusting" is because of all the half-truths, misinformation, and flat-out lies that have been told about it.
yep, all of those half truths, like the MILLIONS of pounds of CONTAMINATED beef that's had to be recalled in the past several years.
yep, those half-truths about downer cows, and how the industry fought to keep it quiet about them and keep them acceptable.
yep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy was just a myth, shame on those crazy terrorist scientists.
feed a cow genetically modified organisms, sure what harm could that do...never-mind that the industry doesn't know/care, if they can squeeze a few extra cents per pound out of the cow, so be it. aww, poor neighbor farmer, your crops has been contaminated by cross polinization? good, pay up or we'll sue, that's a proprietary grain.
rBST additives, sure...so what if it might have long term health risks to the public, we'll make the cows make more milk and make us more money.
the meat/cow/dairy industry has just been sooo trustworthy and looking out for the American people's health and interests.
I'll tell you one thing that I did notice when this crap stopped being added to the ground beef...the smell of it cooking no longer made me nauseous.
Shill for what – the truth?
Millions of pounds of beef have been recalled for POSSIBLE contamination. When a sample tests positive, all production associated with that sample is recalled. There is no proof that 100% of the product is contaminated; it is a full recall for POTENTIAL safety reasons.
The "industry" fought the downer rule because a large percentage of 'non-ambulatory' animals are non-ambulatory because of legs being broken during transport, and there is absolutely no food safety risk associated with these animals. The ban on all "downers" was the right thing to do, since not everybody handling the animals can tell the difference between a broken limb and a neurological problem.
Who ever claimed BSE was a myth? The source may have been questioned, but the fact it's out there has not been in question for over 20 years.
GMO's? The jury's still out on some of those, but the general reaction of the public – "this isn't 'natural', therefore it can't be good" – is straight out of "Chicken Little".
Since you're so well-versed on all these things, perhaps you will explain to us the difference between rBST and BST, and tell us exactly what each of them do? No, I didn't think so. Did you even know that "BST" is real?
I'm a "shill", alright – I call BS when it is BS . . . and you don't like that . . . so I'm a "shill". That's rich.
McNuggets are made with the same thing – but from chicken. Just remember: you are what you eat. Literally.
Eat REAL food.
Put any safe filler in your products that you want to, but let the consumer know so an informed choice can be made.
This is why I grind my own beef. Chuck roast is just as cheap as ground worms and squirrels and boots or whatever the put in that stuff.
This is the real issue here. Nobody knows what they are talking about. They just go along blindly with what their told. You don't know what is being put into this meat so you assume its worms and boots. I have no problem with you eating your own ground beef but uninformed comments like this cost 700 people their jobs.
At the very least, it should be listed as a filler on the package contents.
100% beef = ears, eyes, hooves, tails. As long as it's from a cow. Yum yum.
Why would anyone want to eat ANYTHING that has to be treated with ammonia so it doesn't make you sick? I can't believe that some people are actually defending this disgusting garbage.
No ears, no eyes, no hooves, and few – if any – tails (you ever hear of "ox-tail"?, sells for a lot more than GB or LFTB).
Nice BS sensationalism, though. Maybe they will sue you for libel, too – which is what you just did.
You call this one a 'technicality' if you want to, but . . . it doesn't have to be treated with ammonia (it's ammonium hydroxide, by the way, Ace) to keep you from getting sick – it is treated with ammonia to increase the chance that you won't get sick.
Did I ever say that these things were in the pink slime??? I don't see that anywhere in my post. So, who exactly was being libeled here? What I was saying is that manufacturers can put anything from a cow into their products and call it 100%beef. Doesn't mean I want to eat it. Sorry about the 700 jobs, but I really don't feel it is our duty to have to ingest things that we don't want to when it contains things that are unappetizing to us.
I suspect that any competent lawyer could take your comment, put it IN CONTEXT of the subject discussion at hand, and prove it was "implied" you were talking about the current subject.
You are wrong about "100% beef" – one cannot use much of anything besides skeletal meat without specifically stating each 'part' as such in the ingredients list. And, if I'm not mistaken, the "100% beef" description refers specifically to 100% beef skeletal muscle – not 'parts'.
When's the last time you ate a hot dog? Did you know what was in it? BPI got blindsided in this one. A bureaucrat's smart-a comment goes viral by an alarmist nut, and an industry gets hammered? Give me a break.
I can't remember the last time I ate a hot dog. I stopped eating them because I do know what goes in them. As a matter of fact, I stopped eating all meat because of the way it is raised and processed. I am enjoying a very healthy life without it.
Folks, you don't think the hamburger you eat is ground up filet mignon do you? The fact is that hamburger has always been made from the less desirable parts of beef. It is no different than hot dogs or sausage. The product is safe and has little effect on either health or taste, if any at all. Some mom with a blog wants to start a petition because she has nothing better to do? ABC and other news outlets take the story and run with it because saying "pink slime" is fun? I am from Sioux City (as is BPI) and I saw firsthand how much this has hurt good people and hurt the entire community. Over 700 good people lost their jobs due to this "story". I hope mom with a blog can sleep at night.
Should have left it in dog food.
Serious, guys, just don't eat beef. Even if it doesn't have "pink slime" in it, you should still avoid it.
No Mike. Thats not a healthy thing to say. Saying that eating beef is bad is nothing but an opinion based on psudo Science and has no merit.
I have seen vegans and they do not look very healthy.
Im not giving up my Steak or hamburg (Both localy grown) for someones anti-scientific view on health and food.
And the fact that you" have seen vegans and they look unhealthy" is sound scientific evidence that beef is healthy?
sagan: how many unhealthy looking vegans have you seen?
um, so where exactly did he say don't eat any type of meat?
ABC never implied that the ingredients of "Pink Slime" were illegal. They merely pointed out that it is being used in our food chain, and that if you were unaware this product was in our food chain, and the truth would most likely cause you disgust. I frankly don't see the problem here, and think their suit is baseless.
Here in Tx., they showed Governor Rick Perry supporting pink slime. Of course he doesn't really eat it, or support it, he was just earning his paycheck from the pink slime makers. They're called Big Business, and he dearly loves kissing Big Business butts.
big businesses give a lot of butts work i love big business since i work for a major us company we need more big busyness and corporations in this country then maybe unemployment wouldnt be so high. God bless big business it has given me everything i have thanks and God bless the USA
When I shop at a store or I eat a hamburger in a restaurant, I expect it to be what it says. Pure beef. Pure beef is not ammonia hydroxide. Their advertisements are false and misleading. Lean finely textured beef never mentioned ammonia. I do not want scraps from the floor fried in ammonia and water and call it food. I say this because if they use it from close to the hide, what is to stop them from using this junk from other sources.
They never told us they put this in the food and if anyone deserves a lawsuit, it's the company who came out with this garbage. I switched to sirloin and chuck but now I wonder if that may contain it as well. I hope not. I don't care what anyone says, this is gross and we don't know exactly what ammonia does inside your body in the long run. How cheap can companies be to try to fool consumers to save a few bucks.
Maybe you should do some research on chemicals used in food processing, and the requirements set forth to the food industry by the Food Safety and Inspection Service to protect the public from pathogens such as e. coli and salmonella. Unless your food says organic, it's probably been treated with a chemical. Meat and poultry are not inherently free of pathogens, but government agencies and the PUBLIC would like them to be. How do you get rid of pathogens, but with the use of chemicals. The more the public demands increase for pathogen free RAW meat and poultry products, the more chemicals will be used. With regards to the pink slime, maybe the public should be barking at the regulatory agencies rather than the food processors, they don't make the rules for labeling, the government does.
I completely agree. The companies that use this treated beef should at least have the decency to label on the packaging if this process was used. Is that really all that hard? I don't understand, why risk peoples' lives just to save some money? This is ridicules.
Bpi its one of the worst companies on earth. Watch the documentary food inc to see the details. We need to stop protecting the evil companies that make toxic food.
They named the stuff "Lean, finely textured beef" because they knew that if they told people what it really was no one would want to eat it. They knew they were lying and they knew they were cheating people. There product is not what people think beef means. Period. They *should* be out of business. You got caught, guys.
It was "Lean", it was "Beef", and after being ground up, it was "Finely Textured". They were not lying.
Seriously. What do you think you are eating when you buy "all beef" hot-dogs? Steak? I'll tell you what I expect. I expect it to all have come from a cow, but I don't have any expectation as to what part of the cow it came from.
The real crime here was for a news outlet to characterize it as "pink slime". It's not any pinker or any slimier than regular hamburger meat, but that characterization cast it as completely different from other meats and resulted in a significant loss of sales for the company.
So you accept, anus and intestine as "beef" you are sad.
As I understand it "beef" indicates that it is bovine but does not necessarily mean that it is muscle. It could also be heart, liver, kidney, brain, tongue, blood, or bone marrow. As long as it comes from a cow it is "beef".
Incidentally, the casing on your pork sausage could very easily be the pig's intestine also.
Sausage in natural casing, liverwurst in natural casing... what exactly do you think natural casing is? uh, its intestine.
As I understand it, the product can also include scrotum, tail meat, hair and insects. Finely textured, of course.
@ tsoho
If it's "lean beef" or just "beef", it can't be any of those. It would have be labeled as "Beef whatever".
@ Dave
Your "understanding" is completely wrong.
If the intent was either humor or sarcasm, the attempt was an "epic fail".
I gather you work for the company or did not fully understand what is in the meat. It is not all meat. It is AMMONIA HYDROXIDE. There is no animal on earth born with this in their body. I clean my floor with ammonia, I do not eat it.
You are ignorant. Ammonia is a natural. It is produced by the human body. "Ammonia is also produced in the human body and is commonly found in nature. It is essential in the body as a building block for making proteins and other complex molecules. In nature, ammonia occurs in soil from bacterial processes. It is also produced when plants, animals and animal wastes decay." New York Department of Health.
To everyone out there talking about ammonium hydroxide, look up the regulations (. org or .gov sites), and YES it is found in MOST processed foods, look at the breakdown of a baconcheeseburger, the CHEESE and BREAD has more ammonium in it than the GB, and to top it off each pound of GB is allowed to have no more than 20% of it treated with a puff of amonium hydroxide to maintain the raw pink color, lower the fat content and prohibit growth of E. Coli. Please do your research before you accuse the beef industry, with out uitlizing the bits used in LFTB we would need to add 1 million beef animals think of all the waste that adds!
According to the article, the term "pink slime" did not come from the media. It was first used in an inspectors email to another inspector, which was brought into play during a lawsuit, which made the media. The media was only reporting what the inspectors reported. I don't see any harm in using this product, BUT it should be known that it is in a product. If people don't want to eat their product, then they go out of business. It's as simple as that. Most people don't want to eat ammonia. That's what's contained in their product. They lost business because people were properly informed about their product, and chose not to consume it.
Your article doesn't mention the SOURCE of the pink slime – slaughter house FLOOR wastes.
Seventy percent of US hamburger contains up to 25% per pound of "pink
slime" which consists of the slaughterhouse floor wastes treated with
ammonium hydroxide to kill E. coli and Salmonella bacteria.
The problem is, ammonium hydroxide does NOT inactivate mad cow prions
which may be part of the ankle-deep muck of blood, fats, tissue and
scraps on the floor:
Slaughterhouses are required to remove "SRM" – specified risk
materials- the parts of a cow with the highest concentrations of
prions. SRM include the skull, brain,ganglia, eyes, tonsils, spinal
cord and small intestine. Power tools, including chain saws, are used
to cut up the carcasses.. It is unavoidable that potentially prion
infected wastes from high risk tissues end up on the blood-soaked
slaughterhouse floors – to be incorporated into the pink slime.
Alzheimer's is a transmissible, infectious prion disease – 6 million US victims – new case every 68 seconds – Dr. Mathias Jucker, 2010; Dr. Claudio
Soto, Univ/Texas 2011; and Nobel Laureate Stanley Prusiner, UCSF, 2012.
http://www.alzheimers-prions.com/pdf/JUNE2012PRUSINER-ETAL- ALZHEIMERSISAPRIONDISEASE.pdf
Parkinson's Disease is now also believed to be a prion disease (3 million US victims)
https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?Does-Alpha-Synuclein-Spread-Brain
Pink slime is a potential pathway to deliver infectious prions to an
unsuspecting public from vats of processed hamburger.
Adding to the pink slime risks, aging dairy cows with asymptomatic Bovine Amyloidotic Spongiform Encephalopathy (BASE) are regularly entering US food supply UNTESTED in huge industrial mixing vats of hamburger, each containing meat from 50 to 100 animals from multiple states and two to four countries. http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/burger21904.cfm
This is a likely route of human prion disease infection (AD).
Helane Shields, Alton, NH hshields@tds.net http://www.alzheimers-prions.com/
*****************************************************************************
Sample of news articles identifying slaughter house floor wastes as the source of pink slime:
http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/03/09/pink-slime-pink-slime-in-school-lunches-supermarkets/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/21/maher-republicans-have-declared-war-on-common-sense/
http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/03/uproar_over_pink_slime_in_scho.php
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/slimetroversy-continues/content?oid=5699952
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/04/02/pink-slime-ground-beef-processor-files-for-bankruptcy-106224
Alton, NH hshields@tds.net http://www.alzheimers-prions.com/
Good information. Those are very important points. I applaud your research.
The FLOOR scraps are not from the litreal floor but the cutting room call the "floor"
You did a nice job of writing an authoritative-sounding post – problem is, it's mostly BS.
I don't know where all you people get that scraps that have been on the floor are used – that is 100% wrong and 100% illegal (FAIL). Therefore, any 'potential' SRM on the floor is not mixed in with the rest of the trimmings used to produce LFTB (FAIL).
The maximum usage level allowed for LFTB is 15%, not 25% (FAIL).
LFTB is used mainly in meat destined for pre-cooked patties, not for fresh ground beef, so your "70%" number is completely erroneous (FAIL).
What? – Did PBI pay you? you've replied to all these posts making comments about peoples ignorance, flinging figures out there and talking about suing for libel ............. sounds suspiciously like BPI paid you to monitor the discussion boards regarding anything to do with their amonia laced products.
@ C
Not that it's really any of your business, but no, they aren't paying me. Never have, and I doubt they ever will. I have no association with them whatsoever. What I do have is a much more than just a "passing familiarity" with food and meat processing.
Libel is what it is, and if you don't "know" what that is, may be you should find a dictionary. Then – if you can think objectively – tell me what you think about my comments.
Ignorance is also what it is – and way too many people here are swallowing the "Jamie Oliver" and "ABC" 'information' (excuse me while I laugh) hook, line, and sinker. You don't like that this stuff was used without "disclosure", fine, gripe about that. But people continuing to "misrepresent" and flat-out lie about what it is and how it's made is getting really, really old.
You don't believe my numbers? Prove them wrong, if you're able, and I will gladly retract them. (I won't be holding my breath.)
Why don't you try finding a REPUTABLE source of information if you really want to know about such things. Sensationalism generates a lot of "hits" and sells a lot of ads, but it really doesn't do much in the way of passing on real reliable information, and certainly not from a 'technical' standpoint.
LA TIMES ON FECES FED BEEF?
FDA urged to ban feeding of chicken feces to cattle
Farmers feed 1 million to 2 million tons of poultry litter to their cattle annually, according to FDA estimates.
October 31, 2009|Jerry Hirsch
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/31/business/fi-feed31
BPI, Inc. will definitely lose this lawsuit. They're the ones responsible for starting this controversy overall by creating the pink slime itself. Now, I myself love a good burger. I haven't really noticed a difference since McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell have stopped using the stuff. I am disgusted that this stuff was put in the beef, but did it do me any harm? No. It didn't. But it didn't benefit me either. There was no reason to put the pink slime in the beef. BPI, Inc. should have known that this story would break one day. They have no definitive reason to sue ABC. ABC didn't defame BPI, Inc. They were doing what they do, break the news to the people of this country.
There are enough comments on here to prove BPI's point.
I recommend the blog feedyardfoodie for a very well researched discussion of the product.
What is BPI's point? That the media exposed that ground beef was being spiked with processed connective tissue, beef scraps and amonia and say to everyone that the mixture is beef and charging the same price as actual meat? Please show me the logic
I suspect that a meritless lawsuit will go forward, and that many things about the pink slime which were far too disgusting to mention in the TV news coverage will become widely publicized as a result of the lawsuit. I predict that the TV networks will profit dramatically from all of the media attention, and that the present 2 million pounds of pink slime being sold per week will plummet to nearly zero within a year of the lawsuit being filed, and further, that within two years BPI will have lost both the lawsuit and the business. In the end, I think BPI will become a textbook example of the ultimate marketing train wreck, and also a sobering business lesson as to why it is foolish to "send good money after bad."
Yes but at least they're clearly employing people right now to post in CNN forums. I read these forums to often to not be able to see plants. Not sure if they hired an outside firm or what but clearly they're employing people to post positive comments. This is the internet. We don't do positive here.
Bottom line is nothing was a lie. People found the product disgusting when told what it was. You can't change that. Sorry about your luck. Quit trying to feed us garbage.
The point is knowing what is in my food. If it took ABC to make the knowledge mainstream, then that's what it takes. (Mind you, ABC wasn't the first to point this out - but they are suing ABC because they got the word out to practically everyone.) IF knowing what is in the food I will choose then to eat or not to eat is an actionable offense, then this is indeed a pretty sorry world. BPI in my book has NO case. (And I choose to buy my limited amount of beef from local farmers, and this is just one of a host of reasons why.)
Guess what? I haven't eaten a hamburger since this came out! I'm glad the truth came out so I had a choice in what I thought I was eating! The truth is, some people in this country are so greedy that they would feed me crap if they could suggest it was good a wholesome. Come on! I want freshly ground beef like the good ole days, not the crap we feed the dogs. You are trying to stick something in my food and covering up the truth in where and what it was. Well, now that I know, NO MORE HAMBURGER for me.No more Carl's Jr, In and OUT ( their slaughter house illegally used sick and none mobile ( illegal) animals for their beef, )Mcdonalds ( that never tasted like REAL beef anyways), Burger King that I knew must be substituting something too cheap), and Taco Bell that wasn't even using real beef after all.
The company that put ammoniated fecal matter in our grocery stores and kids' lunches is suing the company that pointed out that fact?
I doubt that lawsuit will go anywhere.
You up for a libel suit? You ought to be careful what you're writing, because – technically – that's what you just did.
By law, any beef material contaminated with feces must be removed and placed in INEDIBLE OFFAL. If you're smart enough to figure out what that is – which I somewhat doubt – then you will know why you are wrong.
Americans will eat anything. Anything. Seriously, folks – why don't you all just drop your pants and sh!t directly onto a plate. Think of all the money you'll save.
You are absolutely correct. Of course we could talk about Menudo, oops, that would be culturally objectionable to those who are Hispanic American. How about sausages, that use intestines....no, that would probably offend the German Americans, how about Colorado Oysters....nah, who knows who that might offend. I know, we can go after all the people who sell cooked shrimp, I am sure that they don't de-vein them.....nope, once again, that might put some poor ethnic restaurant out of business. We really need to find a lilly-white, large business (more then 45 people) who had followed government rules, but probably did something wrong, like, didn't bow to the Liberal Media when it came out and said, "We need to fix you, so we are going to report on you." If you have any ideas, let me know.
Personally I think we should go after any and ALL fish companies. Can you imagine, they sell a product that swims, and breathes in it's own PISS, how revolting!
Don't forget they also defecate in that water too. Also, thousands and thousands of bushels of crabs are steamed and sold every year... and some of them have *gasp* eaten dead bodies of other crustaceans, fish, and mammals (including the occasional human mammal)
I can't believe you naive, self-important individuals. If you eat any kind of meat, be it fowl, fish, port, venison, buffalo, or beef, YOU have eaten connective tissue! You hypocrites pontificate at how evil the company is? The meat was NOT tainted, it was USDA approved, it had the same level of nutrition, it met the LIB's purported love of GREEN by allowing the meat attached to the bone to be used, and thus, not wasting anything, but you are more interested in bad mouthing the company that created the method of producing the product. It is obvious to me, that the CATTLE in this story, has nothing to do with Pink Slime, but rather the commentators on this article.
Oh, heaven forbid that the good and mighty USDA, or any other government organization, would ever steer the American public wrong.
It is the fact that they sell amoniated cartalige at the same cost as top round, that is theft
FACT: It is biochemically impossible to get "lean meat" out of cartilage. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Just because it is USDA approved does not mean it is good for you!
Incred, I eat connective tissue all the time. I make stock out of my leftover chicken. But I don't voluntarily eat ammonionated bits of thousands of cattle mashed together into one patty, many of who were diseased because they were mashed together into humungous feedlots eating unnatural junk - thereby perhaps necessitating the ammonia. I prefer to eat my food from one animal at a time. I prefer to be informed as to what is IN my food so I can decide things on a case by case basis. If ABC or anyone else is INFORMING me, I can then decide whether or not it is a fact that matters to ME. You've been informed. You choose to continue to eat it. That's fine. I choose not. BPI does not run an industry that respects freedom of information on something so essential as to what we put into our own bodies. Now I am waiting for the rice industry to sue Consumer Reports over the arsenic thing...
ATTN PINK SLIME MAKERS: does this LA TIMES article about feces fed beef make you proud?
FDA urged to ban feeding of chicken feces to cattle
Farmers feed 1 million to 2 million tons of poultry litter to their cattle annually, according to FDA estimates.
Food and consumer groups say the practice increases the risk of cattle becoming infected with mad cow disease. A beef industry trade group say a ban isn't needed.
October 31, 2009|Jerry Hirsch
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/31/business/fi-feed31
Chicken poop, as long as it is sterilized, would be safe to eat.... But gross :-O=== They mix it with sawdust... Have been doing it for decades...
As far as poop causing mad cow.... I doubt it as nerve tissue causes mad cow... not poop...
ABC did a emotional diatribe against this product. Drove Americans out of a job.
Who is out of a job? Americans are eating just as much beef, which means they're eating more non-ammoniated fecal-infested beef, and somebody is producing that beef.
The jobs have moved somewhere else in the country, to a less health-endangering, less disgusting area of the industry.
Only the 700 people who lost their jobs at the three plants that were closed – don't read much "real" news, do you?
Suck it up, Beef Products Inc. You got caught making a possibly toxic and really nasty product, quit trying to pretend you didn't know it. This is a frivolous lawsuit, I hope it gets thrown out. Or better yet, I hope you lose, and have to PAY. Perhaps every parent in America should sue YOU for trying to slip our children your pasty crap.
How can they sue ABC when all they did was tell the truth about their product? I guess they thought that no one would mind eating "beef scraps and connective tissue" that has been treated with ammonia. I'm sorry that people lost jobs. Perhaps if they hadn't misled people for years, this wouldn't have happened. Why it was approved to begin with is a whole other story!!
Because someone had the $$ to buy the approval. I wouldn't feed it to my pets either.
i dont even know where to start....this whole concept of putting human beings second to anything especially over profit....this is so wrong on so many levels....TO ACTUALLY FEED THIS WASTE TO US and to change rules and laws to allow is so diabolical and smacks of being treated like some sick ass experiment ....if you harken back less than 150 yrs had the public found out....THE CORPORATE OFFICERS ANYONE WHO WAS IN THE LOOP WOULD BE HUNTED DOWN AND terminated with extreme prejudice now i would just like to see everyone involved locked away THEM AND their family members only allowed to eat for the duration of their lives FINELY TEXTURED BEEF
yes, why don't they feed us sh*t and color it to look like beef. How about road kill ground up? Ground up worms? maggots sound appetizing! REALLY????? Disgusting... I'm afraid to buy it ground anymore since I don't know what they put in it! There goes my Beef Stroganoff! I'll pass on that and have fish.
it's no good, I can't trust agribusiness any longer. They only care about money. They use poisons on the plants and on the ground, they feed our meat with food not designed for the animal, they keep then in unsanitary conditions, they give the animals antibiotics so we become resistant and on and on and on. I shall spend a few more dollars a week and buy only organic fruits and vegetables and organically raised meats and eggs from organically raised chickens. They have broken a sacred trust, and I'm not buying that stuff any more.
Dear Beef Products Incorporated, There is an important issue that you must consider in your suit with ABC, whatever the merits of your case, regardless of whether you win or lose, ..the public is now aware of this practice, and will continue to reject "Any" food stuff created with your product included. Rightly or Wrongly the discovery of the existence of your Meat Product is being percieved as another false-hood fostered behind the scenes on the American consumer by large profit only oriented conglomerates. Perhaps the Board of directors for the producers of this product should have been more concerned with the puplic perception of what this product represented, than the Quarterly Shareholder Profits percentages.
Executives are supposed to make sound decisions based on all the factors. These people held the public in such disrespect that they thought they would get away with it forever. They could have done good business putting it in animal food where it belongs. Instead they snuck it into the food & now they have to pay for their mistake.
I don't object to the use of the product, and I might even eat it (though I don't generally buy pre-ground beef or eat fast-food burgers). What I object to is the product being foisted on unsuspecting consumers who have a right to know what is in their food. When you buy a fast-food burger, there is no label or other way for a consumer to know what kind of beef it contains. Consumers are familiar only with the kind of beef that grandma or their local grocery store put through a regular meat grinder. And labeling it with these euphemisms like "Finely Textured Beef" is not informative to ordinary consumers. It needs to be labeled something like "beef trimmings and connective tissue treated with antimicrobial gas." That is not a flattering description, but it is accurate and informative enough for ordinary consumers to make a choice to eat it or not.
^^^ What he said ^^^
"Pink slime" is simply an unfortunate name given to a natural part of the cow that had been separated from it during the meat rendering process. If you want to object to something, object to the sat fat in meat products that no one seems to object to.
The public has the right to know what is being put in our food people do have food alergies and should be made aware of itbeef now don't taste right...what gives you the right to sue someone for telling your disgusting secret now who does the publie get to sue for feeding us this sh*t?
I think it is truly funny reading these posts online. The people here are truly non-informed consumers. You are falling for the "pink slime" theory. Someone labels something and it is rabble, rabble, rabble as loud as you can. If you have ever eaten a steak or roast, you will always see the little pieces of beef attached to the fat, do you waste your time cutting that out? Just like eating a t-bone, you cut the fat off and there is still a little beef there. All their process does is removes that beef from the fat. How bad is that beef then? Doesn't sound like any "slime," instead sounds like pure beef. People complain about food prices, and all the hunger in this world, but when you get a truly safe product that is a 100% beef, and leaner than most ground beef, people scream because someone labels it "pink slime." The only reason that people are so against the product is because of the name. I hope BPI wins. Put some accountability in the media. There is a lot worse hamburger that you probably eat regularly and its labeled ground beef. Ever eat a soy burger? Probably have, full of kidneys, hearts and anything else that can techinically be labeled beef mixed with soy meal. Seems to be that the "pink slime" looks good compared to that. With that being said, what do you think tight budgeted school districts are serving for lunch now that they aren't serving pink slime? Even at that, yeah those cuts used to be used for dog food, but that was before someone figured out how to engineer it to salvage that meat. There was no cost effective way to seperate the beef from fat before that.
BPI company officials made up the name 'Pink Slime.'
Keep it up and BPI will call you as a witness to prove their point about the damage done by ABC and the meida that joined the feeding frenzy busy spreading misinformation.
My favorite piece is the oft repeated video of ground poultry with food coloring to make turkey based ham used by some sandwich shops. It was not beef in any shape or form.
Oh, really? And what rock did you crawl out from under?
In case you're not "getting" this – you are 100% wrong.
Then box that crap up and send it to starving people in other counties. We don't want it. I am a chef, and have raised livestock, you are a joke if you think soy burgers have organ meat in them. Please shut your mouth, before you choke on your own foot.
Is it really truly safe? What scientific studies were done? And no, GRAS doesn't count.
If a company produces a product that has to hide its self because when identified consumers don't want it...
PS: I am not a "non-informed consumer" & I don't want to eat pink slime or whatever you want to call it.
As a member of the public that was supposedly misled into believing that pink slime is not beef or not safe to eat, I say that NO, I didn't think those things. I just think that pink slime is gross and I don't want it in my food. Save the scraps and connective tissues for pet food.
Wow. I just realized America is diverging into two groups. Self aware and intelligent enough to realize what we put in our bodies is important to our well being. The rest of you should just keep letting corporations and the government keep telling you what is good for you. Just a coincidence that we have an obesity epidemic and healthcare system overload.
Ammonia does not belong in human food. Period.
These corrupt food companies should be forced to label their products as 99% beef, 1% ammonia hydroxide.
Gross.
WE SHOULD ALL SUE THE BEEF COMPANIES AND FDA FOR INTENTIONALLY FAILING TO INFORM CONSUMERS ABOUT AMMONIA HYDROXIDE ADDED TO GROUND BEEF.
after all these discussions the bottom line is : my cat and dog refuse to eat this stuff, therefore I will not eat it
This is the problem with Corp. America where profit comes before anything else. It's cheaper to buy a can of soda than to buy a glass of real orange juice, if there is such thing a real orange juice! American people are being fed with all kinds of chemical imitation foods and no wonder we have so many people die of cancers. Meanwhile, the government isn't doing enough to protect the American people because they too work for the Corps! Something needs to be done to stop the Corps from controlling our lives!
"Pink Slime" is nothing but a byproduct of the "Yellow Slime" which passes for journalism at Anything But Credible News. Lying Sawyer needs to find different employment, perhaps on her back or on her knees. She certainly has demonstrated her capacity to service the Obamanation.
ABC should be rewarded 1.2 billion for bringing this the attention of the nuhlistic American public. As for those who are so damn stupid as to actually defend the manufacturing of this sh!t, I can only hope that you all succumb to rectal cancer. You deserve it.
.....should be "nihlistic".
In some countries, Monkey Brains are considered a delicacy. Does that mean I want to eat it? No. Does that mean my children are in danger? No. Does that mean I should sue someone to prevent them from making and or selling it? No.
I'm on ABC's side on this one. Hey BPI I'm in Florida and I say no to "pink slime" being fed to our children, I know people in other states against it too, and people all over the world. you can't take on everybody, you'll be out of business before you can poison people much longer. Free Speech!
I would award the company $100 billion against the news network and hope it shuts down the Truth Terrorists. Americans need to control their news media to demand the TRUTH. If a network produces junk science, the people should demand their money back If a newspaper reports junk science, the people should get their money back. It is time to hold the news media responsible – like doctors – every news reporter should be paying $100K per year in malpractice insurance.
Hmmm, sounds like this person works for Big Agri-business. Not buying it dude. Unsafe food must be reported on.
The news media is an amazing thing. With just 2 short words, it has convinced an army of citizens to destroy jobs and waste edible food all so they can be forced to spend more money.
And they say politicians are destroying America.
