Wednesday, February 01, 2012 9:27:44 PM
LUNCHTIME 'SLIME'
Ammonia-treated beef will still be served in U.S. schools
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/01/020112-news-pink-slime-1-2/
Jamie Oliver demonstrates the process of cleaning meat with ammonia, which McDonald’s abandoned, as reported by The Daily.
By David Knowles Wednesday, February 1, 2012
“Pink slime” is still on the menu at America’s school cafeterias.
After celebrity chef Jamie Oliver waged a public campaign, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Burger King announced last week that they would stop selling ground beef treated with ammonia, but U.S. Department of Agriculture officials told The Daily they will buy 7 million pounds of the ammonia-cleansed meat for the national school lunch program in the coming months.
The USDA buys the treated ground beef from Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota-based company that pioneered the practice of rinsing beef scraps and by-products normally relegated for dog food with ammonia hydroxide, a mixture of water and ammonia found effective in ridding meat of bacteria such as E. coli.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the Food Safety and Inspection Service considers ammonium hydroxide as ‘generally recognized as safe,’ ” USDA spokesman Aaron Lavallee told The Daily in an email. “FSIS reviewed the suitability of Beef Products Inc.’s use of ammonium hydroxide in order to assess its effectiveness in performing the intended technical purpose of use, at lowest level necessary, and to ensure that the product is not adulterated or misleading to consumers.”
A passionate advocate of improving the quality of school lunches, Oliver has used his TV show, “Food Revolution,” to expose the practice of treating beef by-products that can come into contact with bacteria from treating cow intestines with ammonia hydroxide. Dubbing the resulting ground beef “pink slime,” Oliver has often targeted the USDA for allowing the ammonia-doused beef into schools.
“We’re taking a product that would be sold in its cheaper form for dogs,” Oliver said while demonstrating to his audience how the beef is processed. “After this process, we can give it to humans.”
Also approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the treatment of ground beef with ammonia had become the norm for fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. Beef Products Inc. estimated that its ammonia-based product was in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in the United States. With the decision by the fast-food giants, that number is likely to fall.
Beef Products Inc., did not answer calls and emails seeking comment, but the company argued on its website that the amount of ammonia it adds to ground beef is not only safe, but helps protect the public from deadly pathogens like E. coli.
Last week, the USDA — with first lady Michelle Obama’s help — suggested the first menu changes to the school lunch program in 15 years that will increase whole grains, fruit and vegetable offerings. At the same time, however, USDA officials told The Daily that 6.5 percent of the 111,556,000 pounds of beef it has contracted to buy this year will come from Beef Products Inc.
Because there are no federal labeling requirements for beef treated with ammonia hydroxide, there’s no easy way for parents to know exactly which meat is inside their child’s cafeteria tacos or hamburgers
David.Knowles@thedaily.com
Ammonia-treated beef will still be served in U.S. schools
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/01/020112-news-pink-slime-1-2/
Jamie Oliver demonstrates the process of cleaning meat with ammonia, which McDonald’s abandoned, as reported by The Daily.
By David Knowles Wednesday, February 1, 2012
“Pink slime” is still on the menu at America’s school cafeterias.
After celebrity chef Jamie Oliver waged a public campaign, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Burger King announced last week that they would stop selling ground beef treated with ammonia, but U.S. Department of Agriculture officials told The Daily they will buy 7 million pounds of the ammonia-cleansed meat for the national school lunch program in the coming months.
The USDA buys the treated ground beef from Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota-based company that pioneered the practice of rinsing beef scraps and by-products normally relegated for dog food with ammonia hydroxide, a mixture of water and ammonia found effective in ridding meat of bacteria such as E. coli.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the Food Safety and Inspection Service considers ammonium hydroxide as ‘generally recognized as safe,’ ” USDA spokesman Aaron Lavallee told The Daily in an email. “FSIS reviewed the suitability of Beef Products Inc.’s use of ammonium hydroxide in order to assess its effectiveness in performing the intended technical purpose of use, at lowest level necessary, and to ensure that the product is not adulterated or misleading to consumers.”
A passionate advocate of improving the quality of school lunches, Oliver has used his TV show, “Food Revolution,” to expose the practice of treating beef by-products that can come into contact with bacteria from treating cow intestines with ammonia hydroxide. Dubbing the resulting ground beef “pink slime,” Oliver has often targeted the USDA for allowing the ammonia-doused beef into schools.
“We’re taking a product that would be sold in its cheaper form for dogs,” Oliver said while demonstrating to his audience how the beef is processed. “After this process, we can give it to humans.”
Also approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the treatment of ground beef with ammonia had become the norm for fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. Beef Products Inc. estimated that its ammonia-based product was in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in the United States. With the decision by the fast-food giants, that number is likely to fall.
Beef Products Inc., did not answer calls and emails seeking comment, but the company argued on its website that the amount of ammonia it adds to ground beef is not only safe, but helps protect the public from deadly pathogens like E. coli.
Last week, the USDA — with first lady Michelle Obama’s help — suggested the first menu changes to the school lunch program in 15 years that will increase whole grains, fruit and vegetable offerings. At the same time, however, USDA officials told The Daily that 6.5 percent of the 111,556,000 pounds of beef it has contracted to buy this year will come from Beef Products Inc.
Because there are no federal labeling requirements for beef treated with ammonia hydroxide, there’s no easy way for parents to know exactly which meat is inside their child’s cafeteria tacos or hamburgers
David.Knowles@thedaily.com
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