the truth about pink slime

As I am sure by now most of you have heard the term pink slime through the evening news, daily newspaper, morning shows, and perhaps in regular conversation by now.  An accusation was made on the ABC evening news that "pink slime", (properly known as  Lean Finely Textured Beef or LFTB), is "highly toxic" and due to the fact it is "included in roughly 70% of ground beef sold in the United States", measures were necessary to remove this product from the food chain.  


As a result of this evening special pink slime and the lies behind it have spread like wildfire.  #pinkslime has been trending on twitter for a few weeks now, and just look at the search volume index over the past few months.  








Unfortunately most of the tweets and information available on google are full of further misinformation and false facts.  As a result of upset and misinformed consumers, rash decisions and comments forced Beef Products Inc. (a company that produces LFTB) to close three of its four locations in the United States putting thousands out of work.  One of the plant locations that closed was actually at the Tyson, Inc. plant I interned at in the summer of 2009.


It is absolutely terrifying to know the power behind a consumer's voice.  In less than two weeks many major grocery stores have pulled LFTB products from their shelves, and restaurants from their menus.  So what are the implications of these trends to the beef industry?  How will this impact the future supply and demand of beef in the US?  Worldwide?   There are a lot of questions with limited answers for now.  So before I get to those, I feel I need to explain how LFTB is produced.


During the fabrication of beef steaks and roasts, meat is removed from bones and connective tissue by workers using knives.  From my personal experience this is very challenging!!  For example, when you enjoy a nice T-bone or Porterhouse steak are you able to remove all of the meat from the bone?  And that is even a cooked product!!  As a result of this inefficiency and the physical structure of muscles, it is difficult to capture all of the lean from bones, fat and connective tissue.  Historically this product was utilized in cooked beef products and resulted in the production of tallow (a product that has little use in today's consumers diet) and the value of the lean trim was lost.  In the 1980s Eldon Roth invented a technology that utilizes high pressure processing to remove the lean firmly attached to bone and fat.  This lean trim that is removed provides the same nutrition benefits as regular ground beef, because well it is still beef. 


Consumer concern has been generated because of the use of ammonium hydroxide in the production of LFTB.  Now yes I do realize this chemical has a very toxic and harmful connotation that exists.  But I also realize the power and intentions behind this part of the production phase.  Ammonium hydroxide is used during the production of LFTB to prevent microbial growth, such as E Coli 0157:H7 (which can cause death in the elderly and young children if food is not cooked to 160F).  Did I also mention that the USDA has recognized the use of ammonium hydroxide as Generally Recognized As Safe.  Aside from it's microbial advantages, it is reassuring to know that ammonium hydroxide also is a naturally occurring compound found in many foods and utilized in the processing of many cereal grains.  


As a result of the LFTB technology and the utilization of ammonium hydroxide, the US beef industry has been able to be self-sustaining in the production of ground beef.  Without the incorporation of this product, imports of beef trimmings and ground beef are going to increase; I mean the average American does eat 2/3 lb of ground beef daily!  With increased imports I am sure you as well as I can foresee a price increase for beef in the US, with a decrease int he value of the beef carcass.  Margins will get tighter for all production phases, and eventually beef producers like my dad and Chasen will feel the effect.


So I guess what I am asking of consumers is to educate yourselves on the products you are buying for your family.  I wouldn't buy a house or car from a salesperson without doing a background check on the company from a RELIABLE source.  I also would not tell a car salesperson how to do their job, because I don't know anything about that!  When false accusations and lies are made about agriculture corporate companies, you also affect hard working Americans like my family and family-to-be.  


We have the safest and highest quality food system in the WORLD!!!!  Did I also mention that we spend the least of our annual income on food--only 10%!!  So please be grateful for the American farmers that feed 155 people/year, because they do it cheap and they do it the best!