I would reward ABC for exposing this. If any organization deserves to be penalized it is the agribusiness companies that created this process and then foisted the results on the public as a different product. ABC did nothing more than report it. The people made up our minds that it was a product we don't want to consume. The consumer deserves full disclosure on chemical processes and ingredients whether it is for "finely textured crap", fracking chemicals, or anything else.
There may be nothing wrong with it (albeit I have trouble believing that meat needs to be treated with ammonia), and it may even be beef (of course, if it was really good beef, they wouldn't have treated it, would they?), it may not even be harmful (except to the dictionary definition of beef), but I do take issue with someone thinking they have the right to shove it down my throat without my knowledge. But that's just it, isn't it? No knowledge = no choice.
Hey Fascist, There is this little thing called the 1st Amendment. It is one of the cornerstones of the American Way, get used to it.
Mcdonalds was a lot better before the government forced them to be healthier because the fat people can't control their eating habits. So everyone had to suffer for these obese animal like humans.
Humans are animals
Tasty, tasty animals. If you're a tiger.
over the fact that we've been fed this garbage?
ABC News did a public service and I am grateful for their report. "Pink slime" is a disgusting byproduct being passed off as "beef" the way soilent green is just a protein cracker. We have a right to know what is in our food, and a heavily processed batch of waste is not, in my opinion, beef, even if it comes from cattle, the same way we don't call tripe meat or beef. The practices of the company were purposefully deceptive..
I hunt and eat all the game I harvest, venison and turkey, so I dont much care what you do with your pink slime.
So Mike Fountain, you don't have children or grandchildren you are concerned about eating this stuff?
Buffalo. Now THAT'S good eating.
Pink slime is not 100% beef, it is manufactured 100% from cows however... I don't know anyone who would call connective tissue (aka gristle) "beef". Also, the ammonia doesn't just kill bacteria, it also makes the gristle soft enough to chew...
If the execs think it's perfectly acceptable beef then let them eat it instead of regular ground beef or steak.
It's f@#%ing gross and shouldn't be legal. Make a law against this sh@#.
The problem isn't that "lean beef trimmings" isn't beef, but that the original product is so contaminated with fecal bacteria that it requires the ammonia treatment to bring the amount of bacteria back to "safe" levels. If you prefer a fecal-contaminated product that costs less, good for you.
I guess TRIPE would be out of the question then. Seems to me that fecal matter is always in constant contact with this tissue so you have to soak it for hours to get the smell out of it. After you process it, tripe makes good eats.
Ammonia is at best a light disinfectant. Killing bacteria is not something is does reliably or well. People are under the false impression that it does, merely because of how nasty it smells. I doubt the producers are using it for its disinfectant qualities, but it is pretty good at breaking up fats. I would say it probably has something to do with uniformity of texture.
Hilarious, so many still supporting this pink crap, despite the fact that ABC news wasn't even able to give ALL of the details because of U.S. censorship. It would be a scream to see the looks on the faces in the U.S. if the UNCENSORED news reports on this s h i t could be aired like they are in our country.
That lawsuit will be thrown into the same bucket as the pink slime and fed to all the slime supporters.
How about the product that the use to stick two or more pieces of meat together to make a steak or roast
what country are you in? i would love to see this?
BPI is just mad that the public found out.
From my own experences, ABC is probably the closest to be a tabloid among those major news networks in the US... I hope they pay more than $1.2B.
Among those major news networks in the US, ABC is probably the closest to be a tabloid ... I hope they pay more than $1.2B.
Here's a funny fact– people are all hyped up because of the ammonia thing. Do they realize that RIGHT NOW, their bodies are making ammonia? Beef or no beef ?? And that when your liver starts to fail (too much ethanol, commonly known as "booze") your ammonia levels go up ? ? ? People are just funny when it comes to picking what's good and what's bad for their bodies. I'm guessing this product might be high in protein and that all of the starving people of the world would stand in line for days just for one burger.
you may want to read a little more about chemically produced amonia and the amonia your body produces. it's not the same thing.
The stuff is harmless.
You just disproved your own point. When your liver fails (and is producing toxins), your body increases its ammonia content.
I buy quality beef roasts and grind my own hamburger. That way I know exactly what is im my burger.
At the end of the day, it's a product, and they have no 'right' to sales. If their product offends customers, who in turn don't want to buy it, too bad. You can't be simultaneously for the 'free market' and believe that this type of lawsuit has any merit.
You're right they have no "right" to sales but they do have a right to be protected from slanderous attacks and if the attacks happen and they are proved to be entirely or even partially false they have a right to be compensated for the damages done.
They do not, however, to omit mentioning the inclusion of a modified product in your food, particularly a byproduct. The courts have long since settled this matter, which is why we have labels. I remember the industry fights over it. If it were up to the industry, nothing would be labelled for content at all. Case dismissed.
It's a free market. People can choose what they want to eat. If they don't like that people stopped eating their product when they got information about it. Then tough. Capitalism is ruthless.
BPI won't win. Too hard to prove. "The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor must prove that the network knowingly published false information and intended to harm its business." The burger barons that sued Oprah when she took dowm hamburgers on her show didn't win. They must just hope to settle for $$$. Meanwhile, they put "pink slime" right back into the public discussion. and consciousness..not real smart.
Watch the documentary called Frankensteer. Meateaters have no clue what they're doing to themselves and their loved ones.
Frannie, what makes you so confident of what I know and don't know? Take a step back and think about what you posted. Did you really mean to insult everyone here with your ego-centric frame of mind? My dad was a butcher. You really think you know more than I do about how meat is processed? Seriously? Here's a helpful hint: Next time you consider posting your opinion on a board, don't.
I hope the network has to pay big bucks. And they should get sued every time they get a fact wrong. That would be the end of TV networks. Then we start suing the gov,t...
The beef industry can and will be investigated. The fear tactics will not work. The nation has a right to know what it is ingesting! If a news story about your product promotes healthier eating than the beef industry will have to adapt to the American public's demands, and not the free journalists obeying a disgusting lobby. You say real people were affected by the story. I hope the people affected were smart and steered clear of your worsening product. I believe the correct action is to expose the beef industry more so that industry get bogged down in court. If this is your response against Oprah then realize you are going against a group now. And many people in that group would love to be the next person sued by you as a way to earn credential. What a bad choice, what a bad product, and what bad heart health. If the numbers were checked we could see the beef industry puts more men in the hospital than the savage group of terrorists.
Stupid company. People aren't ordering your pink slime because it's NOT primarily made up of the healthiest part of beef. It's the garbage scraps mulched in to what you THINK will be passed off as regular hamburger. Just shut your doors forever or make real beef products consumers will actually buy. What a concept – sell something consumers demand instead of trying to fool them. Enough said.
You're rather uneducated regarding what LFTB in fact, is. Since you've very clearly decided to comment without knowing what you're talking about, allow me to educate you with facts:
LFTB is used as a filler or to reduce the overall fat content of ground beef. It is produced by processing low-grade beef trimmings and other meat by-products such as cartilage, connective tissue and sinew, which contain fat and small amounts of lean beef, and mechanically separating the lean beef from the fat through the use of a centrifuge heated to approximately at 100°F (38°C). The heating process liquefies the fat and facilitates the separation of lean beef from the fat and other meat by-products. The recovered beef material is then processed, heated, and treated with gaseous ammonia or citric acid to kill E. coli, salmonella, and other bacteria. When gaseous ammonia is used, after coming in contact with water in the meat, it forms into ammonium hydroxide. The product is finely ground, compressed into pellets or blocks, flash frozen and then shipped for use as an additive.[
Rick Jochum, a company spokesperson for Beef Products Inc. (BPI) has stated that the finished product is 94 to 97 percent lean beef, and has a nutritional value comparative to 90 percent lean ground beef.
I love when people say the same thing, but one claims the other is uneducated.. Let's do a rough comparison for Lonny with his own words:
garbage = "low-grade beef trimmings and other meat by-products such as cartilage, connective tissue and sinew, which contain fat and small amounts of lean beef"
When I cut my own steaks, I throw those trimmings away (ie, garbage)
Mulch = "mechanically separating the lean beef from the fat through the use of a centrifuge heated to approximately at 100°F (38°C)."
Not the best verb, but I think it conveys the idea of blending it all up in a big vat. They just didn't mention that the vat was hot and spinning. That seems to make it all... better?
It was an industry that made money because they could help the big chains cut costs by providing the same amount of beef by weight but using a lot of filler instead of actual ground beef. You think anybody that grinds their own beef for personal consumption would ever perform this process with ammonia and connective tissues to make that one extra burger? Consumers are "finally" looking a little closer at what they eat and they have chosen to not eat the filler. That is the market at work. I still don't see where CBS or anyone has misled anyone. I read your description and that is exactly what I thought it was, and exactly what I don't want to eat.
Mmmmmmmm.... You got my mouth watering!
This has nothing to do with the removal of bacteria from the meat. Industry doesn't give a damn about the consumer, as long as you are buying their product. This has everything to do with revenue enhancement. By mechanically and chemically altering tissues which would otherwise be unusable, more can be sold, and the product can be mixed with premium ground beef to extend the amount which can, and has been sold with deceptive pricing. This amounts to the same type of behavior exhibited by cigarette companies. The company in question here is probably worried that someone is going to make them slap a label on things. Tell you what: as a consumer, you can settle this matter simply by refusing to purchase any meat from locations which refuse to disclose origins and independently verified content.
We've been eating this stuff (processed food) for centuries. Hot dogs, sausage, on and on. Need I say Scrapple or Spam. Some moron at FSIS makes a ill advised comment and and other idiots pick up on it now we have this.
This stuff is beef, period. Ever seen the grey paste they use for hot dogs? Instead, let's start talking about the non food stuff the industy is feeding us. Wood fiber anyone?
Gross!! Pink slime is disgusting. So are hot dogs and most processed meat products. I can't believe some people are saying this junk is ok. The article doesn't mention that the scraps of connective tissue are left for days on the floor and then swept up into the grinder. The reason they add ammonia is because if they didn't people would die from the bacteria. The whole point of pink slime is to pad the beef companies' disgusting product and make it more profitable. A good analogy would be if bread companies started adding ground up wheat chaff to the flour they use to make their bread. Or if butter companies started mixing cow shit into their butter. People who eat pink slime are repulsive. Who would want to date a person who eats something so disgusting?
100% agree!
centuries? do you always just open your mouth and infest others with your fallacies?
This is a step in the direction you appear to want. Your argument doesn't make sense. And btw, the classic hot dog sales have been on the drop whereas many customers are wanting 100% beef or other types of hot dogs which have less of the pieces parts of the dogs of our youth. There are a couple of restaurants and butcher shops here in Atlanta that make their own hot dogs and sausages out of top quality beef, chicken and pork. Not to say there isn't still a lot of "junk" out there that people are eating but we are slowly moving in the right direction IMHO.
No wonder dogs taste like crap these days!!
if the news service knowingly lied then they should pay
Did you even read the article?
I prefer to pay higher prices for meat that does not contain "Pink slime" not because of its ammonia content. Ammonia in low levels persists in a lot of foods. Ammonia is used to kill something far more dangerous–bacteria. However Cargill uses Citric Acid in place of Ammonia and its still "pink slime". Technically it is still ~90% lean beef. You can eat it, you've probably eaten it in the past and you will not die from it or get sick from it either. Anyway, I choose not to eat beef containing pink slime because of the texture. I just don't care for it. I grind my own ground beef because I like control the flavor. Prepacked ground beef at the store tastes bland and feels like paste. I've avoided it well before I even was aware of "pink slime" At least now I understand why I didn't like it.
Same here, the really cheap prepacked ground beef actually tastes rotten.
Ammonia isn't good for the body. Why the heck do you think we flush it out when we urinate. Urine is full of Ammonia especially the first of the morning.
The amount of ammonia in ground beef made with pink slime is extremely small. You should much sooner be complaining much louder about the antibiotics they pump farm animals full of....
Beef Products Incorporated would be well advised to let this issue go rather than remind people of what it is they sell. I know penguins would rather go to a baseball game than eat pink slime.
I think the words "Soylent Pink" said it all.
I am just curious if they plan to pay those 700 workers for lost wages should they win this suit since they felt the need to speak of plants closing.
Of course they won't. Like Romney, they believe they are 'entitled' to good business and more sales, and that anything that reduces sales must be a criminal offense, because business is American, and in their minds, to be against any business is to be against America.
The complaint filed by BPI includes more than 200 separate paragraphs alleging many different conclusory statements; there's a good chance that it violates Rule 8 of the FRCP.
Over a billion dollars? Yeah....I'm sure they'll see penny number one from that. Just quit making that crap and everybody will be happy.
Really?! People already knew about "pink slime", ABC just happen to pick up the story. That's why they are called "reporters". Don't know if they new this, but there is a "organic" movement happening. People are beginning to ask questions and doing research behind the food they eat. Actually they have been doing this for years, its just starting to pick up momentum which makes a great "news piece" for reporters. Are these idiots planning to sue their own customers for smarting up? Seriously, get a life better yet maybe they should take this a hint and start making improvements to make the customers happy.
I am going to tell you what you can do right now. You go to the store and buy stew beef, and other less popular cuts, then....you take it home and grind it yourself. I do not care if it is Walmart, Kroger or whoever, Most of these stores do not care about your safety in the safe food perspective and are just looking out for the bottom line for profit. I worked for Kroger for 7 years and I know this to be true! Also.....the 'small guy" which means the butcher (which has been out sourced to cut union wages) and most of the other employees working for these company's would not even have a chance of supporting there families if it was not for the United Food and Commercial Union representing them! If you are not so savvy to gring your own beef at home, go to a real butcher out in the country and keep it real, corporate america will keep pumping the pink slim into you, and you will be the only one to blame!
Thank you sir! You know the real deal. Wish there were more people like you!!!
God Bless ya!
I went to a Wal mart a few years ago, and say that the T-Bone steak they had on the dhelves was turning green, so I notified the manager. He said "Oh, yeah, they forgot to inject that one." Thanks, I'll never buy meat from Wal Mart again...
If the executives of this company claim there is no problem with pink slime, let's see them live off the food it contains exclusively for one month.
I like your thinking.
Only one month? How about they live on it for a year or two or three? Or better yet, how about if they couldn't afford anything else. Period. How would they feel then?
Let's face it. Americans have been eating dog food without knowing it, courtesy of Corporate America.
Well put. Woof!
I have no problem with that. As long as it's gourmet dog food and it costs three times as much as regular dog food. I'm a picky eater, and everything has to be gourmet and expensive.
There has to be some consequences for news organizations to be more truthful," stated Beef Products Inc. founder Eldon Roth Not that what they said was a lie. It's just they'd like to add more of their own "facts" to the story. Like it's tastey and not disgusting at all if you have no idea you're eating garbage dipped in poison.
Agreed 100%. People refuse to vaccinate their children and now people are dying of whooping cough and meningitis, but complain about feeding their kids preprocessed/overprocessed and food with who knows what in it. Geeze people, support your local farms and producers and eat what is healthy. Beef fat from a 'real cow' is actually yellow from the grasses and corn it is fed Not the liquid slop that is fed to make your nice steak withall that white fat around it.
I fail to see how vaccination fits into this discussion; but since you brought it up than I will bring up this.
People may refuse vaccination because of whatever reason, and I don't think it's much of an issue. People drive drunk, smoke cigarettes, ride a bicycle without a helmet, slip and fall in the shower, die from prescription medications and I could go on and on. It's called freedom to choose. Death is 100% certain..it's all about risk assessment. Right now I am not convinced that vaccination is worth the risk.
Not getting vaccinated might not only kill that person, but thousands of others. I'm relatively happy to be rid of polio, smallpox, etc. None of that would have been possible without substantial vaccination rates.
I saw it on the TV show Food revolution and thats what made me really look into it and stop buying it. I switched to turkey instead and it has been good and better for me. I'll still eat beef, and I'm not too too worried about the stuff.. However, it isn't all that more expensive to eat beef without it... so why not.
If you know what I know about turkey slaughter and processing, you wouldn't eat that either. I won't.
This year, I've started to juice and eat veggies and fruit, and cut out most meat all together, at least for awhile, after gaining weight to 325lbs,, I'm now down to 225. I'll look into the turkey claims. I have no desire to be 100% meatless, and I don't need fully organic produce.. but I do like the idea of clean whole foods as much as possible. thanks for the info
We have also cut back our meat consumption and increased our raw fruit and vegetables intake but not because of this. We have always eaten healthy well balanced meals, but felt then need to change and my hubby was having stomach problems. We watch a documentary on Netflix about decreasing meat, which helped make our decision. Since the change my husbands stomach problem has gone away, and we feel so much better. And If you really think about it before technology gave us preservatives our ancestors lived off the land and meat wasn't on the menu all the time. They ate with the seasons and what they could grow, harvest or gather.
OH and congratulations on the weight loss. :OD
thanks so much!
Or Chicken either.
geesh! Yeah!
Instead of accepting responsibility, pink Slime manufactures are still trying to battle back. This is what happens when Cooperations are treated the same as individuals.
Responsibility for what? Producing a safe product out of something that would have been discarded and making an affordable product available to consumers?
Thats ok as long as people know what they are getting. Just tell me if I'm eating beef or beef butt holes and I'll decide if the cost difference is worth it or not.
Just what did you think went into ground beef before this story? Filet Mignon, flank steak, and ribeye? Or all the letfover parts? That's all pink slime is. It just takes more processing to break the connective tissue into edible tasty bits. It's the exact same process that Sous Vide uses to make cuts of tasty but tough meat into delicious and tender steaks.
As far as the cleaning, they do that with the non-pink slime ground beef as well. If you think that's gross, go buy grass-fed steaks from the farmer and get it butchered yourself. Anything else and you are getting the industrial food product, regardless what it is labeled.
Learn more about what goes into this and it won't seem worth your furor against it.
When you start viewing us as human beings and not just "consumers", you may actually understand.
I'll believe corporations are people as soon as Texas executes one.
Ha! Now that should be televised.
I'll help strap Bain Capital to the gurney. My patriotic duty.
One thing for sure, no matter what the outcome of the case, the lawyers involved will be able to afford a steady diet of Filet Mignon!
How do you feel about Spam, or Hot Dogs? Get Real, people! Study long enough and the only thing you'll eat is grass! The salt in most processed foods will kill you quicker than any of these!
Yep. If you truly want a healthy diet stop being lazy. In the most extreme case, grow your own food. If you are more lazy than that, like me, go to farmers market. Much beyond that you are too lazy to give two rats about what is in your food. You are responsible for what you eat. If you honestly think the food your kid eats at school is top notch then I am guessing you never made it past the 7th grade. Stop taking advantage of the free/reduced lunch and pack your kid a lunch where you know the ingredients came from. Dont' have time? Stop complaining.
dc – these are the same people who consume vast amounts of highly processed foods that are loaded with sugars, sodium, chemicals, etc. Let's not tell them how many maggots the FDA allows in a can of mushrooms.
People who eat spam and hot dogs know what they are getting. When you order a hamburger you expect ground round/chuck. As long as they say its ground chuck with filler its fine.
I hope ABC files a counter suit !!!!! As a consumer I was appalled to find out that I was buying "blended connective tissue" that was being sold to me under the name of BEEF ... These people have some nerve !!!
THANK YOU ABC !!!!!
How do these people feel about Spam, or Hot Dogs? Get Real, people! Study long enough and the only thing you'll eat is grass! The salt in most processed foods will kill you quicker!
Amen DC ! Finally someone on this forum is living in reality.
DC even the Veggies and Grass arent that safe.
(Have you ever visited one of the large farms where produce comes from ? The ones in cali for example dont have bathrooms or port-a-potties for their workers out in the fields. Guess where they go ? In the irrigation ditches that run off into produce, which can cause higher amounts of ammonia then whats in the "pink slime", and here trace amounts of ammonia in burgers is upsetting people?)
DC you are a fool
Would you rather your meat get labeled "dead and aged carcass, mechanically stripped from the bones and skin, processed in a plant that processed 100,000 mangy unhealthy cows last year, and was only cited for 2 recalls due to bacteria from when they didn't put enough ammonia into it to kill all the bacteria present at the plant"
B/c that's even more descriptive, yet even less appetizing. At least pink slime is cooked well before it is processed, so all the bacteria it came with is dead.
I find it interesting that you have a company here who is suing because consumers made a decision once they found out about how their ground beef was being served, yet Canada won't allow it at all in their country precisely because of the ammonia component, and the European Union and the UK have banned it. So. . . .tell me again why we have a government agency who says its safe? (Oh wait a minute. I know. The guy who was the head of the FDA back when this junk was okayed for human use, became the CEO of one of these pink slime producing pariahs. Or vice versa. I forget which.) Either way, I don't trust the FDA in the least. What a joke they are. How often do you see yet another report coming out extolling the dangers of things the FDA previously said were just fine. Sorry, but I do believe palms are greased to get things stamped as "safe".
Well said.
Beef...who eats beef? Eat Mor Chikn! LONG LIVE Chick-fil-A!!!
They told the truth. WIth all of this discussion going on about free speech, I think this lawsuit is dead on arrival.
This is what is called a SLAP Lawsuit. Of course it is frivolous. The real purpose is to harass & intimidate. That is what the rich do when their interests are threatened. Mostly it is used against modest public interest groups & brave individuals. It happens every day & nobody usually even knows.
BPI has focused in on the media giant ...
Translation: The lawyers have determined that ABC has the deepest pockets.
This stuff is the scraps that fall on the floor and then picked up and reused. Find a restaurant that would pass inspection if the dropped only a tomato, rinsed it off and used it. This is raw meat and they put chemicals on or in it and expect people to accept that as food? Get real you money grabbers. The audacity of trying to pawn that off on the public in secret is overwhelming. The effect of that stuff could not have been researched enough to be known. Who paid off who at the FDA or USDA to get that to market?
ABC has a right to inform the public of what's in our food! If they have to pay a penny to these scum manufacturers, then investigative journalism goes out the window!
I don't care what BPI has to say about it's revolting product – safe or not safe. It is MY choice to make as to whether or not I eat foods with ANY additives in it whatsoever. I do not like, at all, the fact that companies were sliding this stuff into their food that they served, or that markets were selling what they represented as being ground beef that wasn't really. Connective tissue is connective tissue. I do not want to eat it. Period. If it was only fit for dog food previously, what changed to suddenly make it fit for humans. Money changing hands. And that's the bottom line.
Because of investigative journalism, you as a consumer can make an informed choice. Yes,connective tissue and meat are separated from the bone via an ammonia bath. But,have you ever read the ingredients of authentic chorizo that enhances so many wonderful dishes inspired by Mexican cuisine? It's a choice!
they slimed US and ABC helped to stop it–thank you ABC
One: I've eaten products containing "pink slime" for years now, essentially all of my life
Two: I have not died, or become seriously ill from eating said products.
Three: The process they use kills E-Coli. I don't like E-Coli, so I agree with this process of removing it.
I don't see why everyone is in such a furor about this. ZOMG AMMONIA AMS POISUN. Er... No, it's not. ANYTHING in high enough doses is technically poison. However, there's ammonia in literally thousands of products that we use and eat every day. The level they use is FAR less than anything that could even be remotely considered as unhealthy. I'm a poor American, therefore I buy cheap meat. I don't care that there's filler in the meat. It's still meat. If "pink slime" helps me save money, tastes just fine, and completely safe for me to eat, then bring it on.
Heck, reading over these comments made me chuckle a little. It just reminds of all the stupid rednecks who got up in arms about the flouride in public water. GUB'MENT TRYNA KILL US. Er... Naw. Every government has corruption, and every corporate business has shady practices. BPI, however, never tried to cover anything up, was never anything but forthright and honest about it's product. Those claiming they tried to bury it are full of crap. Personally, I think the lawsuit is a bit frivolous, but I can understand the company's position. It's revenue has dropped like a stone since all these reports, so it's natural that they'd go after the people they perceive as being responsible for it.
However, as to the safety of the product, ANYONE who says the product is unsafe makes me laugh. I guess they'd rather have E-Coli, or any other viruses/diseases that make their way into cows.
It's a real pain having to post these talking points to all the blogs, ain't it? I did it for a few years for the HFCS folks until they finally gave up. Do you get paid by the post or by the week? It took them *forever* to get the checks out too. I'm just not sure it's worth it at the end of the day.
Excellent call-out, Dave. ;)
I wonder how much he DOES get paid to keep the American public eating soylent pink...
I work for Coca Cola you nitwit. Did I not also mention that I am poor?
Just because I'm not among the talking heads feigning outrage, people assume I'm some sort of "disinformation agent" or some paid spokesperson. That sounds like a sweet gig, honestly. How do you get in on that?
Of course I'd prefer meat without the "pink slime", but I honestly can't taste much of a difference between slime-free meat and not. So really, I don't care much whether or not it's got slime. It's meat, it's food, I'm poor, and off-brand hamburger helper is cheap.
Put that tinfoil hat down and come to your senses. Not EVERYONE who doesn't decry this is some agent of the "big evil corporation"
@lucavex Oh, riiight. Hey, sorry dude. You're a Poor Coca-Cola Worker with a deeply informed, passionate point of view on the pressing current issue of Pink Slime. Gotcha - hey it could happen. My bad!
(wink)
Or, perhaps, we could demand that any company that needs to treat their product with chemicals in order to make it safe, review their handling procedures to ensure its safety. Did you know that E-coli isn't present in the majority of humanly raised and slaughtered cattle? It is only our hyper processed, corporate run American food system that has created these problems. Too much focus on profit and little regard for the well being of the common American. So, I say to you, sir, eat all the chemically sanitized food you want. Mix in some iodine to your water, if you like. Me, I prefer my food the way NATURE intended. Not the profit margin.
They wouldn't have to add any chemicals if their animal were relatively healthy when slaughtered & their facilities followed HACCP guidelines. But profits trump safety so animals are fed on unnatural (corn/grain) feed, slaughtered when ill & disinfected afterwards so consumers won't get ill because the leftovers are that disgusting & we are expected to be thankful for their efforts to keep us safe. Their profit-mongering (is that a word? it is, right?) is what causes the problems in the first place!
& I'm sick of hearing about the affordability issue. Humans don't need beef to live (SHOCKER!) Full disclosure, I eat meat. But I buy it from farmers who I can talk to about how they raise & slaughter their animals. AND I live in an urban environment. But I don't need beef every day!! Hello saturated fat! I really think it's awful that one of the beef industry's counterpoint to this is that it is more affordable & healthful for people with limited incomes. People don't need to eat pink slime. It's not health food!
I'm an ASQ Certified HACCP Auditor, someone who writes HACCP programs for a living (among other things), a former USDA FSIS inspector, and I've worked in beef slaughter. Slaughterhouses under FSIS inspection have had to abide by HACCP programs since 1997-2000 (depending on size of the facility), so guess what? They are abiding by HACCP guidelines, and there are still occasions of non-compliance. So your argument doesn't wash.
If they aren't complying, then how does that invalidate my argument? Sounds like they A. need to comply & B. they need more/better inspections. No?
If you read up on it, it's somewhat of a joke how poor our beef inspections are compared to other countries. I'm not saying your credentials aren't valid. But viewed against the overall system it just doesn't mean much. Doesn't inspire confidence. Sorry.
I have never believed pink slime was unsafe. However, I do find the thought of it being in my food quite unappetizing, and I strongly resent that it might have been snuck into my food without my knowledge before all the publicity. Since this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, I've been much more careful about where the ground beef I eat came from, and have gone from rarely to almost never eating fast food burgers.
But this is a personal choice that I make, and I can afford to eat food with no unsavory (in my opinion) additives. I have little doubt that our food supply is safe. But people should be able to find out what they're eating and be able to make their own educated choices.
Cheers for ABC for bringing this horrible stuff to our attention. If people didn't think it mattered, no one would have reacted. It's strange that some people would sue, or call it sensationalism because someone pointed out that we've been eating outhouse crap.
they should be sued again for protecting Obama and his incomptetence..Diane sawyer is a left wing twit
and you are a toothless pink slime eating goober...!
Please don't feed the troll.
Thanks.
I love how nut job right wing extremists can use any topic to slam Obama or anyone that isn't a nut job right wing extremist
Diane Sawyer was a speech writer for (conservative/Republican) Richard Nixon. I'm sure it would come as a shock to her (and many of her associates) that she's a left wing anything, twit or not...
That was then, this is now – Have you checked her out lately?
... as opposed to just being a plane twit: Jealous ?
Wrong thread. There is now a special all purpose thread for Obama Hating. Just Google, "I Hate Obama."
So the company that was putting ammoniated fecal matter in our grocery stores and kids' school lunches and claiming it was food is suing the people that brought it all to our attention?!?
Colorful, but that's about it. Only right wing ranchers seem to be supporting it since they have a dog in the fight. The voice of greed.
All of you railing against this stuff sound a bit elitist. Let me ask you to THINK this through – The addition of LFTB allows the use of more of the cattle for consumption. If we don't use LFTB, we have LESS yield from each of the cattle. What happens then?????? We have to have MORE cattle just to sustain the same amount of beef we consume.
So, all you environmental bigots who despise this stuff and want it removed from the landscape of the USA, you can expect MORE land to be used for feed lots and cattle farms precisely because of your actions........
Sounds hypocritical to me, but that's nothing new.
I'm with you all the way. It also brings down the cost of beef which then makes it more accessible to those on a limited budget.
I think the pink slime is relatively safe but it sounds unappetizing and should be disclosed, so consumers can make informed decisions about what we eat. As for the increase in cattle and the land needed for their care, i don't believe this will be a problem because this may make people more conscientious about what they eat and eat less meat but better quality. the less is more. Plus if there was more demand for beef wouldn't that be good for cattle ranchers who could buy more cattle, and make more money as demand would be higher with less supply.
Disagree. The product WAS being used before, but in dog food. So there is no difference in how much of the cattle is being used, simply what the endpoint is. Anybody who wants to eat it, be my guest. It is my choice not to.
I wonder how these people feel about Spam, or Hot Dogs? Get Real, people! Study long enough and the only thing you'll eat is grass!
I suppose the Indians had a pouch of ammonia handy while they processed their kills. I used to get pink slime out of sheer lazyness because it came in handy 1 pound tubes. Since the report I've moved on to getting fresh ground beef and my beefy meals have tasted a hundred times better, even the texture made a difference. YEAH ABC... BOO BPI.
I personally thank ABC news for alerting me to what pink slime is. Those that make it should be forced to eat nothing but pink slime for the rest of their lives.....raw.
Other dealers in meet an more think its wherth the law suit most often it's not in the long run yet the man that made his meet better to showe life better as he sees it is mote likely down as most see down as in this cass other meet men saw it coming an consider lawsis an did what thay did an still call it right as in write it's not mostly to themselfves.pnm.
Is this English?
My reaction as well!!!
