Abington Schools are ‘Pink Slime’ Free

In a recent letter to parents, the Abington School District Superintendent’s Office said that its food service provider, Chartwells, does not use finely textured beef; the letter said that Chartwells produced confirmation that its meat suppliers — Silver Springs Inc. and AdvancePierre Foods — do not use the product, which is more commonly known as “pink slime.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Lean Finely Textured Beef is a meat product derived from a process which separates fatty pieces from beef trimmings to reduce the overall fat content.”

A spokesman for Giant Food Stores said in an interview last month that the product is manufactured by harvesting lean tissue that is not reachable by a knife. He added that it has been a standard in the meat industry for 20 years. Giant Food Stores recently stopped selling the product.

The USDA said product is safe.

The letter said that there have been two parent inquiries regarding the use of finely textured beef.