‘Pink Slime’ (Beef Parts Paste With Ammonia) Good For Kids, Says Beef Products, Inc

In perhaps the most amazing display of unmitigated gall since the Journal of Pediatrics declared mercury ‘good for kids,’ (1) Beef Products Inc. (BPI) told The Daily that its “lean finely textured beef,” treated with ammonia, is good for America’s schoolchildren. Last week The Daily broke the news that the federal government plans to buy beef containing over 7 million pounds of ‘pink slime’ over the next year.

“Including LFTB in the national school lunch program’s beef products accomplishes three important goals on behalf of 32 million kids,” BPI spokesman Rich Jochum told The Daily. “It 1) improves the nutritional profile, 2) increases the safety of the products and 3) meets the budget parameters that allow the school lunch program to feed kids nationwide every day.” (2)

So what’s the real reason?
With their first and second stated reasons being patently absurd, it really just comes down to the third, the almighty dollar. By adding the beef fat and trimmings, known to contain higher levels of E. Coli, salmonella, and other pathogens, then adding ammonia to kill said pathogens, they are able to save 3 cents off the cost of making a pound of beef. (2)

So by adding ammonia to a product that was previously only sold to dog food and cooking oil suppliers, (3) BPI is able to decrease their costs by mixing it with beef and feeding it to children.

Want to vote with your wallet and forgo the ‘pink slime’ infested meat? It might be difficult. Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Meat Institute recently made her case against labeling, telling ABC News, “What you are asking me to put on the label, its beef, it’s on the label, it’s a beef product, it’s says beef so we are declaring … it’s beef.” (3)

By Ms. Riley’s logic, dog food is ‘beef’ too. Perhaps she is using the same standards McDonalds uses when it calls its chicken nuggets ‘chicken.’ (4)