Question: why isn't there a 5 billion class action suit against the beef industry for feeding us this garbage in the first place? And to the person who commented on the yumminess of cartilage to other cultures, do they use large quantities of ammonia to essentially "bleach" that meat product as well? I would say a tail to snout philosophy is not what's at issue here...it's the conscious pursuit of profit over human health and corporate transparency. The knowledge got out. People voted their dollars. Jobs were lost, and pink slime sales dropped. Welcome to capitalism. If more people knew about what went on in factory farms (and I'm not even talking animal welfare here), there'd be a huge drop there too.
Nothing new here – I read an article on CNN about 2 years ago about the pink slime and stopped buying beef then. If you want to be a smart consumer, do your research...otherwise don't complain. BPI figured out a way to make money off of the scraps he normally threw away...the government approved it (getting a nice little pocket change I'm sure), pushed it thru to the school lunches and viola – you have the backing and sales to go to the private sectors (McDonalds, etc), and this started back in the 1980's (I believe). It came to light when school children started complaining about their beef smelling like ammonia! YUM! Thank you CNN for helping to inform myself :)
Well you have been sadly misinformed. LFTB is beef. Ammonia is a safe way to kill any potential bacteria. My knowledge doesn't come from a reporter either. I have a degree in Agriculture from UNL, as does my husband, my son and my daughter. My son and daughter are veterinarians. My daughter has personally toured the BPI plant. My daughter-in-law, also a veterinarian has basically a minor in meat studies. My father is retired USDA. I know what I am talking about.
You have a vested interest in this. Fact is the people have spoken; We don't want this stuff in our food. YOU can make money off it so YOU want it our food. It needs to be used only in animal food
You've ALWAYS had ground beef available that wasn't *LFTB* and hadn't been treated with ammonia. It's widely available today. You just have to PAY MORE. But, there's the rub. The average American consumer wants everything cheap. Well, you get what you pay for. So next time you want *real* ground beef, ask the butcher at the meat counter in your grocery store if the meat was ground on-site. Don't try this at Wal-Mart – they fired all their butchers years ago. (They were trying to unionize.)
I concur Cattlewoman, I also eat products with mechanically separated chicken. Waste not, want not.
The problem here, Cattlewoman is that I have the right to know what it is that I'm eating. I don't buy "ground beef" any more. I only buy whole ground chuck, sirloin, round etc. from local butchers, ground on site in front of my face. Basically the beef industry found a way to sell what previously had almost zero value. I'm not interested in paying premium prices for a sub-par product. The consumer won in this case.
Amen to that. I now only buy ground beef from a local family owned grocery store that grinds all their meat on site. Their sales went way up after all this pink slime nonsense was exposed. So the money grubbing corporations that fed us this crap to begin with are now hurting, but the small markets and butcher shops in our local neighborhoods are profiting from it. I rather like the way that turned out.
I'm just gonna say it- What are the odds of a person who loves animals having an interest in meat studies? Or a whole family having the same profession? And the hook- USDA- you had me until that. Keep lies- I mean stories- simple and they'll be more believable.
Everyone that is against this stuff are jackassses. Its safe to use this stuff. Dumb people believing whatever the damn news outlets thorw in front of you. SUCKERS.
wonder how these people feel about Spam, or Hot Dogs? Get Real, people! Study long enough and the only thing you'll eat is grass!
Let's be honest... This connective tissue has NEVER been thrown away ... Pre 1985 or so it was processed as pet food... the only change is the profitability of now marketing it as safe for human consumption ... THE ONLY CHANGE IS BOOSTED PRFITABILITY by marketing enhanced dog food ... Sorry "conective tissue"
IMO
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Hey, don't kid yourselves folks . . . . McDonalds and all those other fast-food companies were perfectly happy using this product until they got busted! It was pure and simple economics. As long as this stuff is "safe" to eat companies like this will continue to use it for as long as they possibly can. If it allows them to produce beef patties 20% cheaper than using all ground beef, then they will do it. How else can they sell a Big Mack for a buck? Then when they get caught, they all of a sudden become concerned corporate citizens and vow to do the right thing for their consumers! They are probably just asking their "chefs" (which is a joke in itself) to find another additive that will make their burgers look bigger and meatier for half the price. Taco Bell had the same issue last year.
It is so funny that people all over the world eat "connective tissue" and organs and such and no part of an animal will go to waste. However as western people we contest that we are too good to eat such food. I laugh at the sense of entitlement we project to other parts of the world who starve while we have the ability to turn our nose up at these things.
In the Third World there are people who scavenge garbage so they don't starve. In the Philippines it is a cottage industry. Small street vendors get restaurant scraps, boil them & sell them to the poorest of the poor. If you think we should toughen up why don't you try that route. The homeless in America are forced to do that too.
I guess if that is all that that is available people in the U.S. will eat it. If "better" food is available why eat food that includes what is best described as scraps?
It isn't scraps. Unless you would consider bacon scraps. The trimmings resemble slabs of bacon prior to the separation process. The heating loosens the fat from the meat and the spinning separates the fat off. The fat is made into edible tallow. The tallow goes into many other foods as well as cosmetics and lotions.
100 years ago people on US farms used to boil cow skulls to make head cheese, eat the lungs and trachea...to make every part of the animal count. We have the luxury today to eat the more appetizing cuts.
The ammonia treatment is really secondary to the use of offal....yeeecccch.
I think it's more about the toxic chemical bath than connective tissue. Anyone who buys ground meat is well aware that it contains lips and a-holes. The hard part to swallow is the chemical soup that is mixed in with it!
It isn't toxic. Your body makes ammonia daily, much more ammonia than is used in LFTB.
Cattlewoman,
Thanks so much for your rational voice. Butchering animals is a bit of a messy process by necessity. We've become a nation of weenies and hysterics who don't really understand what it takes to feed us. We have the safest, highest quality food on the whole planet. We eat more of it than anyone else on the planet, and then whine about the quality of it. That's just dumb.
The difference is those people know what they are eating before, during and after they are eating it, they are not intentionally misled to believe that what they are eating is simply meat, while in fact it is trimmings treated with what amounts to poison.
It isn't about the pieces of the animal, it's about the way it's extracted and gathered. It's sprayed with ammonia gas because it's often mixed with fecal matter and bacteria.
Why on earth would anyone defend this practice?
Eat all of the parts of animals that you want; no one's stopping you. But this is a mass-manufactered bunch of crap that people thought was good food.
Pink Slime. – YUM !
Not sure about others, I do not consider connective tissue beef.
They say it makes good violin strings if you get it from a cat.
As far as I'm concerned, if it comes from a cow, it's beef!
Unless you have a specific cut of pure meat right off a carcass, you really have no clue what you're eating: Burgers, hot dogs, nuggets, ground "Beef", frozen meals . . . . . basically anywhere they can put fillers and additives to beef-up (no pun intended!!) the product, they will do it.
Have you seen how they make McDonalds Chicken Nuggets? Google that one if you dare . . . . . there ain't much "chicken" in them unless you like all the other "parts" that are saved and ground up after the breasts, wings, and legs are used up.
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone!
There is connective tissue in all cuts of meat.
Right you are. It's the tough gristle that we spit out.
they're suing because their disgusting business practices are true and they were called out in it.
I hope to go out of business, I'm sorry for the workers, however that's just disgusting
The workers & the plant are still around. After the dust settles they will get rehired. The bosses deserve to lose their packing plant & their jobs. Bosses make the decisions & they made a fatally flawed decision.
First of all, why one has to scroll down all the way in order to be able to post a comment? Why CNN? Second, you can not package crap, sell it to poor people, make billions and when you are caught, blame it on some one else. Third, I don't think the makers of this crap even touch it with bare hands let alone eat it. Fourth, There is a good reason it is being called "SLIME" and a pink one too. They are lucky it is not called "BROWN SLIME". Can you imagine the resemblance?
All the people who work at BPI consume their product. There was a large burger feed at the Tyson Center in Sioux City that included all employees and a huge turnout of locals–myself included.
Eat it breakfast, lunch & dinner. Knock yourself out. The rest of us don't want it in our food & we have a right to know if it's there & not eat it.
Good to know you speak for everyone. Narcissism kinda works that way.
If they don't feel the need to treat all of "beef" with ammonium hydroxide what does that say about the product they do? If they're only doing it to protect the ignorant consumer does that infer that people who can afford filet Mignon are less ignorant? What is so dangerous about their product that they feel the need to put it through such severe treatments? If the product is inedible without extensive alteration should we believe their claims that it is harmless or that we should give them our hard earned dollars in a bet that cheap food won't kill us? Aren't we accessories to a crime when we defend someone's right to defraud and endanger others? Go ahead feed your loved ones garbage in the name of thriftiness. I'm sure that a lack of conscience will not trouble you any more than it troubles them.
Any meat –beef, turkey, chicken that has been ground has the potential to be exposed to bacteria. There are other treatments but all ground meat is treated.
Forget ABC, how do you explain that in Europe, its only legal for dog food?
Because Europeans actually have taste, unlike most Americans?
I don't know if what you say is true but I suspect they lack the technology to remove the beef meat from the fat trimmings. BPI invented the process and have it patented.
I'm not saying this to be funny, but I wouldn't serve that stuff to my dog for any reason whatsoever.
Why don't we all band together & run BPI out of business. Then folks with some morals could buy it cheap, reorganize it & deal honestly with the public. The workers would all get hired back & everybody but the bad guys would come out ahead.
@ Sharp Your are supposed to eat the pink slime, friend, not smoke it...
All you have is cheap name calling. Is that all you got? Gosh I'm underwhelmed.
News flash: it was no big secret that the cheaper ground beef (i.e. those 2 pound *chubs* and other vacuum-packed containers) were processed with gases and/or irradiated. It was also open knowledge that these cheaper versions used less desirable parts of the beef. YOU, the consumer, just failed to care about what you were putting in your mouth. Gee, you would have need to read some really boring articles with all the drama. How many of you are buying the salad green mixes in a bag? Or, the string beans in a bag? Those are gassed as well to maintain *freshness*. If you want high quality and good for you – don't shop based on price.
"without all the drama"
With informed consent I got no problem. They STUCK IT IN without telling anyone. You like pink Slime, go right ahead. Also many people are POOR, especially after twenty years of corporate greed run wild. Just check the statistics; Middle Class wages shrinking while the rich have it the best they ever had. Many people have to buy cheap or get nothing.
I haven't bought pre-packaged ground beef in at least 15 years – when I first read about these treatments. It hasn't been a big conspiracy to keep the poor American consumer in the dark. The information was in the public domain for anyone to find if they took the effort. There are any number of potential issues with food processing. You want every can, box, package to tell in great deal how it is made? Dang, man – you'd never eat again. Did you know that the FDA allows up to 6 (I think it's six – somewhere around there) maggots in a can of mushrooms? Did you know that the prepackaged lettuces and mix salad greens are *gassed* (I don't know with what – don't really care) to preserve *freshness.* Take your outrage on this one particular food product and expend that energy on learning about what you are consuming.
If it was all above board & common knowledge & such WHY are they suing?
What do you think hot dogs are made of, it is the same thing in a tube.
The world does not owe you a living.
Actually it does.
Then go out, sit in the middle of the forest, and see how quickly the world decides to give you a living. Or do you mean people owe you a living? If thats how you think, than go sit on a corner holding a cup and see how that works.
This is still nothing compared to what's in sausages and hot dogs.
and Spam.
head cheese or scrapple
This is what is called a SLAP lawsuit. It's real purpose is to bully & intimidate. Mostly these are used against the little guy (or girl) who dares take on a big corporation about just about anything. WAKE UP. These big corporations are attempting a hostile takeover of OUR COUNTRY. You need to get realistic about them & their business partners the Republican Party. Whenever you chose a Republican at the polls you are aiding big corporations in destroying our country.
wrap the foil a little tighter around your head, the government brain control rays are seeping in
YOU are the one who eats up their propaganda. Just like you eat up their Pink Slime.
Yes Sharp, we the corporations are secretly banding together in secret meetings and communications. We are coming to get you Sharp. Run Sharp Run!
Ummm... No, Really? This is a big company who took a nasty hit in their pocket book. Would you be happy if you suddenly stopped getting a paycheck?
I worked as an assistant (secretary if you will) for some top people at companies Cargill and Nestle'. I can honestly tell you there are no top secret communications and planning going on. Some really stupid parties once in awhile but nothing that you need to keep the tinfoil on your head for.
Ever hear of the Gilded Age? They are calling this new concentration of wealth at the top The New Gilded Age. Just because you worked for some of these people doesn't mean they aren't out to abuse their wealth to get what they want at the expense of everybody else.
Sharp, I was focusing on your concerns of a conspiracy. As for this "New Gilded Age", there isn't anything different today that wasn't going on in the past several thousands of years of businesses and their customers.You as a consumer can make a decision. Hopefully an informed decision.
Now back to your conspiracy theory. Seriously. There isn't one going on. We're talking something that would require thousands of people across several countries. Once things start spanning more than say...one person the odds of "the truth" coming out increase exponentially especially when you can't apply the threats of bodily harm (at least in most 1st world countries). Bribes happen, people do bad things. No denying that–its just that they are typically isolated to a few individuals and not some "big evil corporation".
AMEN
amen to sharp not nodat1
Seriously, you're a bit too invested in the corporate paranoia conspiracies. I know people like you. And I worry about their intellectual stability every time I visit with one of them. I wish you well.
My aren't the condescending & self righteous one.
I'd venture to say you're probably one of those people who on a daily basis accuses people of shoving their views down other people's throats. You seem perfectly happy shoving your views down other people's throats. If you have a problem with something, don't use it. Get off the soap box.
darn ABC reporting facts. who do think they are? i haven't bought ground beef in years. even non "pink slime burger" is considered much risker than cuts of meat. any bacteria is mixed throughout and must be totally cooked inside and out.
Wow... so how much did they pay people to come to the defense of "pink slime" in this forum.
You cannot sway popular opinion, nobody wants to eat that junk once they found out what it was. This is why the company is out of business,
Idiot company is dead for selling a product that would be doomed if people knew what it was, and this is a last ditch desperation attempt to salvage as much money as they can.
All they had to do was be honest & use it in animal food where it belongs; But NOOOO they had to sneak it into our food & rely on us never finding out. Well this is the Information Age & NOTHING can stay hidden for long. We found out due to our 1st Amendment (God bless the Constitution) & they paid the price.
Too bad they lost their jobs but, do we have to make crappy junk to have a job? I think not. Oprah overcame their frivoulus lawsuit, so will ABC.
100% beef...but then they admit that they put AMMONIA IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are you kidding me??????
My guess is that most of those 700 jobs lost were being held by illegal aliens anyways...No big loss.
Great point.
Do you have any factual basis for that assumption or are you just blowing smoke?
He said his best 'GUESS'...guesses don't need citation.
Nobody but desperate Americans or illegals work in packing plants anymore. Dangerous, non-union & minimum wage.
100% beef = Any part of a cow. Beef scraps and connective tissue for something other than dog food? Nobody needed ABC news to realize that's nasty.
they needed abc to know it existed in the first place
Perry, it's not connective tissue. LFTB is muscle tissue still clinging to the connective tissue (skin, fat) after the cow has been processed by traditional means. BPI uses a different process that gets all of the good meat off the connective tissue. In the process, the meat is treated with ammonia. I believe treatment with ammonia is not unlike many other cuts of meat, not just LFTB.
I hope they're not forced to take it off the market; the stuff is an important ingredient in my signature dish, "Beef Dupont."
Were the jobs lost in America? Where were the plants?? This is relevent information.
Most of these types of jobs "in America" are now done by foreigners, not by Americans. Also, don't be fooled by the Beef Products Inc. claim that "real people" were hurt. They're not doing this for the former workers. They're doing this for the former owners. Period. Do you think ANY of the proceeds would go to former employees? Not a chance. Further, the argument that pink slime manufacture should continue just because it creates jobs is just ridiculous. Their product is what is harmful, and this lawsuit. ABC should counter sue for this malicious act.
Packing plant jobs used to be good paying union jobs a man could support a family on. Now, after thirty years of demonizing the unions, the jobs are minimum wage that even an illegal can't survive on. This is the America that the Republicans/ Rich want for your children & grandchildren everywhere, not just in agriculture. Oh, & the only time immigration comes around is if the workers start talking union; there is protection paid so the packers are safe as long as their illegal crews play ball.
I hope they win
You got stock in the company? You like eating Pink Slime. Well buddy this is still a Democracy & the majority rules. GUESS WHAT; The majority thinks Pink Slime is nasty & they won't eat it or have it sneaked into their food.
I must have missed that vote.
They voted with their feet & stopped buying anything with that stuff in it. Just because YOU can make money off of it doesn't mean we have to buy it or not know when it's there.
who would work for liars? willingly? no way! wake of what? LIES? there is no such thing as obamacare where do you get this crap? obama is responsible for pink slime? seriously where do you comw up with that false leap? its healthcare and i see nothing wrong with healthcare accessability to all. besides the article is about a lawsuit filed by a unscrupulous company who deceived all who purchased their product and who is now trying to sue a news agency for revealing their practices.
Way to stay on topic there, nitwit.
a$$h*le speak for yourself
I agreeee the whole post was either totallly from left field or the most obscure seque I've ever seen. Usuallly you seee this sort of remark from people that have sittting around stewing about the PResident and can't wait to unload whatever kind of greeeen fart the've been building up.
Grow up, Perry.
Perhaps you should try reading the comments first before you call the commenter a nitwit. He/She is responding to comments tying Obama, healthcare, lying bosses, job losses and this article. And then he/she clarifies what the article is about.
I understood it. But then again, I actually read the other comments and deduced the meaning.
I bet they are lying about the supposed lost jobs. Corporations & Republicans (same thing) never tell the truth.
I agree with Dave. I feel like this was blown out of proportion and labelled incorrectly. This has caused many people to develop eating disorders that otherwise wouldn't have had any. A good example is my boss. She will not eat meat hardly at all and today her doctor advised her to eat it more. She is totally upset over the reports. Would consumers rather get E-Coli? I do not think so! I hope that BPI wins, and hopefully this will stop this type of thing happening. The news reporting people would at least have to think twice and would also confirm there findings before reporting them to the public and causing massive problems not only for the resturants but for the consumers.
What you dont know can kill you. Go and read more about the meat industry and you will see what has been hiden from you for a long time. People who know what goes into real meat eat it in moderation but processed meat like pink slime has components that are mixed togther and colored to appear like fresh meat is the reason for obesity, blood pressure, and many avoidable diseases. Like someone said" I find it very hard to believe why people continue to dig their own graves with their own teeth daily". Google that. Read, seek knowledge and the truth and you shall be free.
It's a wonder we are constantly encountring with illnesses and cancer. Here are chemicals we are not born with, the companies or government doesn't tell us in advance, and the company wants to sue ABC? Thank God for ABC and Freedom of Speech. We the people have the right to know what we are eating.
It's the biased way that ABC News reported that's the problem. For example, using the term "pink slime" instead of its correct name "lean finely textured beef." LFTB is perfectly safe to eat, of that there is no controversy. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that no one wants to eat something called "pink slime."
You mean the way the items get labeled from manufacturers with harmless sounding names like "corn sugar" or "mechanically separated chicken," or "lean textured beef product"? They have huge marketing departments to make up these ridiculous pseudonyms.
Call it what it is, label it correctly and let the consumer decide. Oh wait, that wouldn't earn the owners their quarterly bonuses.
ABC got "Pink Slime" from an internal email written by one of the executives. They probably chose not to use Soylent Pink (also from an internal email) because such a large amount of the target audience wouldn't get the reference.
Technically, you ARE born with both Ammonia and water....People create vast amounts of Ammonia in their urine daily.
Until about 1930 or so the old ways & much fewer chemicals were used. Starting then, when Progress was the buzzword of the day, thousands upon thousands of chemicals began pouring into the food chain & the homes where we have to live. Since then cancers have greatly increased. Perhaps a little more caution is indicated.
its the ammonia that I have the biggest problem with. I know it is safe and apparently natural but the thought of raw meat being tainted or touched with ammonia is just a deal breaker.
Cheese, salamis, lambics, squid, octopus and a host of other foods are loaded with ammonia – in the case of brie cheese, for instance, there's enough that it lends the cheese a distinct aroma; the levels of ammonia are thousands of times higher than what are found in processed beef.
If you're worried about the ammonia, you're being irrational.
6 – reading posts such as yours gives me hope for our civilization's continued existence. Thank you for your attempt to educate – tho' it is probably hopeless.
Yup, do a little research before you judge stinky butt.
What's really ironic about ABC News' shameful assassination of a legitimate business enterprise is that at that same period in time, they were running a daily feature to encourage Americans to buy American in order to create American jobs. But then, they chose tabloid zeal over American jobs, with the result being the loss of over 700 American jobs. Thanks a lot ABC News. With friends like you, who needs enemies?
Oh yea cook poison and let us eat because they employ cooks.
Cook real healthy food you will still employ people and none will be laid off. It is greed and cutting corners that is the problem. The company knows that they can come up with better products and hire those 700 back into business again.
Where did you get the notion that LFTB is poison?? Even the Agriculture Departmant confirms it is a legal and safe food product. Do you have any idea what's in bologna or franks?
Asbestos and lead paint was also deemed safe by the government at one time also. As for octopus, squid, brie and all that other stuff named earlier... I Don't eat any of that either. Oh and FRACKING is COMPLETELY safe for the surronding water table... RIGHT.
So if an American company "honestly" employs thousands of "Honest" Americans in a meat processing factory that processed dog meat and has a news station like ABC bring that to the public eye (subsequently effecting sales) would they still be hypocrites?
If this company used child workers (who were overseen by taxpaying Americans holding American jobs) to do menial labor, would bringing that to the surface be hypocritical?
Come on, ABC was in the right here, don't be ridiculous.
It is still legal to employ child labor in agriculture. There are legacy laws from the vanished time of family farms. Those laws have been twisted so that lots of underage illegal foreign workers are used in brutal field work.
Family farms have not entirely gone down the dusty road of antiquity. Out here in Texas, we live in an area full of small farms and ranches at which the kids have their chores, and often are paid by the hour to do them. It will always be part of the agricultural culture.
All they had to do was BE HONEST. That is the problem with big corporations; Lack of honesty. Pink Slime belongs in animal food & NOWHERE else. That is the majority opinion.
Give it a rest, Sharp. You don't seem to know very much about food processing at all.
Just what do you claim on for your vast knowledge o' wise & mighty one? I'll say WHATEVER I WANT.
This is where you reveal your ignorance, Sharp. BPI is a family owned small business, not a large corporation. I'd bet a hundred dollars that your real beef (pardon the pun) with this company is the fact that the labor force is not unionized.
Calling names is how you always make your point?
With plants in 4 states and a head office in a fifth and considering they are touted as "The WORLD's Leading Manufacture..." I'd hardly call that small.
So what's your affiliation with Beef Products Inc., waf_98? Not all jobs in America are done by Americans. I'll bet anything that the "American" jobs you refer to were done by NON-American FOREIGNERS. Big difference.
No affiliation, Carl, but a keen eye for injustice. And if you think "pink slime" is nasty, then you must have the same opinion about weiners, bologna, spam, etc.
Let us not forget sausages, peperoni, and any other processed meat or dairy product as well as quite a few fruits and veggies.
They're suing NBC for false reporting? NBC didn't even come up with the name, all they did was report it in their coverage of the story.
If you can sue a news station for false reporting, then why hasn't Fox been litigated out of existence yet?
it was ABC not NBC.
But they were the ones reporting it cintinually using the term,broadcasted it world wide,and continue to do so...just as CNN does. No basis all built upon lies.
How is accurately describing Pink Slime a lie? People have a right to know what is or isn't in their food & to make up their own minds.
Thank you. That was a good one
Would you fee the same if it was your job caught in the wake,because it could be you caught in the wake next. It is one thing if a news agency showed both sides,or did an educated and non-biased report...but this report was created by the goverment because of Obamacare..just like NY City most recent decision..Next it will be things like butter..bottled waters...eggs..meat less then 95% lean..any fiored foods...and so on. We all eventually die and if I want to die from this type of product or whatever,as long as it is legal it is my choice..Not yours or NBC shady reporting.
Bull. It is not false reporting. It's a disgusting product containing poison. I for one am glad they have been exposed. Of course it's sad that people lose their jobs, but what, poison a nation of millions to protect 700 jobs? Pink slime was invented to do one thing. Make money off of something that should otherwise be garbage. Plain and simple. Hope this lawsuit is deemed without merit and goes away.
First of all your body produces THOUSANDS of times more ammonia than they use.. They are not the only company or industry that does such...you may want to sue your water comapny or stop using pretty much ANY water as well..and that is for starters
Maybe so, but I don't drink it. I flush it.
it was not shady reporting from NBC, it was ABC.
oops..that is what I meant..my bad.
The media will not say much about the economy because they pretend everything is great, and they cover up on how bad leader Obama is, but they misled us, the consumers with their lies about products. Shame on them.
This stuff is probably safe and all that... but all the fast food chains dropped it because the idea is so unappetizing... and none of these chains wants more light shone on how they process the food. Sorry for people and companies caught in the wake... but I hope this is the start of a trend. The food we eat is not an industrial product. all our food is way over-processed and it's going to literally kill us all.
Yes, our food is over-processed, but that does not justify a news organization broadcasting repeated falsehoods about over-processed food. If they did so, they may well have made themselves liable.
Nothing they said was false. All they did was make people aware, and people made the choice NOT to eat it. No matter how you slice or dice it, this practice was based on the opportunity to make money, which successfully happened with people blissfully unaware of what suppliers and restaurants were putting in their food. And that is just plain wrong.
Would you feel the same if it was your job caught in the wake,because it could be you caught in the wake next. It is one thing if a news agency showed both sides,or did an educated and non-biased report...but this report was created by the goverment because of Obamacare..just like NY City most recent decision..Next it will be things like butter..bottled waters...eggs..meat less then 95% lean..any fiored foods...and so on. We all eventually die and if I want to die from this type of product or whatever,as long as it is legal it is my choice..Not yours or NBC shady reporting.
They will get their jobs back when the company is reorganized under new & honest management. Push comes to shove the workers are essential, Bosses are a dime a dozen. Especially bosses who make fatally dumb decisions.
BPI will never be 'reorganized' they are a family owned company. They are the inventors and patent owners of the machine that separates the meat from the fat.
When I first heard about ABC being sued for pink slime, I thought Nickelodeon was doing this for ABC was using slime and I thought Nickelodeon had the right to "slime". I now know why they're being sued.
I believe we need to make a distinction; what is considered gross? If gross means unhealthy and unsafe, then LFTB is certainly not gross. What's wrong with using as much of the animal as possible? This is less wastefull and doesn't affect sanitation. Are you afraid of ammonia? They spray it on your crops because it contains nutrients the crops need, so you better stop being a vegetarian as well. I would blame the media for cultivating the negative connotation and trying to manipulate our understanding of what is, "gross."
If people were really concerned about the food they (and their kids) eat, they would not care what McDonald's uses in their burgers – because they would never even go to McDonald's in the first place.
Then perhaps the manufacturer's lawyers and execs will appear with their kids on the next ABC News broadcast to eat a nice big bowl of pink slime to show us all how harmless, tasty and appealing the stuff (and that's being kind) really is.
I don't get what everybody is upset about, but then I don't eat much meat either. The stuff is part of the animal like the rest of the meat, it's just ground up (more finely than regular hamburger meat) and disinfected. Why does everybody think that's so disgusting and gross but then you're perfectly happy to eat the same thing in different form (ground to a different texture and not disinfected)? Do you eat sausage? Hotdogs? It's all mixed-up, ground-up animal parts. I don't see what's different about "pink slime" except the unsavory name.
A lot of this "product" was fed to children in public school lunches. At least it should be labeled for what it is so people will know what they are eating. I happen to be a vegetarian because I know what goes into our food.
I work for FPL,LLC..A beef processing plant. Let me explain to these idiots what we do...We grind slabs of meat along with trimmings from around all the bones(NOT PIECES OF MEAT THAT FALL ON THE FLOOR) and add very little ammonia to kill any bacteria that is around the beef. ANY MEAT THAT FALLS TO THE FLOOR IS SENT TO A DIFFERENT PLANT THAT GETS RID OF ANY DEBRIS OR METAL IN THE WASTED MEAT, THEN PROCESSED TO MAKE DOG FOOD(IT IS NOT RE-USED IN OUR GROUND BEEF PRODUCT)..Believe me when i say it is 100% ground beef!!!..there is no such thing as pink slime!!! I order meat from the company i work for at least twice a month..i eat it because it is 100% ground beef with no "pink slime". We make ground beef for walmart, so take my word and dont second guess yourself when purchasing ground beef....so please..enough with this pink slime b.s.. its kinda irritating me right now
I am there with you the vast majority of the population are nothing but sheep,being herded by the goverment and uninformed media. I have eaten that type of meat for well over 30 years and nothing is wrong with me. Most od these people themselves are probably hoping for the goverment to find this illegal and find a way to file some class action lawsuit...becuase again apparently they are incapable of making thier own educated decision.
I wouldn't touch beef made like this, or at all for that matter.
Ammonia is a poison, if it is so safe, go take a swing out of a bottle. Pumping crap into our food is why our nation has so many health problems. 2 years ago my wife and I stopped buying products that contained ingredients that we could either not pronounce or didn't know what they were, guess what? She has lost 15 pounds, I no longer am on blood pressure medication and we both feel great! I know it costs a little more at the grocery store but I'd rather pay more for food now and lees for medicine later. For thousands of years humans have eaten natural food and been just fine, over the last 50 years diabetes and obesity have gone though the roof, open your eyes! It doesn't take an advanced degree to figure out why.
Not eating things you cant pronounce is a terrible way to decide what you eat. I am a nuutritionist and an tell you that 90% of the listed ingredients are listed on packages by their chemical name, regardless of whether they are "natural" or not. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling rules say that the long, scientifically accurate name has to be on the label. For example, cyanocobalamin sounds pretty terrible, but its just good 'ole Vitamin B12. alpha or gamma tocopherol would no longer be allowed, but oh wait, thats Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that protects body tissue from damage caused by substances called free radicals. docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and alpha linoleic acid are the beloved and neccesary omega 3 fatty acids. You get the point. All im trying to say is, dont be a sheep. Everyone is not "out to get you. That being said, there are some unhealthy things in processed foods, but be smarter than banning anything you dont know what it is.
they add these vitamins back into the food because they are removed by excessive processing, and the law requires them to replace the vitamins. Anything processed so much that have to add things back is probably a good thing to remove from your diet. The best food has no list of ingredients- it is what you see, straight from nature.
This lawsuit is going no-where.
Yeah, sorry "Beef Products Inc." People deserve to know what's in their food. Thank you, ABC.
