When the normal beef parts are butchered, there is obviously some scrap meat left over. I'm not talking about eyeballs and lips and those sorts of things. I'm referring to the scrap trimmings of actual meat and fat. Normally, these scraps would be used for dog or cat food. But some fast food businesses, including McDonald's, found a way to "recycle" this stuff and put it back into human food. I also understand that Burger King and Taco Bell do the same thing. (see web links at the bottom for more info)
The scrap meat is put into a centrifuge where it is spun down until the lean beef is separated from the fat. Then, the separated beef is pushed through a tube where is treated with ammonia. Yes, that stuff that we use to clean the kitchen floor. The purpose of the ammonia is to kill any pathogens, such as E. coli, that might reside in the nasty meat by-product. Are you still craving that Big Mac?
Is all of this safe? I don't know. Maybe it is, since I don't recall anyone ever dying of a pink slime overdose. But it sure sounds nasty. It definitely makes wonder about what mystery ingredients might be lurking in other fast foods. It would truly break my heart if I found out that Chick-fil-A was doing this type of thing.Here's the thing, when I eat a hot dog, I know there's probably some really nasty stuff in there. I accept that. But when I bite into a hamburger, I expect to get decent, "fit for human consumption" All-American beef. Is it really asking too much to leave the floor cleaner in the closet?
When it comes to lunch, I usually go for the cheap, efficient option. It's not uncommon to see me swinging through a McDonald's drive-thru and picking up a double cheeseburger and a sweet tea for $2. It's quick, cheap and keeps my stomach from growling all afternoon. Up until now, I didn't think you could beat it. But realizing that I've likely been consuming the pink goo in the above photo now has my stomach turning circles. And if they're putting this crap in Big Macs and Quarter Pounders, I can only imagine what's in a Slim-Jim.
When I was a kid, my Dad would buy these things called Vienna Sausages and some other concoction called "potted meat". I used to eat them all the time. Well, one day, I happened to be reading the ingredients on the back of one of the cans and I nearly threw up. I had no idea there things like cow lips and mechanically separated beef parts in here. Wow, it kind of sounds like pink slime, doesn't it? I was probably about ten years old then and I haven't eaten a Vienna Sausage or a can of potted meat since.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver recently gave a great demonstration on how pink slime is made. If you have a morbid curiosity (like I do), feel free to watch the video below:
If there is any decency left at all in this world, please tell me that they don't put any of this nasty stuff in bratwurst!
kw
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/31/10282876-mcdonalds-drops-use-of-gooey-ammonia-based-pink-slime-in-hamburger-meat?chromedomain=vitals
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/01/mcdonalds-announces-end-to-pink-slime-in-burgers/
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