Pink Slime is a newly socially coined term to describe a secret ingredient added into ground beef (formally exclusively used in pet food). Secret because it is not, surprisingly, required on labels to warn consumers that what they are purchasing isn’t exactly fresh or 100% beef, like expected.
It is well known that Fast Food industries have included the Pink Slime filler in their burgers, but it comes to a shock that it is now part of 70 percent of the beef purchased and packaged at American supermarkets. Meat eaters should consider grinding their own properly raised beef.
What is it really?- Pink Slime is chemically altered trimmings that butchers normally reject like excess fat and connective tissues that are treated and sprayed with ammonium hydroxide to destroy pathogens like E.coli. It is then added to the ground beef as a cheap filler, to save some money in my speculation.
“It is economic fraud. It’s not fresh ground beef. It is a substitute,” said Gerald Zirnstein, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist.
And it is not as safe as the USDA may impose, “Exposure of mild to moderate ammonia for a short period of time has been reported to cause many injuries such as, respiratory tract, eye, and skin irritations, gastrointestinal problems, headache, dizziness, and shortness of breath (CDC1986; HSEES-Washington; HSEES-NY; HSEES-Oregon). Respiratory irritation, eye irritation, and gastrointestinal problems are the most frequent injuries reported after
exposure to ammonia (EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF BEEF CONTAMINATION BY LOW LEVELS OF AMMONIA by Sely Prajitna).”
Most revolting is the USDA’s high satisfaction with the additive provoking its plan to buy 7 million pounds of beef containing the Pink Slime for the national school lunch program.
Bettina Siegel from Texas created a petition on Change.org. Join the fight against Pink Slime in school lunches.
To Health, Christina Rey Trinidad
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