Read the pacakgeing lable, it is required by the FDA
Yes, and the 700 unemployed workers are now going to the unemployment line. I bet that these were good old union employees as well. Since butchers and food handlers do have a union.
I don't recall hearing from anyone that pink slime isn't beef or it's unsafe for public consumption. I know it's safe for public consumption because in the past, my dogs, (part of our public), ate food with meat bi-products (much of what pink slime is made of). Now we just use these beef scraps and previously undesirable (pink slime) for our own consumption. I would bet my last dollar that by using these scraps as filler for ground beef that it didn't lower the price by one penny. I for one am glad that this news aired because I really don't want to eat this garbage. I really don't feel bad for the companies or employees who worked and lost their jobs in providing us with this garbage without our Knowledge. This stuff is gross and it should go back to being used in dogfood. On the flip side, crickets are loaded with protein, are edible. and safe to eat – but that doesn't mean I want them ground up and placed in my food.
I'll tell you what. Rather than sue ABC 1.2 Billion dollars for approximately 200 mistruths about "pink slime", why don't we have BPI prove to ABC and the American public that their "pink slime" is NOT harmful in any way to the people eating it. Through a neutral and independent laboratory, it should be able to be proven if in fact ABC was truthful in their statements, or if they were correct. Who wants to eat garbage in their food anyway? Why is it necessary to add the pink slime to the beef? Why can't they just feed us 100% beef, rather than a combination of the two? We need no cheap filler to allow them to keep extra beef for the next burger. Make the whole burger real 100% beef.
What ever happend to inconent before proven guitly. If the new outlet did not have proof from a 3rd party before they made their claims, well I see it as the new media at fault. Besides those of you that love the nanny state.. Isnt the FDA there to protect you.
Practically every beef eater in this country has consumed significant quantities of this stuff, so there's your proof right there that it doesn't seem to have any drastic health effects. If people don't want filler in your burgers, then stop insisting on low-priced meat and cheap fast-food hamburgers. I hear a lot of outrage here on this forum, but are people actually willing to pay more or stop eating so much meat? I hope so.
They'll sing a new tune after beef prices adjust this fall due to the drought!
I believe the FDA has already proven it to be safe. If you don't like their decision, blame the people you voted for.
FDA officials are appointed- we don't get to vote for them.
They rely on the manufacturers to do most of the research- and usually take them at their word for it. Studies that show undesirable effects are buried. Do you really think everything on the market has been proven safe?
We do need to hold the media accountable. They ruin peoples lives everyday and they are currently involved in one of the biggest cover ups in American history by protecting this president. The main stream media are traders. They have betrayed all of us. I hope this company wins their lawsuit. Couldn't happen to a more treacherous group of people.
I think it's time to change the tinfoil hat you're wearing
Go fall off a clif
What do they trade? LOL.
Just call it ground cow. Then anything goes.
I think consuming as much as possible of an animal is more respectful to nature, not more unsanitary. The Native Americans agreed with this concept.
Who knows what's in ground "beef"? Scraps consist of skeletal tissue, connective tissue, blood vessels, peripheral nerve tissue, cartilage, chemicals, and God-knows what else. A safer alternative is to buy a cut of beef (chuck, round, or sirloin) in the meat section and ask the butcher to grind it up for you (he'll be happy to do it). Or be even safer and go vegetarian. But I like meat too much to do that!
Here's the thing, NONE of the things you've listed are dangerous to eat. Nerve and blood vessel tissue is actually quite nutritious in fact. Will buying chunk beef and having it ground make a safer product? No. Will it make a tastier product? Unless you also buy fat to have ground in with it, no. The fat is where the flavor is. It WILL be SLIGHTLY more nutritious with no fat, but that's about the only benefit you're going to get.
I didn't say they were dangerous, but they're definitely not appetizing. Plus, who knows what else is in it? Scraps are for pet food. Chuck is 78% to 84% lean, has no scraps, and you pick it out yourself. And it is safer because it will be ground by itself, and not mixed with a ton of other meat at a factory where just one bad cow can contaminate the entire day's production. Whats not to like?
They are all parts of the freakin cow.
Then eat it. What's the problem?
Thank you for your post. Good to know.
With several other families, we buy beef "on the hoof" from a small farm that does not use antibiotics or other food additives then pay to have it slaughtered and butchered so we know we are getting pure beef with no added tendons or other animal parts. We've been doing this for several decades.
We do the same.
Very good. This is the smartest and best way to go, just alone for the reasons that you stated. More people need to start doing this in order to know what they are eating and to better protect their own health and their families as well.
I just hope they follow Sanitation law, because I can garauntee your farmer doesn't have the same oversight when selling privately. I did the same for a few years and was not impressed. Maybe your connection sells you better cows, not just the ones that these factories won't buy.
If we all were aware of what they put in all of the food products we eat, not just beef, we would all gag.
Polar – So true.
You're so right- we have to pay attention and read about our food source. I read that those "oil sprays" that you us e to grease muffin pans, or frying pans has a petroleum product as the propellant. Throw them all out. Put your own oil in a pray bottle and use that.
"pray bottle" ????????? Use your own oil and hope to h3ll that your food is edible, perhaps?
The product you are referring to is a natural gas, and is closer in structure to alcohol then petroleum. So you better stop drinking too!
We haven't purchased ground beef for years. We buy a roast or a London broil when it's on sale, then cut it up and grind it down with an attachment to the Kitchen Aid mixer. That way I always know that I'm eating 100% beef, not the garbage being sold as "beef".
KinchenAid mixer : $299 on sale. Meat grinder attachment : $100+. Most of us can't afford your $$$ solution, so we have to buy hamburger....
Yeah, that's sooo prohibitively expensive.
Besides that, the ground beef you buy at the store is already 100% beef. He just doesn't know what he's talking about.
It is, but it also is ground along with the fat. thus giving you the &0/30 or 80/20 ratios of beef to fat.
One must think – and be certain of the facts – before you go up against big beef, big agri, or big oil. They have billions to crush you with. (Look at the seed cleaners vs. Monsanto.) But if it's proved that it's sensational reporting and nothing else, more power to them for crushing ABC. There is no longer "news" any more, it's all just one big opinion infomercial in all areas. Kind of like ET is running 24/7.
I am old enough to remember when meat had flavor. But I have noticed quality going down and prices going up. Beef, chicken, lamb – they killed lamb by breeding out the strong taste. It's tasteless now. – pork – for crying out loud leave SOME fat on it! It's not the way it was when grandma used to cook.
Now we know why...
If it's processed, avoid it. Pretty simple.
That's absurd. The term "processed" is a blanket term covering hundreds of different variables. A food item can be "processed" and still contain natural and safe ingredients. Of course it is true that some processed foods are riddled with unnatural fillers and chemicals, there's no denying that, but all of it is not. Stop listening to the lunatic fringe and do you own in-depth research from objective data sources. Only then will you know what you're talking about.
Isn't this story really about the "American way" and good entrepreneurship? This is the American dream – to stumble on a way to convert trash into something everyone will buy, even if it's not really what they think it is! This is disgusting and a poor business model.
First heard about the ammonia cleansing process in a documentary called Food, Inc. The movie examines America's beef and chicken meat processing industry. Americans should understand where their food comes from and how it is processed. The drugs such as growth stimulants and antibiotics that go into industrialized meat packing plants are meant to grow the largest amount of meat product in the fastest time and prevent the spread of bacteria such as E. coli. Also informative: the 49-day chicken where a chicken is grown to three times the size of chickens of old. http://youtu.be/PVyxMXHbTio
Why the connective tissues, ammonia, etc. Good lord. Why can't I just buy beef? You know, the actual meat. Connective tissue is not 100% beef. Ammonium and hydrogen are not 100% beef.
It's cheap filler.
You've always been able to buy "just beef" – you just had to pay more. Americans shop based on price – and then complain that they aren't getting premium quality. And, *connective tissue* is beef if it came from a cow.
Very well said, Jay. This should not even be an issue if the American people were getting 100% beef as they wished. We need no fillers in our meat. No antibiotics or pesticides in our fruits and vegetables. Everything we eat should be 100% organic to begin with. Don't know why this really should even be an issue in the first place.
Why aren't people as concerned with processed chicken nuggets? The same process and ammonia is used for them and they also look like soylent pink / pink slime / sludge before they are deep fried.....
I think they are treating whole chickens with ammonia to extend shelf life. I bought a couple of them at Walmart that stank like ammonia.
To all
Shouldn't the consumers and government sue the pink slime industry for putting hazardous food on the market
YES... consumers now compared to 15 years ago do not care what they are buying for the most part they have too many other things on their minds other then taking care of themselves and their family's by buying good quality food products and preparing home cooked meals. My wife and I started a new trend in our home doing exactly what I stated good quality food and home cooked meals the benefit... we both feel like were 20 years younger and we have both lost weight with no change to our activities.
Yes, that would be a good idea...if indeed the food was hazardous to our health...
Beef is beef.
It isn't hazardous. It's unhealthy in the same way that any cut of red meat is unhealthy – high in fat, particularly saturated fat, but it is safe to eat. Is it a bit disgusting? I mean, yes and no. I've eaten stuff made from it throughout my life, so while the description is a bit disgusting, I know it's not killing me any faster than most normal cuts of beef, so what's the problem? My guess is it's the five year old affect, "EWW THIS FOOD IS ICKY I DON'T WANT IT!"
If it is treated with ammonia, it HAS to be hazardous. Ammonia is a man made chemical that is foreign to the human body. It is not natural and not produced within the human body. People who are eating it are harming their health and eventually will be diagnosed with some form of cancer or possibly Leukemia. This needs to be pushed in Washington and this practice needs to stop NOW.
Sorry, but you are wrong on almost all counts...
From the NY Dept of Health "Facts About Ammonia" page:
What is Ammonia?
Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the United States. In pure form, it is known as anhydrous ammonia. Ammonia is also produced in the human body and is commonly found in nature. It is essential in the body as a building block for making proteins and other complex molecules. In nature, ammonia occurs in soil from bacterial processes. It is also produced when plants, animals and animal wastes decay.
LFTB nobody gives a sh*t you lost revenue. Its the same thing as a tobacco company getting upset that when their customers are told about how terrible the product is, they stop buying it. Basically, LFTB, you are filing a complaint against capitalism. Your customers found out some stuff about your product they really didn't like, and took their money elsewhere. "dealwithit.gif"
ROTH is a Jew. Jews use litigation to silence adversaries. They'll win too... becasue all the judges and their "trusted judicial assistants" are conspiring Jews too. Jews hate us. They despise us. All we are are batteries for their lifestyles. If you die off – good – clear the intelligence and replace it with naive souls. This is the Jew's plan.
They only let you out of the home once a year. Do you HAVE to waste your day posting drivel like this when you COULD be buying more crayons, underware, and deoderant.
Don't forget a new tooth brush and paste.
HuH...funny that...my BIL is a Judge and he isnt Jewish...really weird how that happened! Most all the judges around here are Hispanic...really weird how that happened...BTW...how are those KKK meetings lately anyway? still burning crosses?
so, you're saying you don't like Jews ?
No amount of ammonia is going to contend with the toxic effects of botulism.
You can bet ROTH wouldn't allow his kids to eat this crap.
They take garbage that was previously used to make DOG FOOD, grind it up and cover it with harmful chemicals then try to get people, school systems, and other instituions to buy it. Then the word gets out that they're feeding people garbage – so now in true American fashion they're sueing anybody and everybody for bursting their bubble. Boo Hoo
ROTH wants to earn at our expense. Now he's throwing as baby tantrum... TOUGH CRAP. SOCIOPATH. Stop poisoning our kids. These same sociopath types are pushing MAD COW beef products into our systems as we speak and it take 20 years for that infection to manifest itself. By then, "ROTH" will be retired in Israel.
it is dangerous. the company president should drink a glass of the ammonia. ammonia is bad news and everyone knows it. the company should be sued for poisoning americans with pink slime
These "beef industry moguls" sued Ophrah and silenced her. Don't mess with these sociopaths. They're worse than drug dealers. ROTH... figures...
Ammonia is used to sterilize the beef just as chlorine is used to kill bacteria in drinking water. Ammonia is produced BY YOUR OWN BODY and is completely safe unless large amounts of concentrated ammonia are ingested. Your immune cells make bleach, and that doesn't kill you either. The stuff used to make "pink slime" is the same as what's in hamburger. It's just ground up more and sanitized (unlike hamburger, which may contain harmful bacteria. Try to learn a little chemistry and biology before flying off the handle about a perfectly safe (if unappetizing) product.
I already knew that some meats were contaminated. The ammonia causes swelling and bleeding.
Ever wonder why there seems to be more CANCER in America these days? ROTH is poisoning our food supply, and that of our kids. ROTH doesn't like the truth. Amonia is a carcinogen. Shame on you ROTH. Figures...
Sorry, but the amount of ammonia present in that beef is no more than what YOUR OWN BODY makes. We'd all be dead if it were carcinogenic. Find something else to worry about.
So, if they win the lawsuit, how much of the money are they going to split with the laid off workers? Or is it going to go into the corporations coffers and pay multi-million dollar bonuses to their top execs? What do you think? I have no problem with the lawsuit if they were truly the victim of emotional versus fact based reporting, but it seems wrong that the people who were really hurt by this, won't be helped if they win. Just the fat cat execs and lawyers...
hopefully it will go into re-opening their business and being able to hire back those people. They need to find new clientele of course, but they could use part of the money in a well placed informational campaign like the corn growers did for HFCS.
I hope all the money goes to the owners of the company. Employees have no risk in the company. They are paid for their work, then they go home. Can't you understand that?
Well it is pink slime, so they are sued for stating the truth???
A desperate move by a bankrupt company that sells...pink slime!
Never in the history of mankind have people been so ignorant about what is on their plate and how it got there.
Most people would rather not know, as if ignorance would excuse us from responsibility.
It's why most people don't vote.
That is also why most people are sick.
"I only buy beef directly from farmers or local vendors"
That is all.
Make the pink slime execs eat their own product 3 times a day for 3 months, lets see what happens to them. Like the guy did with Mcdonalds. It's really too bad that all this disgusting puke is made and sold to people that then have to feed it to their kids becauset they cannot afford to buy all natural foods. Anyone try organic milk ? Yeh it's great, but the 1/2 gallon cost more than double a gallon of regular milk. I mean come on, who can afford that. how wrong
Make the pink slime execs eat their own product 3 times a day for 3 months, lets see what happens to them. Like the guy did with Mcdonalds. It's really too bad that all this disgusting puke is made and sold to people that then have to feed it to their kids becauset they cannot afford to buy all natural foods. Anyone try organic milk ? Yeh it's great, but the 1/2 gallon cost more than double a gallon of regular milk. I mean come on, who can afford that. It's wrong.
Companies like McDonalds will continue to use low grade cuts of meat...it just won't be treated with the ammonium hydroxide, so it's shelf life will deteriorate and it's resistance to E. coli and other bacteria will be lesser. Don't know how that's much of an improvement...still shouldn't eat that crap.
FYI: Most of McDonalds food (if that's what you call it) is soaked or treated in similar fashion either to improve taste, or to combat bacteria...everything from the chicken and potatoes (want fries wif dat?) to it's salads. Go ahead smell one of their salads...smell natural to you? Can you smell?
Don't believe it? More power to you.
lol – great post. Did you read the recent article about Burger King considering some changes for their French fries. One of the steps/ingredients (I don't even know what to call it) was the COATING that is applied to keep the fries hot longer......
Make the execs at the Pink Slime gross puke company eat their own product for 3 meals a day for 3 months. Just like the Mcdonalds guy did. Let's see how they are doing after that 3 months.
Yes, ABC lied. But because of that people decided to switch to higher quality beef. We are better than bone meal and loose scraps. Oh, now profits are down because people know what is in the filth they are eating..Oh well.
Right. Beaver anus farmers are all over the place and vanilla ice cream is such a rarity. Be for real.
Yeh really , so many beavers running around without an anus, they will soon have signs saying 30 beavers had their anus ripped out in the making of this ice cream cone. Come on people ......get real
I love Pink Slime!
You cannot call this a 'filler'. It is 100% beef.
accept for the ammonia, and my toilet bowl water is 100% clean except for the poop that's in it
So is manure by their definition.
But it ain't 100% meat, which is what the everyday buyer expects when they purchase a meat product. Not meat-ish, meat-like, cow gristle. The food industry is content to split hairs on semantics, but it's time to get real. Label the food, honestly, without euphemisms.
Sorry, Stan. When I hear the term "100% beef", the words "connective tissue" and "ammonia" don't come to mind.
You are aware,as far as the connective tissue,if you eat a steak..it is in there too right? Or did you drink to much of the kool-aid and think it just dissapers?
Webb stated today in a phone call with reporters that, "The evidence is overwhelming that our product is 100% beef.": I am just wondering what part of the cow contains ammonia. Is it a gland, muscle, etc.? Maybe it is the ammonia gland.
There are hardly any traces of NH3 in the finished product. I have seen test results.
If there is hardly any, why are they using it at all?
They use it to wash the meat, because of lax sanitation throughout the process of gathering and grinding up the meat. The cows are overcrowded, mal-nourished (cows are not meant to eat corn) and not as healthy as their free-roaming grass fed counterparts.
and i used the term "meat," but we're getting all kinds of parts in there.
OMG – did you really ask that question?
Eat and enjoy then Stan. The rest of us don't have to.
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT... KEEP YOUR CONTAMINATED, POISON TREATED MEAT TO YOUR SELF
In this case customer is ignorant and media didn't help any.
So the customer can technically survive off of the leftovers from meat processing, so the companies can make extra profit. Let the market decide. If people want to buy a clearly labeled package of soylent pink, more power to ya. Otherwise suck it up, you had a decent run, but now the party's over. Maybe pet food makers would be interested in what you're selling. Beef = cow, Beef doesn't always mean "meat."
Have you EVER bought any of this product? If you have and read the lables,it DOES say what is included,If you have not purchased any or did not buy any your opinion is moot. The product is just as safe as any other butchered meat you buy,plain and simple. If you don't want to buy it fine you don't have to..but what NBC did was wrong and any intelligent jury/judge will see that.
The masterminds of these companies should be walked through step by step the process of making this product, and then forced to eat it. I wonder how they would feel about it then.
Sounds like a good plan to me. You can bet they don't eat it voluntarily.
AMAZING when some one sell's a product that is CONTAMINATED with FECAL MATTER "SHlT" and it's treated with a poisonous product and people find out about it..
So they stop buying it...
BOYCOTT ALL "BEEF PRODUCT'S INC." product's
It is not fecal matter. This CNN article itself says that it is beef trimmings and connective tissue. It is not collected from trimmings that falls on the floor. Not sure where you got the idea that you just expressed.
This is outrageous! If we can't get reports on foods, and we are forced to eat antibiotic meat, corn-fed fatty meat, processed fats, preservatives and pesticides we know little about, and genetically engineered and hormone engineered foods, then this is the fault of the government and court system that is supposed to regulate the industry and not punish reporters. Who shuld be sued? The producers of the food substitutes. I think I ate pink slime at a banquet: I paid a lot for tickets, but the food that was served didn't taste like real beef. There is no warning label on banquet food, but I am very careful to buy carefully raised beef for my family, and I only buy ground meat from a store that grinds it on site.
How EXACTLY are you FORCED to eat anything? Do yoiu live in N. Korea or something??? Or are you just lazy and like to blame everything on everyone else? This comapny DOES put on it's labels what is in the meat. It is your responsibility to read..or NOT eat something if your not sure what it is,such as the banquet you went too. It is pretty simple.
"just wondering" is a prime example of what is wrong with the US educational system. This simple article should be easily readable by a 6th grader. It clearly says this beef is made from trimmings and connective tissue. Yet this buffoon thinks a prime ingredient is SHIT. And sadly I bet some dumpy school actually gave him a high school diploma.
I would be willing to bet that fewer people experience health risks from "pink slime" than they do from the contaminants in vegetables. I have never personally become sick from products containing refined beef byproducts like "pink slime". However, I have had severe food poisoning on several occasions from both lettuce and spinach straight from the grocery store that are supposedly organic.
People that freak out over "pink slime" are as misinformed as those that think "high fructose corn syrup" is somehow worse than sugar.
Anecdotal posturing doesn't really cut the mustard. Try washing your veggies next time.
It is scientifically proven the high fructose corn syrup is a terrible substitute for sugar. You probably think we didn't land on the moon too....
Just remember what causes e-coli. Spinach doesn't sh*t, lettuce doesn't sh*t, veggies don't sh*t! Wash your veggies to remove what all the human handling has left on them.
You are a moron, pink slime has literal sh*t in it with no way for the consumer to remove said sh*t. Like the poster above said, wash your veggies and you won't get sick. Ignorance is blissful isn't it? And by the way there is significant data showing that your body has a much harder time breaking down HFCS vs cane sugar or beet sugar. Do some research before you post again.
Maybe you should do some research unless you can prove there is actual fecal matter in the product.
Wow, great study you performed there. I'm working on one myself. It's about how I smoke cigarettes and have never gotten cancer, therefore cigarettes must not be bad for you.
it isn't the fructose in high fructose corn syrup that is the problem for me , its the process used to extract the syrup it imparts mercury into the product i don't want to consume mercury ewewewwww
vanilla ice cream is made in part from beaver anus (or from a gland near its anus). anytime a food item has "natural flavors" on its ingredients list, it's almost certainly something far more disgusting than pink slime.
Dam!
Yep, it's called Castoreum. Learn what's in your food, folks!
Really, what does a beaver anus milker look like? Do you have a link to a picture? I would like to see one. I have never heard of a beaver farm. Does ben and jerrys have a beaver farm? Are beavers that are good for anus milking black and white like cows?
http://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/06/17/beaver-gland-castoreum-not-used-in-vanilla-flavorings-according-to-manufacturers/
Where can I buy burgers made just from pink slime. At least I know I won't get e-coli from them.
But you will be just as dead from the accumulative effects of botulism.
Pink Slime... reminds me of the meat pies in "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street".
PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!! PINK SLIME!!!!!!
Yes I now buy frozen burgers from companies that label their products as "lean trimming free". The pink slime companies pretend we have no choice....
I certainly don't want to eat that "stuff". I'm glad that they were exposed. I wouldn't buy it knowingly and the beef manufacturers cannot be trusted to tell the public what is in this "stuff".
Let's be honest, if there was a sign next to the meat explaining what is in it and how it's produced; would you buy it?
The beef manufacturers have deliberately hidden the truth from the consumer. This is muckraking 21st century just like Sinclair did to the unsanitary packing houses a hundred years ago....read "The Jungle" to learn what the meat packing industry thinks that you should be fed. They have a bad history of producing "garbage".
Well said!! A very good point, and one that needs MORE exposure....not less...
Seriously? If you new how 90% of the food you eat is produced it would disgust you. Women's makeup has ground up rotten eggs, ground up chicken embryos and ground up young (new born) roosters as "Protein". Gelatin is made of animal bones that are dissolved in acid to get the part that binds the cells together, Num Num. Learn about what you eat, it might scare you.
I've been sliming my enemies for years. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Basically what this pink slime is, the scraps that used to be sold to dog food companies at a lower price. now the FDA approves and deems it safe for Human consumption by chemically treating it and calls it safe then sold to, Who ever for a higher price. Since when did We put so much trust in Gov. Agencies for our well being?? I'm glad that it's brought to our attention and NO MORE PINK SLIME FOR HUMANS.
Moe, what is your source that indicates that pink sline was once scraps sold to dog food companies. Did you just make that up? I think you did.
gez go do some research.
Everyone knows cat/dog food comes from pet food faeries.
IF these nut jobs are going to Maximize profits by adding crap to there meat, why don't they use something like oatmeal or rice. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO CREATE SOME CHEMICAL SURLY. And speaking of law suits why isnt Beef Products Inc under investigation for poisoning people. WHen i was eating that stuff my health was all messed up, that means more taxes for health care. ITs time we burn these criminal corporations to the ground.
Adding crap to the meat? I believe the 'crap' they are adding is still meat. When you go out and eat chicken wings from BW3, do you try and get every last bit of chicken off that bone?
More people are becoming aware of what goes into their food products. I wore blinders for 57 years before I made the connection with my food. When I saw the videos of how my food got to my plate, I became an ethical Vegan. It's been over 3 years since I've eaten any animal flesh or byproducts such as cheese, milk, and eggs. I've lost 70 lbs. and am off blood pressure medication. My cholesterol is 92/64 and my Dr. is amazed that I've kept the weight off and my cholesterol so low. Do the research and you will see that animal protein is bad for your body. My protein and calcium levels INCREASED on a plant-based diet! Don't keep believing the lies like I did for 57 years. No animals are confined, raped, have their babies stolen, and then unmerciously slaughtered for my food. There is no blood on my hands, only peace in my heart.
And you maintained the rest of your lifestyle the same. The life style that led to 70 lbs of additional baggage.
I'm not discrediting your story, but it's juts like the meat producers, high side only. I understand diet changes things, but nobody (NOBODY) goes "ethical vegan" in their food choices only, there is obviously more to do with this.
Don't trip over your soap box.
I don't know about anyone else but I enjoy meat. However, I don't enjoy this pink slime business. I agree with a previous poster. Local butcher is the way to go. Supports the local economy, you get quality, and it is less expensive.
funny.... my uncle did the exact same thing you did and became horribly ill.... anemic and weak. Doctor put him back on fish and wild game as a compromise. He feels 100% better.
I've noticed zero improvement in quality of my food since the panic over what boiled down to a product looking gross at one stage of its processing. "Pink slime" has been pulled from hamburger products at grocery stores and fast food chains, yet the taste, texture, and fattening effects are unchanged. This was irresponsible "journalism", making a panic for the sake of trying to keep their news disservice seeming relevant.
That said, while ABC may have made a concerted effort, but they were not alone. It represents a shameful lack of critical thinking on the part of much of the public. It's only a matter of time before someone runs a report on "dihydrogen monoxide poisoning" and causes mass dehydration.
Can I get one in a 32 oz size in NYC?
"There has to be some consequences for news organizations to be more truthful," stated Beef Products Inc. founder Eldon Roth
SERIOUSLY???? What is wrong with these people???? The media has a RESPONSIBILITY to be TRUTHFUL! I mean come on. The media reports what disgusting things they are putting in our food, and sales drop 60% because people are repulsed by it! Calling it "beef" just because it came from a cow is wrong and deceptive. Way to go ABC! keep doing reports like this! Consumers have a right (and duty) to know what they are buying, and what they are putting in their (and their families') bodies. I would have NEVER have knowingly purchased a product containing something like that. The fact that a company would do that in order to maximize profit is despicable. The fact that the FDA allowed it, is disappointing. WE NEED 100% FULL DISCLOSURE ON ALL FOOD!!!
Pink slime probably isn't any more dangerous as long as it doesnt get any spinal or brain tissue into the mix. Completely flavorless and has crappy texture though.
There was no lie..They are just pissed, because people quit buying the crap!! What a Big Lie!!
Sounds to me like the beef industry is just whining because the public ultimately might be turned off by the techniques they are using to make some extra dough. It is what it is, beef industry. You can keep using synthetic processes to stretch your supply or you can produce a higher quality product.
This is why I only buy my beef at my local butcher. They have local raised cattle delivered weekly and slaughter onsite so I know I'm getting fresh, pure beef with no fillers. I thought I'd end up paying way more, but I found out I actually spend LESS at the local butcher. I usually get pure ground round or ground chuck (steak burgers!) for about 50 cents less then the ground "beef" (pink slime) served up in styrofoam at the grocery store.
"Our product is overwhelmingly 100% beef".
Yeah? So are the hooves, anus, eyeballs,etc, etc, etc.
I don't see people rushing out to buy those things..........most of the time.
The bottom line is that they are gluing together scraps of meat. Who wants that?
Yea... I really want beef nuts in my burger.....
This is what you get from liberal liars...I am glad they are being sued!
Quit that. Far right wing nuts like you that resort to calling the press "Liberal" whenever they print or report on something that you don't agree with is so ancient behavior and completely backwards thinking.
There is NO LIBERAL national press. The big news outlets are ALL about business and money and coverage. NOTHING about being liberal. Not even NPR could be considered "Liberal."
Quite trying to live your life attacking the liberal press. The 1st amendment is too important to continue this trivial and idiotic sniping.
I am VERY glad that the chemically altered meat is out. No reason for it to be in our food except for greed. There is plenty of good clean meat that doesn't need to be altered. If you want to signup for a hamburger that has everything from the tail to the nose ground up and altered, go right ahead.
But while you are chewing on all these artifacts from the steer, lay off the idiotic attacks on the press.
BPI should be sued by the National Cattleman's Beef Association for using the word "beef-product" to describe a mixture of animal fat and ammonia.
Consumers should sue BPI for knowingly poisoning them.
Ammonia or other antimicrobial chemicals are in most of the products you buy in small traces. The alternative is leaving naturally occurring health hazards to go unchecked. Would it be fair to describe organic vegetables as "a mix of vegetable, mineral and sometimes fecal matter"? Yet that's equally accurate to your description here.
What happend to free speech. Besides why shouldn't the consumer know what is in the food they are eating. Doesn't the food industry have to mark the ingredients on the packaging anyway. I'm glad the made it public. People don't want tissue and scraps
in there food and the companies know it.
Libel laws have first amendment limits. The law is very complex on this, but lying about a business is actionable. Truth is an absolute defense.
Unfortunately for you...that is about all there is in anything ground up. Pink slime isn't any more dangerous of gross than any cured meat product, any Italian meat product, or anything with eh word "sausage" in it. Trust me, Spam, Bologna, hot dogs, brats, kilbasa...all are made of animal pats you would not eat unless they grind them up so you don't know what they are.
The issue is that they meat companies were not forthcoming about what this stuff was because they knew that consumers would not like it once they found out. But I digress, by all means lets be outraged about 'pink slime'. Meanwhile the evangelicals and the GOP have let Europe become the leader in stem cell research and treatment, a field that was dominated by US scientists until the Bush administration shut down all stem cell research in the US. Now we have lost that industry forever because of backwards ass 18th century thinking.
and if it was "safe", then why did they hide the fact it was in there?
When a person buys beef, they have a right to expect 100% beef, not the crap that is usually thrown into the garbage!
As consumers, we should be filing a class-action lawsuit against BPI!
They injected ammonia into fat and called it "beef" . Plain and simple GREED on the part of BFI.
The loss of jobs at BPI is not the issue and was a result of their greed. The employees who lost their jobs should be suing BPI also.
Who cares if their profits went down? I certainly don't.
They mislead us consumers and should be facing fines by the USDA!
Right, American are SO healty conscious. So grab your Doritos and your two-liter Diet Pepsi, and your Twinkies and spare me the faux outrage.
I think you pretty well epitomize why I'm upset enough to spend my lunch break commenting on an article. There is lower fat content in "pink slime" than the beef you're claiming you expected your product to be. Take time to research what you're panicked about before you go off spreading your misinformed panic. 700 people lost their jobs, and all of our food prices went up because people like you fell for clever wording on a slow news day.
Pat F & Merennulli – thanks for two great posts. The over-the-top outrage on this is hysterical. If they only knew about all the other things they are consuming....
Nobody was forced to buy LFTB. Buyers had a choice and they picked the cheaper alternative. That is the way the world works. Caveat emptor – buyer beware. Vendors produce products based on customer demand – and if you want it cheaper they'll come up with a product. BUT, something is going to give – either quality or quantity. For those of you celebrating the changes this has wrought in fast food burgers – rest assured something was taken away to make up for the higher cost beef. Now you can worry about whatever that might be.
Good for them. I hope they win this suit. News organizations need to held accountable.
accountable for what? informing the public when they are eating anus eyes and entrails? Good on them, it is what we need reporting for, not "honey boo boo" stories
For the 200 lies they perpetuated in an attempt to cover up their overblown story.
Just the thought is sickening, I get my beef from a farmer who only raises free range cows and believe the difference in the cost per pound would blow your mind. What do they charge, $4, $5 a lb and I get all my beef cuts, and yes steak too at a flat rate cost of $2.25 a lb. At least I know what I am eating.
LOL – "free range cows"!! All cows are free range – only chickens are penned up. Boy, did your butcher see you coming!
Not true. Most cattle at high volume ranches never see the sun. They are gated over a feeding trough and eat constantly. Many of them never walk more than a few 100 feet in their entire lives.
I kind of want a hot dog now.
It's cows! Soylent pink is cows! IS IT? It could be, or ...well, anything. How would we know? Could be Chicago gangster, too. They could probably make a product that is safe to eat, out of shredded cardboard. I may have eaten it already. But that does not mean I would knowingly eat it, or have to like it, or the corporate greed that created it. It is like the old saw of what is ACTUALLY in hot dogs. Beaks and (censored). Or those cheap fish sticks. Personally, I always called that stuff, "what they cleaned out of the grinder", or "floor sweepings", and avoided it. Now I'm not one of those "body is a temple" folks. But this byproduct, this "meat like substance", should not be used in human foods, EVEN if it is technically derived from cows, pigs, chickens, or roadkill! I avoid those hamlike "loaves" where bits of ham is essentially glued together into a uniform ovoid product, in favor of a REAL ham, every time. Remember, when mad cow disease started? They found that it was common to grind up the unusable cow parts, and feed cows to cows. This practice was roundly condemned, and they stopped doing it. But it is OK to grind up pretty much the same thing, and feed it to ME? NO IT IS NOT!!!
well put
Expect a new fast food chain soon. "Pink Slime." It's mighty fine! Pure 100% ground garbage, with a side of ammonia.
I just want to know why poor people behave like slaves all over the world. It sickens me to see comments against the journalists who reported on this filth on the basis that they are not rich enough to buy 100% beef, or that there is hunger all over the world. Before Chávez ruined the productive framework of my country, we were able to get 100% beef without nasty processes like the ones used in pink slime. It is possible not to be rich and to buy things for your own consumption that are not utterly crap! Why don't you see this? Why do you cling to crap as if it were part of your identity?
Its a single product among many that sound pretty bad when its analyzed. Ammonium Hydroxide is used in a lot of other food stuffs as well, so it is unfair to make it out to be so chemically freakish. People use dihydrogen monoxide all the time, and in fact its necessary for life, it just sounds bad, its water.
What was objectionable was their ability to add it without making it clear the product had been tampered with in this fashion, above certain concentrations it seriously degrades the quality of the product.
I don't think the ammonia hydroxide is the issue, its the pink slime as a whole (what it is, how its made, what it looks like).
Remember that slime is not really a definitive term. It has negative connotations to it. And by the way, I know 'Soylent Green' isn't a real product. I didn't want to overload 'Julie' with too much info at one time.
What it is is beef.
connective tissue is not beef, and can not be labeled as such under FDA rules
It is considered safe by the FDA and in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations).
dont they stamp anything safe that they are paid to? I mean being government entities and beef industry being corporations I am sure they can get approval on feces if they wanted to.
I'm going to have a slimeburger for dinner tonight - all this talk has whet my appetite.
It will be cheaper than eating out and getting a Kobe steak that Jessie Jackson has spit on.
Sue away, Beef Inc.
The truth is an absolute defense in libel cases, and even if ABC news doesn't have it's facts absolutlely straight, the First Amendment makes it almost impossible for you to win a suit.
On top of all that, Fox pled in court, and the court held, that news entities have every right to lie in their stories.
Thanks again for that, Cons.
The Beef Inc. lawsuit is a grandstand ploy that they KNOW will come to nothing.
“Beef” Products Inc. sues Charlton Heston for revealing the fact that their new product, “Soylent Green”, is made of people.
In case you didn't know it, (doesn't surprise me), Charlton Heston is deceased.
In case you didn't know it, (doesn't surprise me),Soylent Green isn't a real product. (Go look up 'satire')
ROTFLMAO
Am I missing a joke or do you not get simple satire?
Ammonia is used in much of the mass-produced foods that we eat. The slice of Kraft cheese on your little LFTB-free burger was treated with ammonia. There's no evidence that it is dangerous and it isn't like chugging a bottle of drain-o. LFTB is just another example of us learning how to minimize waste and cost in food products.
Will – few of the people posting here want to hear the truth. This is the current *mass hysteria* outbreak. I'm betting few of them have done any additional reading or researching about the remainder of the foods they eat.
Very well said.
This isn't about harmful, it is about the fact that people should not be eating this type of non-food. Food should be treated with more respect, and many American Food companies have little respect for the food they serve.
Minimize waste and cost...so it's about profits for the capitalist pigs that run this country...is it safe or better then regular non-leftover/scrap meat? NO...The government no longer protects the consumer.
I'd really like to hear what makes you believe this beef is unsafe. It's the best tasting, hardest to get to beef that a cow has to offer.
I think this is more about turnong my hamburger into a hot dog without telling me than it is about ammonia.
LFBT is indeed completely safe. But LFBT was approved by the USDA as an ADDITIVE to ground beef. Not "ground beef," but just an additive or filler. When ANY filler is used - bread crumbs, soy, LFBT, or whatever - the resulting product is NOT "100% ground beef." If the filler is LFBT then the product is "100% beef and beef products," but that's different. The articles and news reports simply presented the facts, and argued that the public should be told what they are buying.
People eat all kinds of filth and don't give a damn, but then when someone actually shows them what's in it, they're all ewwww. That's ALL that's going on here. Pink slime is real food that's safe to eat, but it's just nasty is all. People have to learn it's hardly any different from what goes into their spam and sausage, and the damn slime companies need to know that occasionally you're going to get bad press when the sheeple get told what's in your meat slurry.
I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat any of this crap. I think inhumanely farming and killing animals just for our fast food is ridiculous and wrong.
Ok. If you want to be a vegetarian, so be it. Don't be insulting to people who aren't.
I completely agree with the first part of your comment about consumers being informed about what makes up all of the meats (hot dogs, sausages, Spam, etc.). However, not all meat is crap. It is because of Hunting and the protein rich meat diets that we were able to evolve into modern humans.
I choose not to eat hotdogs sausages or spam for this very reason and if I am not told that they are "hotdogizing" my hamburger meat, I can not make a conscious decision to avoid it. Can I? If you eat no meat or animal based products, you are unhealthy and should immediately see a doctor for the replacement amino acids that you cant get anywhere else. (and yes, they make that pill from animal meat) oh by the way.. ALL FOOD DIES for you
Very well said!
At the time that Diane was going on her tirade about this product, I was pretty dissapointed with her. At a time when poverty is higher because of the economy, and food-shortages around the world are becoming more and more prevelant, I thought it was extremely irresponsible for her to single out this product and decry it as an abomination to be destroyed forever.
I also clearly remebmer a special run on the Food Network just days prior to when Diane started. The special involved taking famous chefs and having them compete to make the best meal possible for "Dumpster food". They went to grocery stores and resteraunts to see the VAST amounts of food thrown away because they are not "perfectly presentable" and no one would buy them. Lettuce with a single brown spot on a single leaf. Tomatoes with a slight, but healed, crack near the stem. whole cases of fruit because a single piece had a bruise and they are not allowed to replace that one piece.
Then Diane goes on the tirade about how a 100% beef product isn't fit for human consumption because it's the the "perfect" cut of beef.
Guess you can buy Kobe hamburgers when you get paid as much as her.
To me the fact that they were able to avoid prominently listing the ingredient was the problem, if it exceeds certain percentages it spoils the flavor even for someone who isn't fussy, it was used by some cheap brands in quantities where it tasted like it had literally rotted.
Another sane voice in the *mass hysteria* wilderness. Thanks for a great post.
here is your anus burger, I know it should be Angus but YOU have no issue with entrails...
So, "connective tissue" is considered "100% beef"?
That sounds like hooves, horns, and fur are also "100% beef" ...
food shortages? I could have sworn that this country pays farmers to plow crops under every year, or in many cases to not grow anything at all on their land. We have no food shortages only scruples shortages
What kind of coward changes their lifestyle according to what some journalist says? These journalists express their opinions, nothing more. People, remember that a journalism course is about how to write. It does not educate the student in every subject in the known world. Most journalists don't know their but from a hole in the ground, but they write an article that makes them seem like a genius.
Well I'm sure some people didn't know that these baastards put ammonia in their "meat" (sic.), and once they found out rightfully stopped eating it
Will – In addition to the tonnage of things most people don't know is that this ammonia gas is not added to the product, but is used to treat the product (and lots of others that they eat) to mitigate the bacteria that tends to grow in ground beef which this product is. Most people also don't know that thousands of food products look gross at some point in their production. Most people also don't appreciate that this safe and worthwhile product was essentially destroyed by journalists who were equally naive and perpetuated a destructive nickname to get momentum to a low value story. It would be nice if ABC lost big time, but they won't because malicious intent is required in order to hold media responsible.
and how does it treat it by standing next to it??? NO it is ADDED to the mixture... try convincing a 2 year old your nonsense. thinking people can read.
Did you know that ammonia is applied to cropland prior to planting? If you are opposed to ingesting trace amounts of ammonia, you'd better quit eating!
trace amounts??? this stuff is mixed up in a wet slurry.. you have an odd definition of "trace"
hey imbecile, these journalists presented the facts that we were not being told and the company has admitted as much... try reading
Most of you food snobs have no idea that the USDA allows six fly larva in the average large can of tomato juice. When you eat at a restaurant, how do you know that the waiter hasn't spit in your food because hed doesn't like your race?? If ancient humans had been this picky about their food, the species would have died out 30,000 years ago.
food snobs? I suppose you anjoy a good cow anus with your burger, but I'd like to be able to opt out.
I learned to avoid brands that use it a long time ago, it's much lower quality product. Odd that there was no option for just choosing trusted sources, these days it doesn't have to be local.
Pink Slime is banned in Canada (thankfully) – absolutely no beef products can have that at all. I wonder if the stupid American tort reform is in play for this lawsuit – or is that only to "protect" corporations from average people, not other corporations? I love how they are trying to make people feel sad for loosing theri jobs creating meat additives with these less than desirable cuts. I man if your job is to create pink slim – that is sad.
When the Latinos overrun Canada in about 15 years, pinkslime will be the largest selling food product.
So now it is the Latinos who created and pushed pink slime on the rest of us? What exactly is your bigoted comment supposed to mean?
I can tell you are a real expert. So what, pray tell, is the difference between cut of beef as to quality? Why don't you enlighten us with your vast knowledge? I can tell you this. The only difference between the different cuts of beef is dependent on where, on the animal, the cut is taken from, which will determine how much fat content there is, and the muscle structure. Genius.
Connective tissue is not meat. Ligaments are not mussle. So those things are not even a "cut" of meat.
The process of making LFTB is to REMOVE the beef (muscle tissue) from the connective tissue. That is the hardest beef to get at. And the closer to connective tissue muscle tissue is, the more tender it is as a food product – thus – LEAN, finely textured (it has to be ground because each individual piece removed from connective tissue is so small) BEEF. The connective tissue is NOT used in the LFTB.
that is not what the company says.....
Except that it's not a meat additive Jeremy. It's a beef product, treated with ammonia gas like lots of other products. OK to snobbishly condemn it for using "less than desireable cuts", but then you must also condemn all sausage, most lunchmeats, and a huge swatch of prepared entrees – and more. Geez, not much logic with this group.
Go to any picnic area and I'll guarantee the the Pinkslime burgers smell better and taste better.
Ground sirloin makes a dry tasteless burger,.
Alferd – You couldn't be farther from the truth. If you select the right cut of beef and make sure the blend is 80/20 (80% Lean and 20% fat) you have a tastier and healthier burger than 'Pink Slime' could ever create.
wrong, compare a walmart burger to a store that doesnt use it, the walmart burger is disgusting and has a strange cooking oil flavor from all the tasteless animal parts added. Not a fatty flavor, a cooking oil flavor, just bland with a stale oily aftertaste.
You haven't eaten them. The local boat club's annual fitting out day provides an opportunity to taste them all and the fancy meat burgers are always the worst.
or at least the ones you are lied to about do, right Al? we do not formulate our opinions based on hearsay anecdotal evidence, derived solely from your limited, personal experiences.
This reminds me of the lawsuit the beef industry brought against Oprah years ago for defaming beef. It's absolutely absurd. Their nasty practices are exposed and their reaction is to sue. How about apologizing to consumers and ending the use of pink slime?
While we're on the subject of nasty practices in the meat industry, I suggest all of you look up "mechanically separated meat"; it's what most bologna is made out of. Do an image search too. It's quite disgusting.
"by grinding together beef scraps and connective tissue. The company then uses a mixture of ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide) to prevent the risk of E. coli or salmonella contamination." Yummy! Sounds like 100% beef to me!
Evidently, these guys got nothing to lose at this point. Maybe ABC "settles" with them so the lawyers can get paid. They risk even more disgusting facts to come out in the pursuit of "justice."
This is getting very interesting. We have come to the age of instant information pitted against corporate marketing and lobbyist. I really hope ABC gets off the hook. The internet has certainly started to transform the social and political landscape.
I respect and applaud the company for taking these steps against big media. It is time action is taken against major media outlets that tell incomplete or false information in a sensational style to simple make more money. The food, auto, and many other industries are held to ethical and quality standards to protect the consumer. It is time the Media Industry is held to Truth in Reporting standards.
I've reviewed all the post linked to this article and while I respect everyone individual right to an opinion I wonder how many of the people who have commented negatively on the quality and safety of this particular product have thoroughly researched the actual process of how this product is made. If you have – wonderful, but i would be willing to bet most of the information the public is responding to is written and published by mass media that has not done a thorough investigation of the product. I have toured the plant and seen the process of how this product has been made. After seeing the process, i would have no qualms about cooking up 100% LFTB and trying some – the process is that safe. Would the texture be the same as coarse ground beef – of course not, but that is not its purpose. It can be added to coarse ground beef to increase the protein content and decrease the percent fat. I find it sad that the individuals who wrote and aired the articles condemning this company and product did not have the decency to tour the actual plant to get the whole story – instead taking half-truths and relying on the general public's lack of understanding of certain chemicals to scare them in order to increase ratings and make more money.
stupid is as stupid does
"The food, auto, and many other industries are held to ethical and quality standards to protect the consumer"
The FOOD industry is held to ethical & quality standards!?! Like the tobacco industry? By whom?
They aren't protecting the consumer, they are protecting their bottom line.
You want to serve pink slime to your family then fine. Not everyone would want to though. So, label the packages with what is actually in the packages. Let the consumers decide. Kinda looks likes they did in this situation & that is what is causing industry bellyaching.
Oh, & while you're at it, since the food industries are so concerned for our welfare, suggest they voluntarily label GMO products. Let us decide because of course consumers trust GRAS "Generally Recognized As Safe" to BE SAFE with WHAT TESTING!! Oh wait, food industries oppose that because they don't want CONSUMERS to think that GMO products are unsafe. Another example of the American government & Food industries keeping information from consumers to preserve their bottom lines $$$$$$$
So this pink slime, which was banned from use in pet food, hired some lobbyist to legalize it in 2002.... Again not fit for dog food.... Then people found out that this was included in their food, and people got mad.... Looks like the market did its business....
All those human bodies that are currently being buried or burned should be added to the pinkslime and the food chain – it is a horrible non-green waste of resources to do otherwise. I'll wager the taste quotient of pinkslime would go up 25% or more. People not wanting to have their corpses eaten should have to pay a "stiff" tax of $250,000. All that protein should not be wasted.
You are warped!
You are a dangerously insane human being.
I see how ya work Al, when your nonsensical arguments appear to be failing (as above) you switch up to outwardly outlandish statements, so as to make us believe that you were being ridiculous all along.... well you were, albeit unintentionally.
How does "finely textured beef" stay healthy when its at a PH of 2? The ammonia is so acidic is destroyes all the deadly bacteria and reduces the acidity.
In the same way soda is so unhealthy because its ph is so low. Its way to acidic. Acidity in your blood causes hosts of issues.
But this is science, and when science is used, people counter it with a science report from another guy who was paid to say something.
ammonia is a base, not an acid. i remember that from 7th grade chem. i respectfully would ask you where you found out that ammonia has a ph of 2.
you would not knowingly drink Ammonia so why would you eat it
Who? are the job creators and the job destroyers? WE ARE! We decided we did not want a product, 700 jobs lost. We, the consumer did it. We also make companies build stores and hire people when we want something. Not Rommney, not the GOP, not the new word for wealthy "job creator". No one but us, the consumer.
I agree. This is free market at its finest. It works both ways. Do like every other business out there that suddenly finds it's product no longer in demand: innovate and find something else. Apple did it. They don't make their billions from computers anymore. Amazon did it. Boo-hoo that they can't pass off sludge to people who don't want it. I had bad feelings about it way before ABC's report. I think pharmaceutical companies should be next exposing their bogus studies, health risks and marketing propaganda.
GM?
indeed it is true Marley, and the more of us who realize this the more we can affect a change.
I mean really??? I didn't pay my money for a side of fries, and an amonia laced burger to go with it!! I congratulate ABC for exposing them. They are willing to put consumers health on the line all in the name of greed. They deserve to be closed down forever!!
Really? Does anyone know what this "pink slime" is????? Basically when you lean up a steak... and we all have by cutting off the fat on the sides or edges, we also loose a bit of meat. This company recovers that lost meat by running it through a centrifuge that separates the meat from the fat. The meat IS meat. The ammonia hydrox. is added to help rid of bacteria, and when this meat is mixed with other meat, the anti-bacterial properties are passed. The centrifuge also creates a really fine oil that can be used in industries that often used Whale blubber/Oil in the past. This is efficiency at its best and lessens waste. Just because the remnants were destined for the garbage doesn't at all mean that it IS garbage. It's 100% lean ground beef. What ABC did was enter the "If it smells... it sells..." type of journalism and they should answer for the burning and scorching of this company.
your right on with your analysis.. it's too bad the ultra lib sheeple don't see that their media is more nefarious than any company manufacturing something
all media in this country is run by major corporations, there is not ONE liberal media outlet in this country despite your constant rhetoric to the contrary, You are fine with your hamburger being a hotdog without your knowledge? Then continue eating that tripe. most people want to know if a hotdog is 100% beef or anus,eyeball, hove and entrails, and they feel the same about their hamburgers
OBVIOUSLY THE TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD FOR SOME BUSINESS'S WHO BELIEVE IN GREED OVER HEALTHY PRODUCT'S
"ME" is obviously one of the laid-off employees or a shill for the company.
You should probably take a closer look at what is in your "side of fries".
we should take a closer look at everything being rammed down our throats by big corporation these days, there is nothing they wont profit from nor consequence that they do not deem acceptable
No Jury will award damages and will likely side with the free press and consumer safety. If this went to the Supreme Court, they'd strike it down (not that they would even accept to hear the case).
Consumers could probably sue the meat packing companies for putting in fillers which are not meat, then labeling their food 100% "lean" beef.
It's as much beef as any other part of the steer! As with any food animal, beef is muscle, fat, bone, and connective tissue. Hamburger (ground beef) is simply pieces of beef that were left over after removing the prime cuts (steak, roast,etc). If it werent ground up and packaged it would be wasted! This so-called "pink slime" is simply the same hamburger ground to a very fine texture in order to make subsequent processing into the final cooked product more convenient. Think corn vs creamed corn if it helps. Because this finely ground beef has a larger surface area exposed to the air,it is then treated with ammonia gas in order to kill bacteria. Yes, our evil, profit-hungry beef industry found a way to increase profits by harvesting more of the edible protein in each steer! But the benefit to our society is that this protein (a necessary nutrient) is made available at a lower cost. A safe product at a low cost – isn't that what our economic system is all about? The net result of this hysteria is that several hundred families are now without a bread-winner.
This is a wildly invalid argument: there are many things in a steer that we don't call beef.
The fact is, LFTB has more gelatin and less myoglobin, and consumers have a right to know that if only because we generally pay less for more gelatinous meat (see hotdogs and chuck steaks.) BPI deciding to pretend this isn't the case is in large part the reason why droves of customers walked away from their product.
Again, does BPI plan to pay its laid-off employees with the money they are asking for? Or are they just planning to line the pockets of the owners and upper management? If I were an angry, laid-off employee, that's the question I'd be asking...
Fred's daddy lost his job.
Fred – excellent post. But, you are trying to argue with people who prefer to scream "I'm a victim."
I've decided to mostly cut beef out of my diet almost entirely. Mainly because if the FDA deems SLTB to be safe then they scare me into what I'm eating. Also I personally believe that ALL beef is somewhat tainted with mad cow disease and nobody can be sure or trust the gov to ensure safety if they can allow pink slime to be served our children at school. That's my opinion. But I am also in fear of pork and chicken meat as well since those animals do not seemed to get any better treatment at farms. Then add to that the heavy amount of dangerous pesticides used by foreign fruit and vegetable farmers you begin to think twice about eating at all. Twinkies. I think Twinkies are safe. I'll be eating them from now on.
I am amazed on a daily basis by how many people I encounter who have completely stopped thinking for themselves. So many people do not realize that our government has stopped working in our best interest...they still harbor that old trust that we are all in this together and Uncle Sam is looking out for us and we'll all be fine. Aspiring politicians aren't looking to perform their cicvic duty for a couple years and move on with their lives...they are looking to make a career out of an elected position so they can get rich and powerfull. Who in their right mind would voluntarily eat this crap? Ground up tendons and ligaments washed in ammonia??? Are you kidding me? The fact that the BPI is pissed and suing ABC because they actually exposed this is even more obsurd! Basis for the law suit: ABC told america that we were secretely adding this horrible bi-product to their food for years and now people are disgusted and won't eat it and it is costing us money.....Ahhhh...costing us money. Those are the key words here...the FDA won't do anything to stop it because it would cost BPI money and jobs. Well to hell with the welfare of the rest of us, huh?! The Govt is looking out for the interest of big business and themselves...the rest of us are just the 99%...what do we know?
Clean up your act, Beef Products, Inc.!
Way to go, ABC. Keep up the good work!
Sensible Americans will overwhelmingly be in support of ABC.
Beef Products, Inc., you've got to be kidding.
Talk about a frivolous and foolish law suit!
Get your act together, Beef Products, Inc.!
Oh, get real. Americans love burgers and pink slime burgers are the tastiest if well charred
Lymph nodes and salivary glands are what make Chorizo and pinkslime so tasty.
Go back to you tasteless eggplant burger.
My biggest problem with pink slime isn't that it's pink slime. It's that I don't want to be charged regular beef prices for pink slime. If you want to sell whatever, label it, but don't be surprise when word gets out that the "prime" product you're producing really isn't at that people don't want to pay for nor consume it.
You're not paying regular prices. The "pink slime" is what comes in those two-pound chubs or other pre-packaged ground beefs. The regular price is what you pay when you purchase ground beef from the butcher who ground it on-site.
Pure regular beef is $7.50 per pound, Pinkslime is about 1/3 that.
In burgers, pinkslime always tastes better.
You need to buy Kobe beef if you are that squeamish.
How about I play the devils advocate....We all want organic, non-caged meat. With TLC, yada, yada, yada. Im in full support of that. However, what do you think the cost will be to treat these animals this way? What do you think the true cost of meat to end up on our plate will be? I don't agree with how food processors deal with these animals but truth of the matter is we want great products for less. No matter how much we complain, unless you and I are willing to fork over some high dollars, no change is in sight. Just read slaughterhouse. It sickening how animals are treated before the whole pink slime is even added. Start looking at ourselves really hard before we start to voice our opinions. And thank God, its FRIDAY!!! YAY!!!
Chris – so very well stated. Thanks.
That's why I only eat meat that I've hunted or that's been raised on my farm or my neighbor's farm. I know it's been well treated and raised naturally. If more Americans took interest in where their food came from we wouldn't see products like this emerging.
Frankly, all those human bodies that are being buried or burned should be added to the food chain - it is a horrible non-green waste of resources to do otherwise. People not wanting to have their corpses eaten should have to pay a "stiff" tax of $250,000.
I have one question... How is pink slike a geat product? It is definitely less meat..
The Meat and Dairy industry is one of the largest lobbyist groups out there. Next two the Pharma, Supplement and Oil Companies. They make the government bow down to anything they want. Every time a Politician rants about too many regulations, it's because the Meat and Dairy industry has paid him/her a lot of money to vote against stricter regulations on meat and food processing. It's all about money. They're cutting meat with filler so they can make more profits. It may be considered "generally safe for consumption" in the short term, however when 1 out of 3 Americans are getting Cancer of some form, it should make everyone consider what they're ingesting on a daily basis. I don't trust any big corporation that buys votes (it's the American way right? Money=Free Speech?). Buy local and know what you're eating and where it came from.
yep. sure, all the processed and "GRAS" food won't kill you if you take a bite, but after years of supplying your body with that garbage, something will go wrong. cancer/alzheimers/heart conditions, those are just the most prevalent. it's sad how mal informed the public is on what we should be eating and fueling ourselves with.
Misinformed is right. The average lifespan of people in developed countries is -decades- longer than it used to be, in no small part to our diet, and we're eating more processed foods than ever before.
If you're willing to go 100% home grown, i'm willing to wait and see how long until some deadly bacteria makes a home out of you.
Let's see it's a cheap filler, they use it, they make money off of it and abc made it public so lets sue before they find out anything else...!
If food companies labeled foods clearly and appropriately, this wouldn't be a problem in the first place. Trying to sneak low-quality crap meat product treated with ammonia as filler into people's food (stuff that wouldn't even qualify as dog food) without those people's knowledge is dubioous, insidious, and ill-contrived and should be made illegal. I want to know what is in my food. I, the consumer, should then be the judge of whether or not I will consume it based on what's in it, thank you. The FDA also approves the use of petroleum-bassed preservatives that are known carginogens and outlawed in other parts of the world (namely Europe and some parts of Asia) and, in some instances, the state of California. It would be much easier to make an informed decision if the FDA just enforced clear and proper labeling of food ingredients and origins.
Again...Contact your congressperson to require "better" or "more descriptive and informative" legal definitions of things. The legal definition of Beef the gvt uses covers a lot of things you don't want to put in your mouth. Contact your Reps and ask for legal definitions of things to be more "consumer friendly " and NOT misleading so we can make informed decisions about things. It's up to the citizens to demand it because nobody is going to just give it to us.
Reminds me of the groundless hysteria during the ALAR scare. The media's ability to manipulate ignorant masses never fails to amaze me.
As a consumer, it is YOUR responsibility to learn how food is processed. The information is available on the web or at your local public library. (But that would take effort – not to mention analytical skills to insure that the information is valid.) The meat processing industry has been using ammonia for years. Those vacuum packed meat packages at your local Wal-Mart have been gassed or irradiated. Don't even get me started on how flavorless that beef is. Those 2-pound (?) chubs of ground beef in the red plastic – yikes – you couldn't give me that junk. As for the ammonia it is used in the cleansing process – to remove things like e. coli. This process has been used for decades – and that fact has been in the public domain – available to anyone who wanted to make the slightest effort to educate themselves. We (the US consumer) want things CHEAP – well, you get what you pay for. If you want only the best cut of beef used in your ground beef – go to a butcher.
I'm sorry but you are WAY off, first of all this inferior product was secretly shoved under our noses and it's unrealistic to expect consumers to re-read the label of a product that, so far as they know, has not changed in appearance since the last time they bought it. By your logic, I could add radio active material to products you buy and this is perfectly fine as long as I update the fine print. At no time was it made plainly clear that the product had changed, the price was the same, the color was the same and the appearance was the same.
They didn't make it obvious that they were reducing the quality of their product with filler to save a few bucks because they knew consumers wouldn't buy it.
Quit making excuses for a shady business.
Richard – almost TWENTY years ago, I learned about ammonia being used in the meat processing industry. We lived in northwest Arkansas near Wal-Mart headquarters. This was about the time that Wal-Mart eliminated its on-site butchers (they were trying to unionize) and centralized its meat processing. That is when the big brouhaha came about with irradiation. Remember that? I learned this "big secret" of ammonia by reading the local newspaper. As for the reduced quality – how do you think ANY producer or manufacturer is coping with the American demand of More for Less? They cut quality and content.
I don't purchase ground meat anymore since the "pink slime". I grind my own steak for hamburgers, I grind my own pork to make my own sausage; and I grind my own chicken to make homemade chicken nuggets for my kids. I jar my own veggies, fruit, make homemade jam; I know all the ingrediants I am feeding my family.
Technically ABC was practicing free speech, and you can't sue someone over free speech. Not to mention "not safe to eat" is technically an opinion, as "safe" is a subjective term. But no, go ahead, sue them for telling the truth and doing your job. I'm sure that'll win you over new customers.
Actually you are incorrect. It is called slander. Yes, free speech is a right but the person speaking has a responsibility to make accurate statements when speaking about people and businesses. You also have a responsibility to consider other peoples safety. That is why it is against the law to yell "fire" in a movie theater.
"Webb stated today in a phone call with reporters that, "The evidence is overwhelming that our product is 100% beef."
BPI makes the product by grinding together beef scraps and connective tissue. The company then uses a mixture of ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide) to prevent the risk of E. coli or salmonella contamination."
Looks like someone needs to learn what 100% means. Last time I checked, connective tissue, ammonia, and water are not beef. Thus, the product is not 100% beef. Amazing how easy that was.
You can't expect them to tell the truth! Their company has been selling a product used to secretly degrade the quality of ground beef and consumers found out. Enter spin mode.
I expect the same from a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "Ohh I wasn't eating no cookies, I was just making sure none were missing!"
The ammonia and water are evaporated off and you are left with 100% beef.
Another uneducated comment from the public about something they only read from a web article from an ambulance chasing media outlet.
I hope they win their law suite.
G – there are perhaps six sane, intelligent, and informed posters on this thread. Thanks for a great post.
Don't believe what the perpetrators tell you. This "meat" has been banned in Canada and the UK and the entire European union for a reason. And that reason is because this so-called FTM is unfit to eat and contains high amounts of ammonium hydroxide and bits of the central nervous system of the cows. The United States will feed their people anything as long as it makes them a dollar, but not everyone need be so ill-informed and poisoned. Of course these scumbags pushing this stuff is going to cry and stamp their feet, because they're not making dollars. They don't care at all about your family's health. Don't believe your mass media either, because they just believe and push whatever these scumbags tell them to.
Unless ammonia causes morbid obesity, I think those billions of people who ate it at McDonalds are doing just fine. Know your facts.
I love how scientists say this stuff is safe, but don't let their family eat it.
I am a scientist. I eat it. My family eats it.
I am a scientist and I don't get fooled by greedy companies trying to sneak filler into their products under my nose. When I buy a pound of ground beef I expect to get a pound of ground beef, the same pound of ground beef I was getting before the economy tanked and I absolutely do not want to buy a watered down mixture of connective tissues and chemicals that boils away when I cook it.
What scientist likes being sold less product for the same price? Not any scientists I know.
This is why I love scientists.
I am also a scientist. I DO eat it because it is in a lot of things out there either at restaurants or in the grocery store. I would rather not. I wish the package at the store that is ground beef actually said ... This is ground cow muscle with a bunch of other parts of a "cow (which is what beef is). I don't like that companies use this stuff to make it more "cost effective" to sell. I would rather determine what I spend my money on BASED ON WHAT IS IN THE PRODUCT. They just aren't required to openly and in good faith tell you what is in the products. I am not a fan of government regulations except in cases like this where disclosure is required to make informed choices. Final point is that I keep hearing the word "SAFE" used, and it's based on government standards of safety from the FDA. I am definitely not one to trust the government to determine what is and isn't "safe". Therefore, I want to know exactly what is in what I buy so I can make MY OWN decisions about safety, etc... The government used to say Thalidamide was safe too and years later found that it caused massive birth defects. That's just one example. Take home message...Give full disclosure and let consumers make their own decisions on things.
That's sick.
If this company successfully wins their lawsuit, then Fox News should be sued for liable and slander, making it an easy win for the anyone who brings their case against them to court. Fox got the Dept. of Agriculture (a black woman) fired for saying she was racist by using out of context video snippets. Then Fox News blamed the Obama administration for jumping the gun after Fox made a compelling case all over the TV and internet that she was racist.
After Safeway stopped using the stuff, the hamburger was definitely firmer texture and did not spill out so much liquid during cooking. Clearly I was being short-changed with so much extra water in the added pink-slime.
So those of you who oppose LFTB also don't eat sausage, right? Meat pieces scraped together and molded were a primary source of nutrition for, well, all of the planet – until we got rich enough to think that only steak was acceptable to eat.
how long has it been that ammonia has been added to the mix?
About as long as you haven't seen people get E. Coli or Salmonella after eating a hamburger...
Good one, Andy. Thanks for great post.
Since people started dying of bacterial-related food contamination illnesses.
Before you get your panties in a twist about ground beef treatment, read up on some basic food chemistry.
Yeah, even steak is gross... Search the term "meat glue" and prepare to be grossed out.
Not the same thing, at least in sausage they are adding meat scraps, which is to say scraps of actual MEAT that they cannot sell by itself. In this case they are using ground cartilage as a mechanism to hold WATER, dying this mixture pink so it doesn't dilute the red meat and make it pale. There is no business model for what you are saying, this product wasn't designed to improve the product quality, it was designed to be cheaper than actual meat and to replace actual meat, so the manufacturers can churn out less real meat for the same weight and volume, the definition of a FILLER.
there is a difference, though – most consumers are partially or completely aware of what goes in a sausage, as this has been a traditional food for many countries for hundreds of years, and they still make the conscious choice to purchase them. However, most consumers were NOT aware of the processed additives in hamburger, and when this was brought to light, people can now make the decision whether or not to purchase hamburger with this filler (and it looks like most people chose not).
I get beef from the cattle on my farm so I don't have to worry about where my steaks and burgers come from...
Good deal. I also get my bison meat from farmers' markets or whole foods.
I kind of like my meat to be free of most of the cr@p that factory farms put in it.
Middle class white person, right?
I thought this was a discussion post on meat, not race or economic status....... wth?
I don't you need to worry too much about what farmers do to the beef they raise. Some are implanted with growth horomones, and most are dewormed against digestive parasites, but for the most parts they aren't pumped with drugs on farms. Sketchy things like pink slime, hot dogs, and super cheap ground meat products are a lot worse for you, in my opinion. Can't provide much science to back that up,.....so this was a waste of time...POSTING ANYWAY
i am a veggie, so i do not worry about steaks or burgers
When I read a beef label that states 80-100 percent beef, I take that to mean MEAT...not fats, connective tissues, etc. They must play fast & loose with this inferring it's all BEEF because it is COW connective tissues...the chemical process sounds disgusting...
100% pure beef right here.
It is still 100% beef considering that beef is anything that lives above the hoof.
To be mad that what is assumed to be lean muscle tissue also included filler made from scraps and fat is not shocking, its been going on for a long time and it is still beef, even if you dont like what it contains. Beef heart and liver and are also beef, you dont have a problem with these organs being classified beef do you ?
Wrong, Ammonia and Water are NOT beef and the latter of which constitute the majority of this FILLER. The ground connective tissue is not FAT or LIVER, it's mostly cartilage and it's really good at holding in water when ground into a jell, which is exactly what they want so it appears as if you are buying all beef when in reality you are being ripped off by paying for mostly water which won't become apparent until you cook the meat. It's a shady way of making profits go up while degrading product quality and I'm glad they got caught with their pants down.
Writers imply. Readers infer.
You should see the legal definitions of Beef and Meat, etc... that is used. It seems in tentionally misleading and it is. They need a common term to be adopted that means and really is "animal muscle" which is what it should be. Call your congressperson and ask them for that. I will to. Maybe we can start a movement here! ...
With beef scraps, connective tissue, ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide), "pink slime" sounds like a perfect description to me - particularly since the term originated within the company.
What a waste of attorney fees for them. They can not win. Almost no one wants fake meat that boils out anyway making it a huge waste of money.
Ladies...there is only so much of this beefcake to go around. Without the slime, I would be stretched far too thin.
I am happy this came to light. I thought the fillers mentioned on the package were grain fillers and am outraged that I am instead being fed beef parts that I would not choose to eat. If I wanted to consume pink slime, I would buy pink slime. It is false advertising to sell ground beef as ground beef when it has pink slime or any other additive. Call the product what it is, and stop deceiving people.
Give me a break. The mass majority of people have no idea how the final food products they eat are made, and that same mass would likely be disgusted by how.
Ever had JELLO-O? The gellatin is formed from collogen in pig and cow bones.
Maybe they can burn the a Muslim embassy somewhere in protest!?
I do not buy meat from Big Box stores Period. I either buy a whole cow at market and have it butchered, or I raise my own... That said if I need something I run out of I simply go to the local meat market and by it from the butcher where I can see where they get it! No ammonia No nothing. Also ONLY GRASS FED BEEF! The USDA did a study some years ago and found that something like 98% of all cows fed grains, had E-Coli in their feces, and something like only 1% of Grass fed beef had it... I know it was in their feces which is where it comes from. It gets into the meat by contamination during processing.
How can something that contains ammonia be 100% beef?
It can't. It's just spin, don't forget the main ingredient in pink slime that isn't beef either, WATER. The ground connective tissue is just used to hold the water in, which is used to achieve the primary goal of the product which is to take up space and add weight. The pink color is added primarily to prevent this filler from diluting the red color of the meat, which would tip off the consumer to an inferior product.
But Ammonia is merely a natural flavoring used to enhance to equisite aroma.
Ok, it's a toxin that kills virtually everything, but advertisers lie almost as often as politicians and lawyers. you are just figuring this out?
Because it is evaporated off. Simple.
Soylent pink, I love it.
But seriously, you remove one cheap filler, they're just going to find another. And it will be basically the same thing as they're already using.
Stories like this make me more thankful every day that I am vegan :-)
They tell you.
Correction: They are all pale and sickly.
I'm neither pale nor sickly.
Dont you worry. I will charm you back into my luscious ways.
I'm a vegan too. Nice not to have to worry about eating pink slime.
They know they can't win. There is already a precident set that media can put out anything even if it is not true.
Just ask Faux News
Meat is murder. The meat industry murders millions of animals annually, animals are housed in horrendous conditions and made to live the ends of their lives in fear. Google the movie "Earthlings' and on Youtube Gary Yourovsky's "Greatest speech you will ever hear' Learn the truth about factory farms. The meat industry needs to be stopped. We no longer live in the dark ages people, it's time to wake up, stop murdering animals, they have as much right to life as humans do. Go Vegan!
How do you know someone is a vegan? Dont worry, they'll tell you.
Keep your backwards ideas to yourself.
The last carrot I spoke to, expressed much displeasure at being torn from its root and chopped for your salad.
Murder really? Do you call a leopard a murderer or a lion or a shark or an eagle. We are animals and we eat other animals get over it.
Meat is yummy and you cannot "murder" an animal. It's just an animal – put here for us to eat or use.
Intentionally causing death = murder. Duh. Unless you're gnawing on a cow roaming the field, in which case you're going to likely be injured by the angry animal. So you're saying cats and dogs are put here to eat or use? Better get to butchering, then!
Joe – you rock. All of you who ok with animal suffering should be ashamed of yourselves. Even if you're ok with killing something to eat it, you should not accept the factory farming practices in the US.
But bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.
And sewer rat tastes like pumpkin pie. or so I've heard.....
But seriously Joe I have no problem with you taking a stand for something you believe until the line – the meat industry must be stopped. Now you are a would be dictator imposing your personal belief system on other people....Like bloomberg in NYC. And YOU must be stopped. If enough people listen to you then the meat industry won't have to "be" stopped – it just will stop. But if enough people don't agree with you...then you're just a loon.
Ground Beef.. just that, not ground beef with liquefied beef and beef byproducts as a filler to add weight.
spoken like someone who lives in a first world country, who can afford to think that only meat sliced off of a bone in pretty pieces is nutritionally better than scraps taken off the bone and mashed together.
I agreed with nerdy girl...feed the poor pink slime! and cake!
Exactly nerdygrrl, C Jones speaks just like of those rich 1% snobs who thinks he/she is entitled to real meat instead of mislabeled watery connective tissue.
By the way, you're not convincing us. All of your comments are absurd. If this is how you think you're going to change public opinion, how about you tell your boss to produce real meat.
My mom thinks I'm beautiful. So there.
i would have to agree that we eat to much meat. However, i dont think we should switch over to a plant based diet only. honestly i think about blance....and i do stronly believe we do not eat nearly enough veggies. They should be a major part of our diet. SO, I hunt and butcher my own meat. On that note we are also trying to grow more veggies and fruits at home. It is a shame that we have to do this and that the FDA or whoever doesnt really seem to care about the quality of our food. Just money from corporations. Forcing foods and animals to grow with chemicals and etc is not the right way to go about it. We need blanced foods and all the minerals that USED to come with them. BALANCE!!
. "The company then uses a mixture of ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide) to prevent the risk of E. coli or salmonella contamination." ammonium hydroxide is "NOT" a mixture of of ammonia and water. high school chemistry. go back. pay attention this time.
Go away jimmyd. It's ammonia. Get over it.
Jimmy's right. Also, you do know that all protein has ammonium groups, right? -NH3 on amino acids
Not the same, you know it.
Why, because he told the truth? Eat crap and die...no, really!
Those of us who raise beef ended up losing money that we can't afford to lose. Because of this irresponsible journalism, the price on all beef dropped for a period. Remember, we're at the bottom of the food chain here, with the slimmest margins. When someone with a big name decides to exaggerate or distort, it's the ranchers and the employees at the plants who are hit the hardest, and we can afford it least
Wahhhh. Perhaps YOU should just negotiate better.
Remember your statement LOL when you're paying $12.00 for a cheeseburger, or $8.00 for a gallon of milk. The cost always ends up in the hands of the consumer.
Cheeseburgers and milk should cost that much money. do you know how much it costs to product those items? Backroom government deals are keeping the prices down.
No thanks on the ammonium hydroxide!
When the industry starts going toward more natural production methods, stop using super antibiotics and other practices of the sort, and start thinking about consumers over profit...the industry will garner the trust of consumers. At the moment I don't think consumers can trust the industry.
We do not buy ground beef products, preferring to use healthier alternatives, such as Buffalo or Venison.
There is entirely too much processing, in ALL American food products, too many "additives", and too many questionable restaurant products and procedures, in America. The country has been entirely too lax, with how food is being processed and distributed, in this country. It is better than China......but not by a lot.
The thing ABC needs to take a VERY HARD LOOK AT, is food imports from China......both pet and human products, which have been found to be very dangerous to both pets and humans. The US government is ignoring the issues of dangerous pet food imports from China, and allowing those products to flow freely, into this country, in spite fo the fact that numerous pet deaths have been traced directly back to imported pet food products, from China.
This governmental disregard, for the safety and well being of pets, is disgusting and repulsive to humans.
Won't go anywhere. There's never been any argument that the product has been deemed safe and the reports all mentioned that. It's just damn gross.
Hunger is the main factor in food taste and quality.
If you are really hungry, anything tastes good and it doesn't matter what part of the body it came from.
Right on.
enjoy your poopcake!
This product exemplifies everything that is wrong with the food processing industry. Tomatoes have been bred to have longer shelf life and to sustain less damage during shipping, but the flavor has been bred out of them. Orange juice that is "not from concentrate" is stored in asceptic tanks for up to a year which causes it to lose its flavor, and has chemical "flavor packets" added to make it taste like orange juice again before it is packaged.
The goal of the food processing industry is too keep food cheap and make it last longer so that people will eat more and more of it. The obesity crisis in America is real and it is serious. We do not need to eat beef every day and we do not need to add this over-processed filler to ground beef as an extender to make it cheaper so that we can eat more of it than we were intended to. I applaud ABC for publicizing this, and I hope they do the same with the many other unnatural and harmful ways that food manufacturers try to save money at the expense of public health.
Well said, Charles. I
I agree well said and might I add that it's one of the downsides of capitalism.
It starts out as a good idea, then a company is created to make it and people are hired to run the company and manufacture the product. Once this is achieved and money starts being made, the leaders of the company starts trying to make the product or service cheaper to manufacture, not so they can pass the savings onto the consumer but so they can get more profit. Eventually you are left with a shell of a former product, and a more financially endowed boardroom.
Mmmmmmmm BSE, it's what's for dinner!
The real problem here is, how can they sell hamburgers that have no ham in them????
It's named after the City in Germany, not the pork cut.
Swing and a miss...
I don't really care how many people lost their jobs or how many plants got shut down. When I go to the super market and I buy something I expect to get what I pay for and when the manufacturer starts ripping me off by putting less "product" into their product and more "filler" to make some more profit at expense of product quality and safety then don't expect me to feel all sorry for them when they get caught with their pants down.
"Pink Slime" is a FILLER, it's one of many mechanisms used by greedy companies to RIP OFF customers by selling them less product for the same price or sometimes even a higher price. Don't feel sorry for them, they don't feel sorry for you.
You should not eat in restaurants if you are that squeamish - one wild waiter can spit (or worse) on your food and give you TB or clapp.
The problem isn't limited to restaurants, and it has nothing to do with illegal tainting of food products. It has to do with companies buying shady filler from this company and then putting it into their product and selling it as if it's the same product when it isn't. It's no different than a dairy deciding one day to water down it's milk and then not advertise to the consumer that the product contains less milk than it did before.
It's a dirty practice being used in a bad economy and is isn't just being used on ground beef but other products as well.
Mr sensitivity. Hey had you bothered to read the label it would have been obvious what you are buying. As for not caring about people losing jobs simply because some reporter put an unfair slant on a non story, think about having the company you work for being shut down for a similar reason.
You selfish people amaze me, you had been eating that food for years with no ill effects, yet with a single story it all of a sudden upsets you. Know what else has fillers in it? Try the wood (cellulose fibers) in your bread, fillers in just about every over the counter medicine that you take, start reading labels and you will either be sane and say so what or stop eating and self medicating.
What labels? My big-mac or taco or whopper didn't say it had pink slime filler in it when they were using it, school lunch menus don't say anything about it and the ground beef at the super market doesn't say anything either. Your quickly thought up solution to the problem has more air in it than a balloon. Maybe actually do some thinking before spitting out dry opinion.
Actually it is not a filler. It is in fact beef but not the beef you're expecting. Is it safe? Most likely. Should it be in our meat products. I don't mind so long as it's labeled as some form of manufactured meat. Would I check the label then? Yep Would I buy it? Nope.
Actually it is filler, it's a textbook definition of a filler. It doesn't improve the product in any way, it doesn't make it taste better or last longer, it actually degrades the quality. It's not protein, or fat, it's the other part of the cow nobody wants to eat that has been ground into a jell so water can be deposited into it to give it weight, then it's loaded with pink chemicals so it won't dilute the natural color of the beef and make the product look like it really is, inferior.
They advertise 1LB of ground beef when really you are buying 3/5th a LB of ground beef. When it comes time to cook this mixture, the protein denatures and squeezes out all the water they put in there and suddenly the lie is revealed. All you are left with is LESS beef riddled with grainy chunks of cartilage. They never used to put anything like that into ground beef, they are pinching pennies.
Why should I feel sorry when a company decided to sell a product used to increase the weight of a meat product without adding real meat to it, then it's shady business got discovered and had to close a plant and lay off workers and then has the nerve to complain about it.
I hope the company wins this. While I disapprove of their product the media has gone on a crusade to destroy their business. It's one thing to report the facts, but it's an entirely different issue to distort the facts and to give it the "pink slime" nickname.
They've done irreparable harm to this business by attacking it. Today's media sells sensationalism and stories are heavily biased. Is the product disgusting? Yes. Should the media be held accountable for what they've done? Yes.
They could have reported on this story using truth and honesty rather than "pink slime!".
You "disapprove of their product" but you hope they win a $1 billion judgment. Then you accuse the media of "going on a crusade" against the product, and because you dislike the media – not because you disagree with them – you support the idea that they should be whipped for bringing the truth to light.
You are a strange person.
I wonder what they teach in schools sometimes.
You do realize there are two separate clauses in the 1st amendment protecting the media and the speech which occurred. And as you say – Is it disgusting? YES? Case closed.
By your logic if Obama looses in November, he can feel free to sue Basonett for his "No Easy Day" book. After all, real people lost their jobs, and he would claim the facts were untrue.
Now the people who tell the truth get sued? Fox can't be sued because technically/legally it's an opinion station and everyone who watches it is supposed to know that. They don't have any journalists, just opinion people, so they make stuff up and are untouchable. CNN tells an honest story, they have a right to call it whatever they want to. So does Oprah. So do I. If the corporate meat sellers are people, then so is CNN. So is Oprah. So am I. It's pink slime. It's unethical to feed that to people and hide it. It's revolting.
they are making billions selling parts that used to be put into dog food, and dowsing it with poison and water. How about the government throw some regulation that direction, instead of sending in lunchroom police to jack a kids pb&j sandwich because it doesn't meet healthy lunch standards set forth by none other than yours truly...the government. like a dog chasing its tail.
Fleur, had you bothered to read the article or bothered to develop some reading comprehension earlier in your life, you would know that this material is regulated and has been deemed safe for consumption by the FDA. sheesh
If you were paying attention you would know that the FDA is just BPI spelled backwards...
"deemed safe for consumption by the FDA"
"generally recognized as safe" by the FDA
OK, you eat it then... good for you! Not.
Think about all those other products the FDA calls "safe" that is later recalled because it kills several people. Ever see those ads on tv from the lawyers saying, "IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE TOOK THIS PILL AND IT CAUSED THEM TO DIE, CONTACT US". ALL those products were approved by the FDA, so that's not really a good place to start an argument.
If i was butchering a cow I would certainly use all parts of it, just as my Grandmother did. I would not however scrape those parts up off of a cutting room floor grind it into a substance that resembles soft serve ice cream and douse it with ammonia to ward of that pesky E. Coli it was contaminated with from discarded parts of the colon that is was hanging out on the floor with.
Awesome.
This made me laugh up my beef millshake.
Gross its in my nose
Connective tissue is food. The whole purpose of braising meat in acidic sauces, such as tomato sauce or vinegar, is to break down the connective tissue so that it is easier to chew. It is what makes tough pieces of meat like ribs and brisket so darned tasty.
Salivary glands and lymph nodes are what give Chorizo it's great flavor.
You should just eat baby food,.
"Connective tissue" – tendons and ligaments – is most certainly not "food". The material is undigested. It is filler, and filler alone.
Well, I'd like to see you remove the connective tissue from your beef ribs prior to cooking them. Try removing it from chuck roast. It is food. You will digest it just fine.
What are you smoking? The connective tissue in ribs or steak makes up less than 10 percent of the product and moreover it's not blended into it. It's also plainly obvious to anyone who has ever seen or eaten meat before that ribs have connective tissue in it. The issue is not about eating connective tissue, it's about connective tissue and water being added to a ground meat product to save money.
Quit trying to confuse the issues.
I agree with that much, but... No thanks on the ammonium hydroxide.
They should just call the product by its actual name: dog food
Well, that is highly insulting to dogs. Most dogs are better creatures than the 99 percent of humans.
By far.
I have gone from buying only beef ground in my grocers to buying chuck roast and grinding it
In my own home with my old fashioned meat grinder. I wash all grinder parts in soapy,chlorinated water.
I feel safe, and LOVE my "home ground"!
But a lot of the subtle flavors in foods of all descriptions come from the spit and other stuff added to the product by irate workers. Have you ever eaten in a restaurant??
Jesse Jackson's spit-in coffee was noted for it's great taste.
Call it what you may but it is REAL BEEF. Listen to the video and do your own research, it’s left over scraps which are heated then spun in a centrifuge type device in order to separate the meat from the fat. Since it was heated in order to ensure safe for consumption it is sprayed with Ammonia which is safe then cooled down. It may not be the most nutritious form of beef but it is 100% beef.
If it's sprayed with ammonia, how is it 100% beef?
Both ammonia and ammonium hydroxide are very common compounds, found naturally in the environment (in air, water, and soil) and in all plants and animals, including humans. Ammonia is a source of nitrogen, an essential element for plants and animals. Ammonia is also produced by the human body – by our organs and tissues and by beneficial bacteria living in our intestines. Ammonia plays an important role in protein synthesis in the human body. In brief summary, all living things need proteins, which are comprised of some 20 different amino acids. While plants and microorganisms can synthesize most amino acids from the nitrogen in the atmosphere, animals cannot. For humans, some amino acids cannot be synthesized at all and must be consumed as intact amino acids. Other amino acids, however, can be synthesized by microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract with the help of ammonia ions. Thus, ammonia is a key player in the nitrogen cycle and in protein synthesis. Ammonia also helps maintain the body’s pH balance.
...and in addition, ammonia is a poison and will kill you.
You work for BPI lol.
Youre one of those robo-posters the rightwing/corporate interests pay $ to try and pretend there's an opposing viewpoint, yes?
No, I'm an exercise physiologist and as such I had to learn a lot about how the body chemically produces energy and consumes the waste products. This chemistry has interesting tie-ins to the preparation of food.
And with that as your title, you get on CNN comments to troll the virtues of a nasty meat product used in CUTTING fast food meat PRODUCT.
Not to mention you claim that ammonium is safe because its involved in enzymatic processes in the human body.
Awesome – by your reasoning, its fine to put whatever concentrations they want of sulfuric acid in burgers too, because that's in your stomach, so it should be fine.
Thanks for your medical advise psudodoctor.
I prefer to say no to beef and instead take a shot of window-cleaner each morning! That's how I get MY ammonia and amino acids. My pH has never been better! My skin is radiant!
On a side note, my body also produces bile, excrement, urine, saline, hair, nails, and dander just to name a few. Which one of those would you like me to add to your filler-burger, Alton? Oh, come on! They aren't even "chemicals" but rather naturally occurring. Seems legit, right?
What cracks me up is it costs more time and money to add things to beef than it would to just ship the beef and clean the floor of the left overs. The sole exception is if the filler (made from those left overs) costs so little and can be added in such quantities to not only offset the cost of but also to profit from the process. Therein lies the ONLY reason to add the filler. There is no other reason to collect that filler, take the time to "wash" it in poison, make sure the process is FDA approved, and set up the factory to add the filler into an already naturally existing product. The filler provides absolutely no benefit to the consumer at all. So, at some point, shouldn't someone say, "hey, why exactly ARE they adding filler to the beef"? It has nothing to do with "enriching" the beef with amino acids (beef, already has amino acids in it, by the way).
Yeah, I'm pretty much going to disagree with you, Alton. Care for another cup of Windex or Glass Plus? I've got the citrus with vinegar flavor. Yum! :)
Fat and connective tissue may have come from a Cow, but it's hardly meat. Even they describe it as filler. Similar to adding water to alcohol in a Bar. More profit on less content. The product needs to be discontinued as it does no person ANY good.
The thing is, the "connective tissue" isn't even being used mostly for filler, it's being used to hold in all the water they put in the pink slime which is the real filler, and is as cheap as... water!
So they are effectively WATERING down the beef, which is no surprise to anyone who has cooked this inferior ground beef. Once the protein in the meat denatures and shrinks, it squeezed out all the water and your pan gets flooded with water which boils away and never even ends up in your belly! You are not even consuming 2/5th of what you are paying for!
The beef industry is ridiculous saying that it is 100% beef and safe to eat! Yea, so you can put cow patties treated with ammonia into hamburger and say the same thing! That doesn't mean I want to eat it! Ground beef should be 100% ground chuck or sirloin. That's it, plain and simple! Then they go crying that 700 people got layed off and 3 factories closed. Too bad. If you're making a crap product, don't be surprised when it goes public and people won't buy it. DUH!!!!
Agreed.
They are suing because their scheme was exposed. What they sold as 100% beef was actually scraps mixed with chemicals to help them and the restaurants they sold to keep their profits up. The fact that they did not disclose this to the public shows that they knew it would not be viewed in a positive light and the reaction would have been the same. I say someone should sue them based on their "100% beef" claim which was clearly not true.
It would be nice if more people understood that ammonium hydroxide is completely water soluble. That means that when it is rinsed with water, all of it goes down the drain. You're not eating it. I understand you're visceral reaction to it, but it's not rational.
You should instead ask yourself before eating a burger, where does this meat come from? How was it handled? How far did it have to travel to my plate? How fresh is it? How was the animal raised? Is it all sustainable? Do I care?
It's up to you if you care or not, but if you're going to worry about your beef, that's what you should worry about, not what part of the cow it is or whether it used to be in contact with a chemical that is long gone.
Also, stop saying the word "chemical" like it's automatically a bad thing. You are made of chemicals. Everything is made of chemicals.
What are you doing, confusing the reactionaries with the facts? That'll never do, they have made up their minds already
The point is not whether pink slime is bad for you, nor is the topic under discussion the environmental impact of eating beef. The point is that pink slime is disgusting, and that most people are revolted by the thought of eating it.
Properly aged meat is actually properly decomposed meat. We like to say "aged" because it sounds less disgusting than "decomposed". Pink slime is essentially finely ground beef. The use of the word "slime" is what you are reacting to.
So...the point is not about being rational at all. Thanks for clearing that up!
You all don't even want to know some of the things I've seen going on working my time as a cook in a steak house.
You just would not want to know.
My first mcjob at 16 was when I learned that every time someone else prepares your food.....you take a risk.
I have worked in a restaurant, too. And you clearly worked in a slop house. Where I worked, a lot of effort went into making certain that every plate that went out was as wholesome and appealing as anything we might eat ourselves. We took our jobs seriously and we did it well, from the lead cook all the way down to the bussers.
Many people in the restaurant business actually do care about their profession and enjoy providing their customers with good food and a pleasant dining experience.
Webb stated today in a phone call with reporters that, "The evidence is overwhelming that our product is 100% beef."
BPI makes the product by grinding together beef scraps and connective tissue. The company then uses a mixture of
ammonia and water (ammonium hydroxide) to prevent the risk of E. coli or salmonella contamination.
100% beef would mean no connective tissue, no ammonia , and no added water, just all beef. clearly its not 100% beef.
It's all from a cow, who cares, although Long Pig has better flavor..
Adding water and/or ammonia to the beef (assuming you rinse the ammonia away) does not change the properties of the beef. It is still beef. And as long as the connective tissue is from a cow, it's still beef. "Beef" does not refer to any portion of the cow, but just to the flesh of the cow.
I think when he made the 100% beef statement he was referring to the fact that all ingredient pieces came from the cow. The connective tissue and scrapes are still 100% cow.
They may still technically be "cow", but they are not technically "food" – they are fillers.
News has become the new entertainment. Stories are chosen based on their potential shock value because that's what sells advertising. If ABC embellished or misled the public and caused this company real financial harm, I don't see why they shouldn't be held liable. I actually think it's a fairly important precedent.
The did a story on the process of of making the "pink slime," how is this misleading?
ABC made the mistake of taking the misinformation provided by Jamie Oliver and using it to sell advertising. Their deeper pockets make them a more lucarative target. Sucks to be a rich boy.
They have no case, slander is for false allegations. The news story simply informed the public of the process used to process the meat called "pink slime," maybe they shouldn't have used the inflammatory name. The public has a right to know what processes and what is being put into the food they eat.
It's President Obama's fault :-) – the Food Safety Modernization Act was the first food safety overhaul in over 70 years, and without implementation most of the U.S. food system would continue to operate under what public health advocates say are outdated laws.
This case is a slam dunk. Add the kids of the CEO and the lawyers to the defense witness list. Call them to the stand, wheel out the slime and Foreman grill. Cook it up and serve it to their kids....
Not surprised that Food Lion was mentioned. I used to buy my hamburger in the big family packs from Food Lion and split it up into ziplock bags. I was noticing that I had this really thick fatty stuff on my hands that was hard to wash off. I quit buying it this way because of it. I thought it was just extra fatty meat until I heard about the pink slime.
I use ammonia to clean the floors in my home. Keep the truth coming, ABC. Everyone should be required to watch "Food Inc." for the truth about America's food supply. Utterly disgusting.
Oh, quit being a weenie - if you are hungry, you can eat anything, including Long Pig.
That slimy meat makes the absolutely best tasting hamburgers, if cooked right with a lot of grill char.
This should end the practice of feeding grade B "meat" to our children. We used to receive this junk during unreps (Navy) and the case was labeled not for prison use and not fit for human consumption. All the defendants have to do is bring a case of this trash to court.
I don't have a problem with them putting pink slime on the market, but they shouldn't have a right to hide the process from the public.
I didn't see that ABC or anyone else misreported what pink slime is. It's apparently safe and all, but details of what it is turned off people's appetites. We used to get potted meat when I was a kid. We all loved it until my sister read the ingredients on the back of the can. None of us kids wanted to eat it after that.
People like it make it sound like this was some conspiracy to con the public. This is an example of a legitimate company making a completely safe and inexpensive product to lower food costs. News flash… probably the vast majority of the meat you eat is not grade A prime, but at the same time you don’t pay grade A prime prices either. All this controversy has accomplished is to eliminate a method of making a lower price beef available to consumers. If you don’t choose to purchase it more power to you, but now no one has the option any more, so everyone’s costs go up.
Sorry but I disagree. Our food industry is constantly conning us. When you buy ground beef you assume it is beef that has been butchered then ground, but not mixed with chemicals. I don't think anyone is upset that there are beef trimmings in the slime. That's no big deal. But to treat it with ammonia and NOT TELL US is a sin in my opinion.
Well said. Ammonia treated beef... 'just like mom used to make'.... wait what?
I hate to tell you, but "what mom used to make" had all kinds of rat parts, feces, and other garbage in it. So, yeah, what we eat today is not what mom used to make, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
It's like all the people who think bottled/filtered water is better for you than tap water or that they shouldn't get their kids vaccinated. If you don't use your brain to make decisions, you deserve to be "selected" right out of the gene pool.
The food industry is disgusting. The eat a healthy well balanced diet should be less expensive than consuming garbage like this. New York passed a law about soda yet there are chemicals being put in our foods. This is why we have cancers and people are dying. We should be making it less expensive for consumers to eat healthy well balanced diets, health insurance rates will drop and and our health would be better off. The prices of this trash for food should be expensive. Make it more expensive for people to be obese, then we will have people more likely to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. I believe that the government is trying to kill us and control us by letting this stuff happen under our noses.
Where would we be today if people like Upton Sinclair were afraid to write the truth because they would be sued by corporations?
The market should be allowed to decide what people buy, not hiding the truth and misinformation by greedy corporate pigs. I bet the owners of the pink slime company never eat their own product!
The issue at hand is…in this chase the charge is “Sinclair” was less than truthful. I’ve seen these reports and they are anything but unbiased.
Consumers have a right to know what they are putting into their bodies. This right trumps that of a greedy corporate pigs profits.
Sinclair wrote a fictional story based upon stories and first hand knowledge.
ABC used spin, omission of facts, and outright lies to stir up all the idiots they have watching their news program.
Really? Well then how come McDonald's who dropped this manufacturer of the pink slime isn't suing ABC also? Surely they'll be looking to make up the added cost of now having to provide a product that isn't dirt cheap because it's treated with Ammonia, no?
There's nothing wrong with the meat... Poeple have been eating if for years and now it's just the worst thing you have ever had. If people knew half of what they were eating Bloomberg wouldn't need to control what you eat and drink. You'd be some skinny folks.
There is something wrong with the meat. It is mislabeled. The meat has had chemicals added to it and the public has not been informed. In my opinion this is fraud.
The food lobby spends millions of dollars to make sure we DON'T know what's in our food. They derailed the labeling of frankenfoods – i.e. cloned meat, milk and dairy from cloned cows, genetically modified corn and grains, etc – as well as the use of BGH, mega-doses of antibioitics, feeding herbivores ground up bone meal, and on and on. They've made it their business to hide what's in their product because they KNOW Americans wouldn't buy it if we knew what they were doing to it.
They can say that 'pink slime' is perfectly safe, and maybe it is. But it is *also* gross and disgusting and I'd rather not eat it, which I think is probably the prevailing attitude of most people. The only thing ABC did was tell us the truth and let us decide if that's what we wanted to put into our bodies. The meat manufacturers are just upset that we *don't* want to eat their cheap filler, and now that we know, we WON'T eat it. And that hits their paychecks.
I think calling it LFTB is dishonest and misleading. They should be sued for calling this crap as food!
That is because you are ignorant.
You are mean but he is far from ignorant. We have a right to know what we are putting in our bodies and what has been done to it. The American food industry has focused on corporate profits ahead of healthy honest food production for many years.
The gall of these – would it be right to say "people"? – to sue ABC for stating facts...THEY should be the ones being sued, or better yet, facing incarceration, for selling something for human consumption that most of us wouldn't feed our pets.
incarceration? really? I don't think the stuff is beef and it is not something I want to consume but if we incarcerated everyone who produced a product that "could" be harmful we would live in a prison, don't buy the product – there will be no demand and they will go out of business – pretty easy
Well some of the people say this is just a bunch of crap stirred up by ABC, Then why doesn't BPI just get out the sausage casings and make "all Beef" wieners and sell them from the pink slime........Oh waite it's because the pink slime can sometimes have the content of 60%+ FAT in it and it would be just a sludge dog. Pink slime is just a filler added to hamburger to make "BPI" and many other companies a lager margin of profit. and give us the consumer a poorer quality of product for the same price.
All of these managers say it is nothing more then ground beef? OK.... reach into the slime bucket and form a patty and cook it and feed it to you and your family every day and let me know how your cholesterol count is if it is nothing more than beef.
Upon further reflection I'm sure their financials did take a hit. But that's because their product looked like...
Never heard of Pink Slime, but it sounds like a more accurate description of the content than "LFTB".
"100% Beef" ? So now they get to argue about the definition of "beef".
Please explain the nutritional value of "connective tissue" and "ammonium hydroxide". And since when is
ammonium hydroxide considered "beef" ?
Ok, you've filed your motion, now, where's the beef?
A pile of cow manure can be said to be 100% beef. As long as it comes from a bovine animal. In fact, I'm pretty sure McDonalds uses some manure in their burgers. Or at least it tastes that way!
How is it that you know what cow manure tastes like?
honestly they will probably not argue what beef is but "beef product" lawyers are tricky like that - just ask Clinton it depends on the definition of what "is" is....
The truth is a complete defense to defamation...
The beef producers in America have been poisoning Americans for many years by adding chemicals and waist products to the beef. One has to be crazy or stupid or poor to buy beef products in a supermarket. Pink Slime is what is sounds like " Slime" and who wants to eat that garbage.
Maybe it could also be argued that the company that claims they are being defamed is a public figure, then actual malice would be required, which means they would have to prove the people who defamed them actually knew their statements were false
That lawsuit seems frivolous and spiteful. Now that most people are disgusted about the fact that that "beef product" is scraps treated with ammonia, that company is losing business. Using scraps of paper and metal to combine and re-sell is one thing, but trying to peddle trimmings and the like as real meat is completely different.
This is just nasty. The meat industry, cattlemen's association, etc will tell you all sorts of things to get you to keep eating their products. The truth is, it is no longer sustainable. Massive amounts of water and corn, etc go towards raising animals that are then turned into "food". If we instead ate a mostly plant based diet:
We would not have to worry about "pink slime"
More people could be fed
It would use less of our resources
I live in a fairly rural area and there are a lot of cornfields. Guess where most of that corn goes? To feed chickens, etc. Or maybe it gets turned into a dorito chip or in your soft drink. What a waste.
Go eat some kale you hippy. Seriously? Plant based diet? We are omnivores, you dolt. Can you live healthy and be a vegitarian or a vegan? I guess? I wouldn't call it living. Get a clue, man.
Jeremy,
You're the one that needs to get a clue. The cow's aren't meant to eat corn. They're supposed to eat grass. I probably love to eat meat just as you but at least I'm educated enough to know what other animals are supposed to eat. Ignorant name calling doesn't get you anywhere. Read a book or do some research before you spout out nonsense.
Ever since the government subsidized corn, it's been a more cost effective way for farmers to grow corn and use the surplus as feed for animals such as cows, chicken, and pig. I don't blame the farmers for doing so....it's a difficult way to make a living as a farmer, however, it doesn't necessarily produce the healthiest animals for us to eat.
So you're saying we should eat a plant-based diet. Am I correct in thinking corn is a plant? But you say corn doesn't produce the healthiest animals. Ummm...
I cannot believe, after all the evidence that is now available, someone still thinks a plant based diet is unhealthy. It's simply not true. We thrive on eating natural, non chemical injected food, and our bodies do NOT need meat. Read the evidence... take a look at all the athletes becoming vegetarian... unless slow suicide from heart disease from all that fatty cholesterol is how you choose to end your own life. Look around and see the obese and blubbery people wobbling out of those junk food places, I guarantee that they have lots of health problems. Fortunately people are becoming more educated. Humans do not need meat – especially today with the way they add crap to it just to increase their profits. If that pink slime was safe, why try to hide the fact that it's there?
Jeremy--ummm, OK..... because namecalling is always the mature course to take when refuting an argument, right?
OMG your "if we just ate a more plant based diet" we would be ok...is so stupid and misinformed it blows my mind. We have enough arable land in this country to feed our citizens and our citizens alone (without using GMO's and mass meat production facilities) if you want to have an economy and sell things to other countries your plant based diet mantra is laughable. You cant produce enough calories...quit reading blogs and go actually learn by doing. The issue is over population and no one really wants to talk about the root cause you just keep repeating crap you learned on the internet. STFU
My family of four has been following a plant based diet for a year, and it works welll for us. Don't knock what you haven't tried yourself my friend! We do have animal products but only every few months instead of daily. Never been healthier. So it can and does work, actually. No need to be hostile.
Beef > plants.
Don't get me wrong – I like my vegetables too. But nothing beats a nice, thick, grilled steak. Potatoes and lima beans on the side, fresh-baked rolls with butter... yep. That's just about heaven, right there.
And it all starts with the beef.
To have a healthy diet your really should limit your consumption of red meat, this is well proven by the medical establishment. Swapping fish or poultry for most of your beef dishes on average will lead to longer life expectancy.
I grow my own chickens and eat them during the times when I can't afford the beef at the local butcher shop. At least my chickens are free range and antibiotic free. Can the big suppliers gaurantee that with their product, I doubt it. My local butcher does.
Reporters should be protected from these lawsuits. It comes down to these multi billion dollar companies being able to sue anyone who exposes their dirt. Reminds me of Monsanto trheatening Fox for exposing their cancer causing bovine growth ormone milk and pulling the story from the tv. Monsanto still sells it here in the USA even after it was banned around the world. Someon has to protect the public.
Upvote. (since there isn't a button available to do so here!)
Enough of this already! Check what's in your fruit juices, your boxed prepared foods, and even your multi-vitamins!
Unfortunately, reading labels doesn't help much when they aren't telling the whole truth. There's a reason they give ingredients unpronounceable names – they don't want you to know what it is. Monsanto is the worst, hiding the fact that their corn, tomatoes and other products have been modified so much they bear little resemblance to the vegetable they started with.
If the supermarket visitors raised their own beef the only parts not used would be the bones and hove. The eaters of animals have completely disconnected from the real world.
All parts of the cow is edible except the hove and bones and incidentally, bones make an excellent soup.
Bones and hooves are made into jello.
No harm in eating all the animal, boiling bones down to get gelatin (also why they're good in soups as they help thicken it) nothing wrong with that. I personally don't think that there's anything wrong with the use of ALL the trimmings, a creature died for our consumption it is only respectful to use ALL OF IT.
If you're squeemish don't eat meat or animal products, seriously. Eggs are the just the chicken menses, jello and A LOT of candies contain reduced animal bones, when we eat sausage we're eating the poop track, hotdogs contain noses lips and tounge along with other ofal.
Eating delicous animals is our natural right as omnivores, being pu__ies about it isn't.
If you go back and look at the picture of the product which went with story it doesn't look like the fine ground beef pictured in this story. I dont't believe I've ever seen ground beef that looks like soft-serve ice cream.
Mmmmm, beef chocolate chip, my favorite! :)
We're eating less and less meat these days in my house. I don't want to eat this sh*t that they're giving us.
You can sometimes buy Australian grass fed at Trader Joes, and very rarely (more rarely than I'd care for) you can also get ground bison there. These mega conglomerate animal torturers cannot force feed corn to bison, it just doesn't work. Feeding them what they don't eat naturally (corn) gives them diarrhea and that is why they are pumped full of antibiotics and other chemicals. Or go to your local farmers market, although that's not a guarantee it'll be chemical free.
Who on that jury will ever eat ground beef again after all that testimony?!?!
Personally I find it insulting that they would consider the American public to lack the intelligence to understand what was being reported. They owe us an apology and I hope ABC prevails b/c their claim is baseless and frivolous. I'm sure they're losing money, but it's only b/c the truth was being reported.
Another clueless american meat eater.
Another sheep, following blindy because Uncle Sam says its ok...
Can I sue the makers of pink slime for wasting time and money on a frivolous lawsuit?
NO sane person considers connective tissue to be "beef"....there is a reason scrapple doesn't get called ham or bacon...
Connective tissue is beef if it comes from a steer. Learn more about what the world eats and how healthy they are before throwing the best cuts in the trash.
Well prepared cartilage is delicious.
Scrapple is mostly corn meal. That's why its not called bacon or ham.
A person didn't care until they were told. Guess what else you don't know? Look up Monsanto. These (and others similar) are the people we should be putting out of business. It amazes me how many people could care less that the world food supply is being contaminated for profit.
that's like suggesting that arsenic can't kill you unless you know you've consumed it. The fact is that this company mis-represented their product of a MASSIVE scale and when the truth was revealed by the various news organization, the PUBLIC made the obvious decision to not eat it which made the pink slime company collapse...
Go ABC News for exposing this further and helping to make our food safe and fit for human consumption (first saw reference to this in the Food Inc movie and stopped eating beef). It's reporting like this that will drive more market share.
Shame on the FDA/USDA for not stopping this practice a long time ago (and feeding this stuff to our kids)! Also boo to BPI and their executives for trying to make a profit at the expense of unsuspecting consumers.
Suggest folks stop buying beef products until this practice stops (vote with your dollars). Then maybe the beef industry will realize the error of their ways. Hmmm, makes me wonder what other foods we consume contain the same junk???
I am loving that the idiots that make the pink slime are bringing it back into the news again, further damaging their own reputation in an attempt to sue a news organization for being forthcoming and honest
These clowns don't realize that what most Americans aren't objecting to is eating widely varied parts of the cow. RATHER, what we're objecting to is eating the AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE. We adults know there is a reason why we don't want to see sausage being made. But it's all the darn chemicals that they add that we object to.
I hope ABC gets trounced on this one. All of the news media, including this one (i.e. CNN) rarely take the time to find out the facts before reporting anymore. A massive lawsuit such is this, and possibly other ones are needed to re-align the news channels in order to regain trust with the general populous. Short of that, I've relegated all news media to the same status as the national enquirer.
FYI, connective tissue is NOT beef....the makers of pink slime are guilt of defrauding the public...
I suppose you eat pink slime too?
"false, misleading and defamatory statements, repeated continuously during a month-long disinformation campaign"? - Look out FOX news! You may be sued for "birther", global warming denial, and thousands of other disinformation campaigns. (I can only hope)
Really?!??? Then all news media networks should be. All of them are at fault for false stories. FoxNews is not the only one that has published stories of this. As far as global warming there is the same amount of so called experts for and against it. Same for the stupid birther stories flying around. Anyone with any knowledge of photoshop can easy tell that what was published was completely fabricated. I am in no way agreeing with either of these stories to be true or false. Just please look at facts and do some research before singling out one news media
Anyone against global warming is not an expert they are an idiot.
I simply raise my own beef. Pastured in natural conditions, with no hormone injections of any kind. Then it is processed humanely, with no additives there either. If i make a taco or a western omelet, all of the ingredients come fresh from my own farm. All of the animals enjoy cage-less existence, and are free to move about and graze as nature intended. Glad I don't live in the city, where people are packed into high rise buildings, and usually get most of their diet from the store.
You're lucky. Most people have a huge disconnect between their food and the sources of that food.
"I simply raise my own beef.."
Ahahaha! This is laughable!
Having neighbors who also have a farm I know first hand that there's nothing "simple" about it!
Pink Slime is a great name. It sure beats "reconstituted slaughterhouse waste treated with ammonia."
Everyone raise your glasses full of ammonia hydroxide, drink it down, and have another...oh wait I am just eating at a fast food restaurant, I forgot
Pink Slime is not what is served at wendy's or mcdonalds. Sorry, this is labeled grade B, not fit for human consumption, right on the box it comes in. Used to get this junk in the navy. Even prisons do not feed this garbage.
So the term 100% beef basically just means it came from a cow/steer.........anywhere on the body........eyeballs, scrotum, lips, intestines...............and oh yeah, we sprayed ammonia on it to cover it up..........yeah I'm with you buddy!!
"There has to be some consequences for news organizations to be more truthful," stated Beef Products Inc. founder Eldon Roth******** Oh but as a manufacturer you can hide your product in food you want me to buy? WRONG! In my opinion your product is not fit for my dog to eat! If you want to make it, and people are willing to knowingly buy it... well that's on you and them. I want nothing to do with "Carcass Scraps" which is what I consider your vile and disgusting product. Kudos to CNN and ABC for airing the truth and not simply being bought ought by advertisers. Your acts remind me of the misbehavior in the 1920's meatpacking industry.....
They don't do any hiding. That's the companies that make the food. Also, your opinion isn't what counts for the court system or the rest of the country. If any news organizations lied or said negative things that can't be proven, they should be held accountable, regardless of any of our opinions on their product.
Tell that to FOX News.
FactChecker...I see you just can resist attacking Fox. Sorry, CNN, NBC, etc. are no better then. Btw, I don't cherry pick my sources like some will do.
Agreed. The court system in this country follows no logic or public concern, only their graft. How else do you think Super PACS got the OK from the corrupt supreme court?
HA HA HA HA HA HA "If any news organizations lied or said negative things that can't be proven, they should be held accountable" HA HA HA HA HA HA
What universe do you live in sir. You cant pick and choose your lies. Sorry, but if you buy all the other bull crap ....from 9-11 to each and every election.... then you deserve to swallow this one too.
You might want to check that crystal ball that lets you think you know what I believe on other issues. It's not working.
calling connective tissue "beef" is hiding the fact that they are using non-beef parts of the cow in their product...in addition, the claim that it's 100% beef is false if they've added ammonia since ammonia is certainly NOT beef....even the best cut of rib eye is not 100% if anything has been added...MANY places use irradiation to combat e coli, rather than spraying it with chemicals...
Except there's also an entire group of high school dropouts who believe that eating irradiated food will cause birth defects in humans, or that it leaves residual radiation behind. A similar group rails against the use of ammonia without knowing the first thing about how it's used or in what quantities. Apparently it's easier to exist in their own little bubble of ignorance than it is to take the time to learn something new.
So, you sound like you work for those slimy guys!
At the best of times, industrial ground beef ground beef is a nasty product...we all know they put all the horrid animal parts into the product.
Combined with the DNA of probably a thousand animals, adding pink slime is just another nightmare that turns the stomach. It is the ground beef processing companies that should be sued for false advertising.
100% BEEF, give me a break. More like 100% COW would be a better claim for these guys.
Good on the news guys for having 100% HUMAN GUTS to report to on the slimy use of Pink Slime in our beef. Anyone still eat this stuff?
Don't know about you, but my one opinion does count. That's all that matters. I don't buy the stuff anymore.
That's fine to make your own choice, but if the news said anything untruthful that potentially made others make the same decision, I think they should be held accountable.
100% Beef versus 100% Cow, are you fucking retarded?
Oh right, yes, yes you are.
Last time I checked on the meat I buy at the supermarket it doesn't say it was made with scraps of meat and doused in ammonia so explain to me how they were not hiding it.
The they you are referring to is not this manufacturer. They just sell their product to other companies. Who then do the combining/hiding.
Scott B... Then ABC News is not the party who injured this manufacturer. They are suing the wrong people.
Tissue from brains, intestines, and the bladder as well as bone are technically and legally considered beef. That doesn't mean I want to eat it.
beef does NOT equal cow....beef equals MEAT from cow....not connective tissue...
Why would you not want to eat connective tissue?
This is why we can't have nice things. (Or eat nice things, to be more accurate.)
It's a sad state of affairs when consumers are clueless about where food comes from. The heart, tongue, cheeks, kidney, liver and connective tissues are more nutritionally complete than the muscle cuts and yet we turn up our nose at those healthy bits. Americans are the worst in the world for understanding food.
But it causes Gout more than other meats.
Gout is caused by carbs. l
If ground cartilage and ammonia are so awesome good and good for you, then YOU eat the crap and stop trying to SNEAK it onto my plate. I don't see the problem with that. No one is saying you're not allowed to have it.
I actually heard about this several years ago. I can't recall where. Food documentary, maybe?
Anyway, ammonia turns into a gas as soon as it hits air. Probably isn't in your food by the time it's done cooking. Connective tissue is pretty common in food – Jello, anyone? Cows take a lot of food, water, and space to grow into adulthood and be used for food. I can see why such a product exists – people eat a lot of beef, and beef is expensive to raise and slaughter.
Still, I think 100% beef labels are misleading in that people assume 100% beef means 100% muscle with varying levels of fat in a mostly unadulterated form. If the consumer wants to know how their food is processed, companies should be transparent. Part of the ick factor that people have is that they're not used to the idea and have assumed that they buy meat that is mostly muscle. That and it is a little inherently icky.
If people want to stretch ground beef, there are ways of doing it while preparing and cooking that are considered perfectly acceptable to many. Nothing wrong with transparency and letting people decide. Especially considering the people who approve and inspect these practices are government employees.
The official complaint can be found on BPI's website, and a lot of you really should read it. This isn't a case of BPI suing ABC for telling the truth about it's product. According to the complaint, there are several aspects of ABC's reports that are factually incorrect, and in some cases, completely fabricated. There's a lot of comments saying this is going to be thrown out immediately, but if the evidence in the complaint is proven to be correct, BPI has a legitimate case that will receive very serious attention in court.
I admit, I would be happier not knowing how the mystery meat is made but I still want to know these things. Strange dilemma, yes? Beef Products Inc can suck my c0ck. It isn't like it is a government secret. It isn't a crime to disclose the truth about how food served to the masses is processed. If the truth hurts their business, maybe they should reconsider their business. Dirty c0cksuckers.
Your comment would be more tolerable and readable if you cleaned-up your language
You can suck my c0ck too!
Do you type to your mom with those fingers?
trollol is another clueless consumer.
The fact that the meat industry can only add a certain amount of these "trimmings" per unit indicates to me that it is not 100% Beef and when they have to label their packages as Hamburger and not 100% Ground Beef it no longer sounds like beef either.
The biggest problem is our politicians say the public should make their own decisions, but we cannot make correct decisions unless we are provided with all the information. If my pound of ground meat has ammonia washed fillings, this should be indicated on the package, so I can actually decide, if my chicken nuggets are essentially formed lumps of "white slime" then the package should say so.
We need adequate and thorough labeling so we can make informed decisions.
At no point is it mentioned anywhere whatsoever that 'per unit' or other such rules apply to this product. It is 100% a product from beef. It's not hoof, tooth, or skin. That's fact. What you're saying doesn't have the footing behind it to stand on.
Lonny, you need to do some more research outside of this one article.
Knowing what's in it does not make for good decisions unless you know the nutritional value of the meat. The muscle cuts are the least nutritious of all cuts yet this is what the clueless most desire.
How many people wound up with cancer from the non-disclosed preservatives in lunchmeat before (decades later) it was determined to cause cancer? There's no way to know, but had the specific ingredients been listed, people could at least have had a choice in the matter. The idea that people should NOT know what they're eating can be very dangerous indeed.
Personally I could care less so long as the end product tastes good, looks good, and is safe, so I have no problem with LFTB.
Beyond that, here are a few facts to help keep things in perspective, especially considering that so many here are making inaccurate statements.
1) The product here is called LFTB, which stands for lean finely textured beef. The term 'pink slime' may describe how it looks, but it also has a negative impact on people's opinion of the product. If someone looks like an egghead, and people call him an egghead, they may have hurt feelings, but that's probably about it. Now if that person was unable to get a promotion or a new job as a result of that defamation, he would have legal recourse options he could take. In this case 700 people lost their jobs as a result of inaccurate, misleading, or outright false information. They have a case. And I want people to really think about that count. 700 people.
2) But LFTB is gross! I'm not going to eat it! OK, that's your decision, which is fine, but keep in mind that LFTB is an ingredient, and not touted as a main course. Obviously it didn't stop people from buying burgers at McDonalds because consumers thought something tasted funny in their Big Mac, so at the very least, it didn't take away from the flavor provided by anything it has been used in. I assure everyone that there are plenty of ingredients in food that would be absolutely disgusting, if not nearly impossible to eat by themselves -feel free to have a go at the cinnamon challange, folks.
3) "But processed foods are terrible for your health! They take away from your longevity! If we all were just vegitarians/ate gluten free/insert opinion here/etc. etc., all people would look and feel like Greek gods!" Folks, processed food is not bad for you. In fact, the average lifespan of people living in developed countries is decades longer than those in less developed countries, in no small part to our daily diet, which includes food prepared in a way to keep us safe. "But it has ammonia in it! That's dangerous!". No, it's not. The amount used in the treatment of this product is so small that it is no danger to humans whatsoever. On the other hand however, your dog can't safely eat an apple without risking serious injury, or in extreme cases, death, as the seeds have a form of cyannide in them. Just like you need to take the core out of an apple before feeding your dog, so to is LFTB prepared so that it is safe from bacteria that could actually cause harm/death to consumers.
4) "But this used to be dog food! That's gross and I don't like it!" Ok, who cares? Unless something is uniquely wrong with you, we can safely eat every type of dog food out there without a problem. Think of it like a heavy cereal, only most dog foods are more healthy for us (and them), than many cereals. Think about it. When is the last time that you saw a bag of dog food that didn't tout 'high performance', 'longevity', 'heart/bone/"insert thing here" health'. The list goes on. If that doesn't change your perspective, think about the potato. It used to be thought of as only an animal food, for pigs, and prisoners. But then prisoners realized that they felt great after eating potatos, and it wasn't long after that when it became a normal food for others to eat as well.
You imbecile! The issue isn't the product! It is the fact that ABC is being sued for putting it on the news. If Beef Products Inc wins this case, it could cause a chilling effect. Don't know what chilling effect is? Look it up you dumb@ss.
Perhaps you don't understand, or only understand what you want to understand. The article clearly states:
“Through nearly 200 false, misleading and defamatory statements, repeated continuously during a month-long disinformation campaign, ABC and other individuals knowingly misled consumers into believing that LFTB was not beef and not safe for public consumption, which is completely false.”
Being in the news is not the problem. Being misrepresented, is.
All your points may be true, but I would like to share my personal experience with beef products in the last few years. I visited a famous restaurant (that I frequently used) and noted that beef didn't really taste like beef. It felt grainy, not full-boded. I tested a few of the chain stores and decided I wouldn't eat there anymore.
Another incident is when I was buying ground beef in the store and I found that same strange consistency and looked at my package and to my surprise it said "beef trimmings". I should have looked when I bought it, but I had assumed what it was because I had never seen this my grocery before. It was in the ground beef section. It wasn't necessarily this other product in this article (I don't think) but still was something I didn't want to personally buy.
It's a matter of transparency, not anything else for me. I suppose I would use beef trimmings again if hungry and broke enough, but absolutely not until then. It is my choice.
I stopped eating McDonald's burgers years ago, but it had nothing to do with slime. Just a choice to not have grease dripping all over me.. YUCK
I don't know how any restuarant would get famous without using almost exclusively fresh ingredients, but I do know that many mix in their own spices etc. to make themselves stand out. That may explain your experience with them.
I have doubts that any restuarant with a decent level of fame would get that way using processed foods or food products.
It's "couldn't care less," for future reference.
So – you're saying that ABC and other media should not have explained to the public what they are eating, and should not have used the most descriptive term for the wretched filler, You are saying that freedom of speech ends where the ability to make a fast buck begins. You are a Republican.
Commentary like yours is exactly what both creates. and promotes misinformation.
I did not say media should not report this, that they cannot describe what they are referring to, mention freedom of speech in any way, or mention money at any point, let alone mention anything related to politics whatsoever.
Regarding the 'pink slime' term, you could also describe yogurt and a variety of other good, healthy products as 'slime' or 'slimy', but you don't see that in the news. Why? Because the term is defamatory and the term promotes a negative connotation. Refering to FLBT this way is a form of yellow journalism. It was excessively used to promote exaggerated feelings of disgust, and other negative emotions in readers, many of whome who have clearly reacted negatively.
They say 700 jobs lost to provoke anger. What tey don't tell you is that 550 of them were undocumented workers. Give me a break with this lawsuit. They want to feed us garbage most people wouldn't feed to their dogs. Let's take a look at other segments of the food industry and see what else they are slipping in our food for the sake of profit.
Food Inc produced an excellent documentary where this "beef" was coming from and it showed the factories and how it was manufactured and controlled by a central computer system.
There is a short moment where you see this what they refer to as BEEF going into machines, it is enough to make you ill watching it, it did NOT look like beef... It was white and so gross. It was remnants from the floors of slaughter houses, the parts with cattle poop on it. Shoveled off the floor and into trucks and hauled to this guys factory.
The owner of the factory is so full of GLEE when he said at that time his product was in 70% of the food supply and expected it to be at 100% in five years. I am so glad he was exposed for what is really is.
This man made a fortune selling this to the prison systems, the school lunch program, the grocery trade.
I hope ABC does not pay him a PENNY.
He made this product and he was NOT even educated, he was good at making machines, there were no real studies done. A lot of his pink slime had a ton of E Coli in it. He was giving this to the schools for kids!!
He should go to jail, he is lucky no child died at school eating this horrible product.
To think McDonalds were adding this for years into their hamburger. I am so glad I don't like McDonalds and rarely purchased hamburger from the stores.
Watch Food Inc and see the part where this guy showed how it was made and the history of it.
He is NEVER going to win this lawsuit.
You can't sue for slander if news agencies are telling the truth. They were found out and lost business but was it an ethical service to begin with. You can sue for anything.
This has nothing to do with Politics. This has to do with consumer safety. Personally we raise our own beef, this product is made out of scraps we would throw away or feed to the dogs. Some companies try to get away with things like this until they are discovered, or they kill or harm someone and are sued. To them its all about $$$
Dan Webb, Best Products lawyer, has no credibility and likewise neither does the company. How can you sue when you're the criminal company that may a fortune feeding us junk meat. There should be a class action lawsuit against Best Products to put them out of business. They never told us that they were feeding us the worst, even diseased part of the animal. They should be sued and forced out of business for the fact that they haven't learned their lesson.
The makers of the pink slime have alot of gall trying to sue a whistle blower.
That's what republicans do though; try to skirt regulation and sell unhealthy products, if it can enhance the profit margin.
To all those who reported on this disgusting additive, I say BRAVO!.
I would say shame on you to the makers, but republicans of that ilk know no shame.
slow down Jim. What's politics got to do with this? It's a health issue
I don't like thew slime add to beef , I know most hamburger has some degree of trimmings added to it, but the "slime" is added filler and pure profit for the manufacturer. it's like buying gas and getting 20% ethanol add it to it without you knowing about it and it's now a poorer quality product. Face it , if pink slime wasn't used it would just be added to animal products or just disposed of.
How about we just skip fast food meals altogether, and eat real food, like whole cuts of organically-raised, free range meat? Or, better yet, let's just skip meat altogether, like over 2 billion healthy people worldwide do, instead of making "pink slime" by artificially processing waste scraps, and "udders, trotters, and snouts"? EEEEooooow! You can grow a heck of a lot more crops to feed people on the amount of land used for grazing meat animals, and you can use the grain that they are fed to feed people.
It's enough to drive one to vegetarianism, or drink. I mean, would anyone go out and buy beef trimmings treated with chemicals? I guess this is another one of the corporate benefits of deregulation. The government should make them put warning labels on things that no one in their right mind would buy if they knew what they were buying. Of course now that we know who they are and what they are up to we could all just boycott this company. Then they'd have to back to putting the scraps and waste products in dog food and cat food instead of selling it for human consumption.
So instead you suggest we go out and eat genetically altered vegetables that have been treated with chemicals proven to be carcinogenic or toxic to humans? At least the laws have prevented the genetic alteration of animals.
And If you are so worried about ammonium hydroxide then you need to take a long look at many of your products, including those vegetables you tout so much. Ammonium hydroxide has been used, safely, for years to reduce or prevent E. Colli growth on more than just meat. Also, once heated to 160 degrees or higher it breaks down. The ammonia binds to the liquified fat (grease) and the water evaporates. As for the "unsavory" portions of the meat, meat is meat is meat. Even if left unground it is safe, and even healthy, to eat, even if it's appearance is unsavory. Once ground no one can tell what came from where, but it is still 100% beef. Would you rather we waste food that can cheaply feed more people in favor of only consuming the more appetizing (and more expensive) portions of the animal?
Dude, don't you get it? Just stop eating the animal!
You do need to eat produce to live, unless you plan on taking vitamin supplements and Miralax for the rest of your life. And it takes fewer resources to raise plants than cows. Legumes, which are vegetation, work well for protein. And vegetation has varying levels of pesticide residue found in the finished product that could be small or could be significant.
And I think the OP was kidding.
Not all plants are GMO. The major ones often are, however – soy, corn, wheat, sugar beets, and the rapeseed varient being notable. Meat is on it's way. Livestock already eat GMO food. And they are often treated with mass quantities of antibiotics and hormones, depending on the animal.
It's ideal to get food (vegetation or animal) from someone you know or raise/hunt/fish it yourself, considering the reports that come out from time to time regarding certified organic farms engaging in factory farming and stores selling foods labeled organic that aren't. Way to go, USDA and big corporations.
If that isn't doable, it might be best just to stay away from the big offenders as much as possible. Black beans beat One-A-Day and Miralax.
Apparently someone forgot to tell BPI that majority of what is said on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Faux News, MSNBC, and BBC America is protected under the Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press. An idiot in New York City tried the same thing by suing the New York Times for defamation of Character(NEW YORK TIMES CO. v. SULLIVAN, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)) and lost.
Yup, I was thinking the same thing myself, they will not only have to prove that the reporting was false but also that it was malicious under the standards set by that case. They have a high bar to hurdle to make their case stick. Frankly, I support ABC's position. By the way, pink slime is the beef product, they do the same thing with chicken...so I don't eat chicken mcnuggets anymore or any kind of formed chicken...its the same process they are using to make that stuff too.
My credentials:
- MeatCutter for 12 years for 6 various different chains and environments (wholesale, packing, retail)
- Intelligent, logical, reasonable individual
- I probably know more about the subject than you
With that said, consider:
- Beef "scraps" come from pieces of WHOLE meat that have been trimmed from steaks and whole-muscle cuts
- Connective tissues are found in commercially available steaks in your supermarket (Top Sirloin, NY Strip, Bottom Round (especially the "heel" of the round"), chuck roasts.. ever bitten into a piece of beef and felt the little "chewy"? what do you think that is? if you said "connective tissue?" you're absolutely 100% right.
- The difference between the ground beef that doesn't contain pink slime and the one that does, is "pink slime" starts out WITHOUT pink slime, it's started the same way, the difference is it's run through a finer plate on the grinding machine (think hot dog consistency) about 2-3 more times and mixed with low levels of ammonia which are safe enough for human consomption yet potent enough to kill harmful bacteria that will come inheirently from the meat of several dozen animals potentially included in the product, however the risk is offset of anything being contracted due to the proper concentration of ammonia being used.
- Raw milk is exponentially more hazardous than LFTB, as is raw produce/mushrooms/nuts.
Please stop living in fear and believing the media when they tell you something. Modern media's mission is to create a cult-like following by preying upon people's fears and giving them things that makes them think they can trust them.
Think for yourself. People have been eating McDonalds for decades and the fries are more hazardous to your health than the beef is.
It is not a matter of fear mongering of the media, mr journeyman. It is a matter of not wanting this in my food. However if you like it, you can think for yourself and eat it. I prefer unprocessed connective tissue with more meat than connetive tissue in my food.
There are just so many other things which are much more worthy of your worry. LFTB is harmless. If you don't want it, that's your choice, but this shouldn't be treated like the media unveiled this "great revelation" - I must ask, if one is SO concerned about the quality of their food, why would one not go to great pains to produce it themselves? Because the answer is simple: You want it done for you, perfectly, to your standards. Sorry, only way to get something like that, is do it yourself. Like it or lump it, thats the only way it is
Are you saying that if you dont grow your own food, tough shisky, eat what we give you? Please let me know where you work at so I make sure not to buy products from that company.
You clearly live in a black or white world. There is an enormous difference between growing everything yourself and asking that food manufacturers not lie (even if by omission) regarding the contents of a product.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where many businesses have lost consumer confidence because they cut corners and cheat the consumer by doing things like keeping the packaging the same size and putting less contents in it, or substituting a long established product for a cheaper version. Business ethics drop to a new low every day and today's business motto is "If it's not legislated or the average consumer won't notice or care, screw the consumer, save a dollar and make sure the CEO gets his or her bonus. The pink slime industry obviously knows they were deceiving the consumer within the bounds of law and is just pi&&ed about being caught.
How about we just skip fast food meals altogether and eat whole cuts of organically-raised, free range meat? Or, better yet, let's just skip meat altogether, like over a billion healthy people worldwide do, instead of making "pink slime" by artificially processing waste scraps, and "udders, trotters, and snouts"? EEEEooooow! You can grow a heck of a lot more crops to feed people on the amount of land used for grazing meat animals, and you can use the grain that they are fed to feed people.
The mass production, and processing, of grain products is one of the leading causes of diabetes, and obesity, in the world.
That's because in our society, food is produced according to profitability, not to nutritional value
I don't eat the connective tissue or fat; I consider it unhealthy. Why would I consider eating after processing with a chemical, which makes it even worse? You make a case for the anti-processing people.
When I eat a piece of beef I use a knife for good reasons–among them is to cut out excess fat, connective tissue and other parts I consider unpleasant, unpalatable waste. I don't eat that stuff when eating a steak or a roast, I don't want it treated with ammonia and stuffed into a hamburger either.
BPI has simply lost market share that was gained under an omission of information – there's no wrong doing in providing information that consumers have a right to know.
If the courts side with BPI in this they send a clear message that corporate interests and money outweigh the public interest and right to make informed buying choices.
Wrong. They send a message that the News media WILL be held accountable for what they broadcast. Freedom of speech is one thing, but spreading falsities as fact is a public disservice.
I'm waiting for the story that says science was wrong, all the satellites are a hoax and the world is provably flat. People will then create a petition to have all "round world" propaganda removed from the public schools. Scientists will be discredited and we'll go back to believing that you can actually sail off the edge of the world...
1) My guess is this will be a jury trial, so it won't be "courts" but jurors.
2) And if they do side with BPI, it wouldn't be the first time that corporate greed won out, now would it?
Anything that has been modified or laced with chemicals is not food anymore. All this stuff has nothing to do with nutrition and everything to do with profits. I'm all for corporations making all the profits they can but not by selling stuff instead of food. Real food is expensive in the short run and a screaming deal in the long run.
Hmmm. So cheese isn't food. Or sauerkraut. Or lambics. Or salami. Just to name a handful of the many foods that contain ammonia naturally. The same is true for squid, octopus and other seafood.
One Ammonia Burger w/ Cheese! Would you like Fries with that?
This stuff was only in cat and dog food until recently... Why do they think they deserve 1.2 billion? Because abc did their job reporting news? Letting the cat out of the bag that dog food was being mixed into our burgers, evil abc how dare you!?
They are feeding us stuff that looks like the crap on the Matrix movie. Is this really the future of food? I hate to see what our Grandchildren will be eating.
Yes. Meat scraps, connective tissue, and ammonia sounds like wondrous fare for school age children.
You forgot the fecal matter.
It's the yummy fecal matter that requires the use of ammonia in the first place.
They are using a similar process for chicken, beaks included....whoever thought that we'd come so close to the movie Soylent Green. Why not serve "human protein" next? And while we're at it let's solve the social security/medicare problem by exterminating people at a certain age (for food for the rest of course).
EAT ME!!!!!!!!
Can I sue them for feeding me poison without me knowing?? Where is the research where it shows how safe ammonia is? I want to talk to the person who was the lab rat who had high doses of ammonia. Oh wait, that person doesn't exist. It's all about greed!
Well, ammonia is extremely common in foods. It occurs naturally as a product of bacterial action in lambics, salamis and other cured meats, and many cheeses. Brie, for example, can contain enough ammonia to give off a distinct aroma – which is considered a mark of high quality among devotees, and the amount of ammonia present is thousands of times greater than what's found in processed meat.
So the safety of ammonia is well established by hundreds of millions of people happily consuming it for thousands of years, all over the world.
Can't they just change the name to soylent green and tell the public that it will cost th em less money? Listen, all they have to do to combat ABC with their reporting is put out there own report to let the public know that although the product is spiked with ammonia is actually good for them. If they mix it with bleach it becomes hydrochloric acid, which helps desolve......everything in its path. Sell the merits. It will help digest you food.....big time. Big cattle went after Oprah for knocking beef too, they lost and for a simple reason. People make choices and they can choose to not eat pink slime. Hey, it could have gone the other way, people could have gobbled up more as a result of the ABC report. Would BPI then have sued ABC for increasing their sales? I think not. The suit is without merit, just like the product. Journalist report and we the public decide the merits of the reporting and we make choices accordingly, end of story.
We are luck enough to live in an area with a number of grocery stores and though I knew nothing of the pink slime, it was easy to tell that some stores sold a much higher quality of hamburger than others. I always felt ripped off with the quality (the cheap flavor and shrinkage when cooking the meat) when buying the cheap stuff so years ago I decided to go with the burger that had the richer/darker color. After the news releases about the slime, the local stores all made statements regarding their use or non-use of the slime and sure enough, I had unknowingly avoided buying the pink slime. I'm just happy my concerns were ultimately validated.
Uhhh, that richer darker color just means more dye has been injected. You would not buy meat presented with it's natural color. Ooopsie!
Uhhh, no, it doesn't mean that at all.
Don't buy just "hamburger" it could be anything, including pink slime. Buy with a source meat label, like ground sirloin, round or chuck. In that order of quality. Chuck being the fattiest and having the greater shrinkage. However, you still have to worry whether the store actually used the source meat indicated on the label and whether they adulterated it in any way to increase profit.
About "Generally Recognized As Safe":
This is an FDA standard meaning that a food additive was never tested because whomever FDA relied upon (obviously, usually food industry-paid scientists) believe the product is safe. This "standard" (that is, they industry says its gook is OK) grandfathered in hundreds of food additives when the FDA started regulating food in 1958.
So lets see, hamburger is ground up beef trimmings. What is all the fuss about? If LFTB truely bothers you, then you shouldn't eat meat in the first place. It is not a filler, nor something that is non-meat. It is beef trimmings, finely ground up and treated so they are safe to eat. It is still beef!! And yes, ABC, along with others should be sued for saying anything else. Report it for what it is, and stop being an outlet for PETA.
Are you truly that ignorant or deliberately disingenuous?
It is a mix of beef scraps and connective tissue, treated with ammonium hydroxide.
Is ammonium hydroxide a regular part of your diet?
Is connective tissue a regular part of your diet?
Thank you in advance for your reply regarding your own culinary tastes.
GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) is an FDA standard meaning that a food additive was never tested because whomever FDA relied upon (obviously, usually food industry-paid scientists) believe the product is safe. This "standard" (that is, they industry says its gook is OK) grandfathered in hundreds of food additives when the FDA started regulating food in 1958.
"Is ammonium hydroxide a regular part of your diet?
Is connective tissue a regular part of your diet?"
Yup. Both are very common. Anyone who's ever eaten brisket or pork shoulder has eaten loads of connective tissue – it runs all through those cuts. And ammonia is extremely common in lots of foods, particularly those prepared using bacterial action – cheese, lambics and a variety of cured meats. There is so much ammonia in some types of brie that you can distinctly smell it – thousands of times more than what you would find in processed meat. Squid and octopus also contain high levels of ammonia.
It's precisely this sort of distortion that brought this lawsuit.
Hey smart one, I dont think pork shoulder and beef brisket compare to processed connective tissue with beef scraps. By the way, I wonder what the concentration of Ammonia in parts per million in this crap compared to other foods you have stated. People like you are the reason why businesses continue to work the system and justify what they do to feed people crap
Yo 6degrees, not only does anyone who has eaten a brisket or pork shoulder know beforehand that it contains connective tissue, but they also know it all came from the same animal. As for your examples of ammonia in other foods, those all occur naturally. They aren't intentionally saturated with toxic gas.
Great, Then you eat the pink slime as a protest. I sure as hell aint.
Did you read the whole article?
"trimmings" are one thing. It's pretty obvious the slime is little more than low quality fat with just enough meat to give it a pink color, which does not take very much. The issue shouldn't be so much about the issue of eating meat, but rather the consumer being cheated on prices and fooled into purchasing an extremely low quality meat of a highly questionable origin and in return being told it has a lot of flavor, which for the most part comes from the high fat content.
You know pink slime was only used in dog food and cat food until recently? I am a human I occasionally share my food with pets, I don't want them to share their food with me.
As a consumer I have the right to demand a higher quality product then pink slime.
If you read the complaint, it sounds like BPI may have a legitimate beef (get it? – I just made that up, all by myself).
A lot of folks probably wouldn't touch some ground beef if they knew carbon monoxide was pumped into the packages – not to retard spoilage, but rather to retard browning of the fresh meat. A package with air space rather than the wrapping touching the meat is the giveaway.
Stores around me readily admitted that they used CO to retard the changing color of the meat, I've never heard anybody complain about it.
They were feeding us dog food (by-products) and selling it as ground beef. They should be sued for every penny they made under their false advertising.
Freedom of speech and press will ensure that this lawsuit is tossed.
Depends. People are free to say whatever they like – but if they make things up that are harmful to another party, they can easily be sued successfully.
Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time a news organization indulged in manufacturing a story. But that'll be for a judge and jury to decide.
Agreed, like busineess manufacturing slime and calling it beef... wait a minute
Who fraking cares if it's safe, it's NASTY!
Thank you, we are the consumer, and if we find something unpalatable for what ever reason we don't have to buy it, ABC should not be held accountable for simply telling us how this stuff is made and how it is being mixed into our food.
All the comparisons with other similar products we eat just simply do not make the pink slime any better. I'm glad it's out of fast food and I'm glad it's out of schools. To me this sounds like a good start!
God bless the journalists who uncovered this and brought it to light. Please, let's not punish them.
When ABC wins this absurd lawsuit, they should get the 1.2 billion from the idiots suing them.
Agreed!
I only feel bad about the 700+ people who lost their jobs
those 700+ people were feeding us dog food and were laid off when the bigwigs realized that wasn't going to fly any more
Nothing wrong with the product, except that people don't want to eat filler. When I buy beef I want what I think beef is and I don't think of scraps chemically processed as beef. I wouldn't want it if it was made from pure chicken breast. Filler is filler.
Cat food is safe for public consumption but i bet children services would be knocking on your door if you were feeding it to your kids.
What they're really mad about is reporting vs. publishing press releases. They wanted to control the message and couldn't. They got labeling laws on their side but couldn't control the pesky media. Thank goodness for a free media!!!!
Maybe "Animal scraps" and other dead things may be safe for human consumption but guess what? So is Soylent Green!
"other dead things"?
Filet mignon is a dead thing. I'm not really seeing your point.
ABC News just told people what BPI sold, no more, no less. If the public stopped buying their stuff, that is just how the free market works. Beef Products Inc. needs to focus on what people want to buy instead of whining and looking for a free handout. I am sick of this entitlement crap.
The company is mad because people don't want to eat that slop filler passed off as "meat". Tough.
Not many people are going to buy this rebuttal, we knew before this ABC report that what they do to beef is disgusting, but I guess the lawsuit will create a bit of doubt in some people's minds as to the filthiness of Pink Slime. All in a days work for the beef people.
Not a smart move! They think selling 2 million pounds instead of 5 is bad? Wait until the stuff they put in your food is paraded in the court room and is all ove the TV screens. They won't sell a pound of this sludge. They are just hoping that ABC will settle, but ABC won't because there is not even remote chance that this lawsuit is going anywhere.
Amen to that
Would you feed this shît to your pet? Would you feed your family this toxic chemical brew masquerading as meat? Thanks ABC for calling this stuff what it is.... pink slime. Actually, thats generous.
Ammonia would not be needed to kill E. coli if the animals were cared for properly and weren't constantly standing in their own waste until they were slaughtered. The real problem with our food industry today is that it is a monopoly. Of course the products are going to be a lower quality when all you care about is production time and costs. Sure, 700 low paying jobs may have been lost, but think how many people lost their jobs when these giant corporations began making and selling meat to every town and city in the U.S. for a cheaper price. Also, just because eating this beef isn't causing human health problems now, doesn't mean it is necessarily safe. Long term testing is needed for that, and by then it will be too late. In 50 years, many of these chemicals could be found to be carcinogenic. Look at the nicotine industry.
Agreed. This lawsuit is going to rip open the meat industry and show us what they're really doing to our food. It's really stupid of them to file a lawsuit. Too much of the American food supply is loaded up with antiobitics, pesticides, extreme growth fertilizers, color dyes, and god knows what else (I would never have thought of ammonia-saturated cow tendons, would you?) I think it's high time we have a serious conversation in this country about the quality of food we pay for, consume, and feed our children. I say, at the very least, vote with your dollar. Don't patronize fast food places, at least.
Take the part of the beef that is not meat, acid wash it, color it to look like meat and then sell it as meat for the same price. Great business model. The only trouble is....if people find out they are paying for a filler would they still want to purchase it? Better yet, would they want to eat it or feed it to their children? Sounds like LFTB wasn't in the business model of the food industry. If the cow found out......that would be one Mad Cow.
Let's see if the courts agree with you. I certainly do. It's outrageous that the FDA has allowed them to get away with this "bait and switch." I think they should be sued, shut down, and run out of town on a rail.
Given that the FDA and USDA are practically owned by the industries they regulate, its no surprise that they allow what they do. Its also why beef is confusingly labelled as to quality, no matter what the grade it sounds good (like "choice" versus "Prime").
Sounds to me like some of these BPI defenders might be on a payroll... "awww ammonia is great!!" Yeah I'm sure it is...
God forbid that a news outlet be held accountable for trying to influence public opinion through selective reporting of partial facts. I mean, how could Obama ever be President if the press had to be...oh...objective?
I agreed with your comment. I want the manufacturer win this case and put ABC out of business. If ABC doing there job, they should investigate the food that we import from China.
I agreed with your comment. I want the manufacturer to win this case and put ABC out of business. If ABC doing their job, they should investigate the food that we imported from China. Let hope we can get the Pink Slime on ABC.....
If the manufacturer is as fault, We should fire all of the Food and Drug Administration agency. They did not do their job to protect American. Another example why we do not need a big government.
Actually what you do need is government inspectors. the US meat industry has been corrupted by the in-house inspectors, the FDA is no longer hands on, some company lawyers convinced the government that they could do a better job if they had there own inspectors rather than the FDA's.... only objectivity went out the window. But 'pink slime' isnt the same problem. It may be 'safe' but saying its 100% beef (not including the ammonia is a stretch) is correct, its just not what we would call 100% meat.
It is washed with ammonia to kill bacteria, ammonia isn't included in the product enough to say "It's 99% beef, 1% ammonia".
Is it possible to have just one news report who's comment section is not hijacked into "dont trust the liberal media. Liberal media is bad, mkay"
What does Pink Slime have to do with Obama? This is not political, this is our right to know what we are eating. I prefer 100% pure slimeless beef. Please media, continue doing your duty to inform the popoulation of what is happeneing here.
Most meat products are disgustingly unhealthy and it is why my husband and I became vegetarians nearly 20 years ago. We became vegans a year ago and now are the most healthy we have ever been – I am in my 50s and my husband is my 60s. We have no health issues, take no medications, and are in better health than all of our friends.
I cannot imagine how anyone would eat any product like "pink slime" or with chemicals in it like ammonia. We should be suing this company for misleading the public by putting this toxic garbage in the meat people eat and not disclosing it.
It's getting harder to find "real" food that has not been genetically altered, infused with chemicals, or loaded with corn filers and ridiculous amounts of sugar per serving. No wonder we have an obsesity crisis with children with diabetes by age 10.
We need to end the power of the food lobbies destroying our health for greed and absurd profits.
Two things.
1. Meat isn't "disgustingly unhealthy".
2. You are not better than me because I eat meat.
I know you think you are somehow above people because they eat meat, but I assure you, you're not. MANY people live long healthy lives eating meat, just like many vegetarian and vegan people die young. Life will kill you, and as long as people eat things in moderation they can extend their life, even with eating meat. I've got no problem with people choosing to be vegan or vegetarian, but don't try to use it as some holier-than-thou "I'm going to live forever and you're about to die" card.
Wow Wes, take things personally much? Most conventional meat products are pretty gross if you see how they're produced. When we can afford it, I look for local, grass fed, old-school raised beef and chicken. For several reasons: the environment impact, respect for the lives of the animals, and it really does taste better! I'm not saying this to denigrate anyone's choice in foods, but to share in case someone else might be interested in other options besides what the modern convention has told us how and what to consume. The facts are these: People 100 ago ate a lot less meat (once or twice a week,) and got along just fine. Our modern way of eating meat and processed foods with at almost every meal, contributes to cholesterol problems and diabetes, and farmers trying to over-produce with awful crowding and mal-nourishing the animals. The FDA approved food pyramid is a joke, on us.
To Lyn – Continued good health to you!
BerverlyNC, continued good health to you! And lyn too, of course.
C, great point. Did you know that BPI won a food safety award for lean, finely textured beef before all this garbage? And did you know that ammonia is used in thousands of food products to keep food safe? Probably not. Continue to rush to judgement and be uninformed. Everyone else I'd doing it.
So, what? They won an award for passing off dog food as human food. Come to think of it, I wouldn't knowingly give this to my dog. Thanks for the tip on the ammonia in other foods, now I know to keep an eye out.
There's TONS of stuff in food that one wouldn't normally expect to eat that is perfectly safe. Even plants have toxins in them both naturally and from pesticides and other sources (contimation during transit, etc). Our bodies are designed to deal with a great deal of difficult substances, and yours does all the time. Trust me, the FDA does a good job of keeping us safe. As much as you seem to think eating a hamburger is the same as drinking a bottle of ammonia, it's not the same, it's safe.
FDA, blah blah blah. Sure, our bodies can tolerate a bit of abuse, so let's push the envelope? How about we start using "safe" amounts of car coolant in our drinks (i hear it's real sweet.) The less amount of ammonia in my diet the better; diet is a pretty personal thing. The issue here was that the industry (fast food, beef processors) weren't transparent, and passing off things as more premium than they were: 100% beef. Meaning this came from a cow 100%, we just won't tell you what part it came from! People want to be able to choose what to put into their mouths, and not have some government entity with other agendas besides your or my well-being.
I believe we all have the right to assume that when we eat a hamburger, there are no lips, dicks or assholes in our meat. If you like that stuff by all means, help yourself.
I saw and read about this story all over why is ABC being singled out? maybe they have the deepest pockets? cha ching? anyway it isn't abc fault that all those people lost their jobs over this, BPI emplyed thousands to create this pink junk its BPI own fault not abc for revealing the practice! i hope abc gets an award for the revelation but by no means are they the only news outlet or reporting mechanism that printed and broadcast this story.
The article specifically stated that the lawsuit is targeting ABC because they had a prolonged campaign against the company and fabricated details in an attack on them. Other news organizations simple reported on the process, ABC made stuff up for their own benefit (ratings, selling ads, etc).
let them try to prove that. they are as truthful about some 'prolonged blah blah blah; as they are about the 100% beef. give us a break......
So basically its Hamburger, mixed with more Hamburger, (parts of the cown that cannot be sold as "Steak and Roasts). Boy am I glad they cleared that up! I think I'll go fire my BBQ and have a nice juicy Double Cheese Burger w/ Bacon and all of the trimmings! Really you mornons!?
dude a hoof is not hamburger and if you have to dye it the same color as the meat somethings wrong.
I like my slime a little less pink in the middle.
Yes, we should set aside judgment of those "real people" involved in Big Pink Slime.
if you didnt grow or slaughter it yourself then dont act surprised about whats in it. It is the same thing as leaving a drink of yours unattended in a room full of douche bags while you use the restroom and are surprised when you find out too late that they spit in it....same thing the food industry being the douche bags here.
Don't forget other pink slime products like hotdogs, sausage, many processed lunch meats, spam and other canned meats, frozen meat dinners, many fast food places, mini mart foods like Arco, and just about anywhere cheap food is sold to the masses. Good luck everybody.
Once again, a fine example of the armchair experts spewing their verbal flatulence throughout CNN forums. Had the products been clearly labelled that they contained "beef trimmings" that had been treated with chemicals, then the public could make an informed decision as to whether or not to purchase the product. As for all the other fast food you mentioned, well, enjoy. I for one don't ever partake in it. What I do enjoy however is a quality ground beef that hasn't been misrepresented or disguised so an "industry" can succeed.
Nah, just pay attention. I'll prefer the Hebrew National hotdogs, I know what's in 'em!
Pink slime is banned in Canada and Europe. I guess Corporate America doesn't have any problem feeding dog food to Americans.
That's because people in Canada and Europe are just duimber and can be scared with big words. They prefer simple ideas that appeal to their limited intellects.
A few years ago the documentary Food Inc highlighted the fact that ammonia is used in ground beef to kill E. Coli. I haven't eaten a fast food burger next. The buzz created by the 'pink slime' term really brought this the attention it deserves. Good for ABC.... And for these clowns trying to sue them: it's called freedom of speech folks. If you didn't manufacture a product for human consumption that most people use to clean their bathroom with, you wouldn't have anything to worry about. Greedy bastards.
I meant I haven't eaten a fast food burger since.... I shouldn't comment on these things after a 12 hr work day and a glass of wine!
Nothing illegal about telling people what they are eating last I checked the first amendment.
I wonder just how many other food products people would stop buying if we knew what was in them. It really is disgusting who they make pink slime and what is in it. It really is not all beef, and connective tissue is not beef. Real beef also does not have ammonia in it.
I hope they lose the case. All ABC did was reveal to people what they are actually eating, and some people will certainly choose to no longer eat it. Tough. The company should have told the world before the news had to. People have a right to know what's in their food.
Most people already eat pink slime without even knowing it. It's called hot dogs.
Do not forget sausage, many processed lunch meats, spam and other canned meats, frozen meat dinners, many fast food places, mini mart foods like Arco, and just about anywhere cheap food is sold to the masses. Good luck everybody.
I GUESS WE ARE IN THE YEAR OF THE 1 BILLION LAWSUITS!
What I found disturbing is that the amount of ammonia needed to sanitize the stuff created a noxious aftertaste and odor. Not surprisingly, the manufacturers would use less than the recommended amount, reducing the off flavors, but increasing the risks to the consumer. How many times have there been "unexplainable" contamination of beef products coming from the hamburger factories that use this additive? If they make the stuff according to the health specifications, nobody wants it anyway.
The truth...is what the money says it is? Perhaps $1.2B can help determine "truth"...? Excuse me, I'm a discriminating American, so I appreciate ABC's report. BFI can go the same direction Apple will.
Sue them the media and lose you pink slime conjuring bastards. I, for one, don't want further rotted then artificially sterilized meat in my food. I want that garbage clearly listed in the ingredients so I can make informed choices while buying "food".
I'm glad the media alerted the masses to this garbage you're trying to make us eat and have us purchase.
When I really want to be disappointed in America, I just read the comments on the CNN website. All of you are idiots, and I have to lower myself just to post and remind you of that. If you put half your energy into local government instead of acting like uninformed asshats, America would be better off. It's not Obama. It's not conservatives. It's YOU. Twats.
The main problem is not that the pink snot will hurt you or might be reject dog food. The problem is that the food industry never made it clear what it was that we were eating. They needed to be exposed for that
A hundred years ago, Upton Sinclair's novel "The Jungle" exposed horrific conditions in the meat industry. I see no difference between that and what ABC has done. Had Sinclair done that today, he would have been sued for $1.2 billion instead of being instrumental in cleaning up the situation.
Just one more example of why we so desperately need tort reform in our country. These ridiculous lawsuits need to have severe consequences against the claimants. We need a statute that requires claimants making frivolous lawsuits to pay all costs, legal and otherwise, of the accused. I'm a liberal but lawyers that take these kind of cases to court are a terrible burden on all of us. Reform please.
Whatever happened to "Freedom Of Speech"? The public should have been warned and ABC NEWS should be thanked for reporting this violation to human health.
What violation? What health risk did they uncover?
That only applies to citizens vs the government. My god did you learn anything in school?
They can't sell this "slime" in a store so they feed it to our school children who don't know what they are eating. I have been a vegetarian for 30 years and this is one reason why.
All of you going crazy about the ammonia, I hope you realize that it is a commonly used ingredient in fermentation, too. How closely do you check your wines, cheeses, and breads?
All beef is pink slime – it's pink, it's slimy, so what? Still tastes delicious when grilled.