******First off, I want to say that yesterday a fantastic commentary was written about the pink slime issue. which you can read here. I was given a lot of praise and credit for apparently writing it but I want to make it clear that I didn't write it - my husband, Hyatt Frobose, wrote that as a member of the Food For Thought blog squad. Just giving credit where credit is due - he did a great job and has seen first-hand how LFTB is processed and made.******
Ok, on to the regularly scheduled post: there's been a lot of buzz about pink slime recently, which is a moniker I dislike so I'll henceforth be referring to it as Lean, Finely Textured Ground Beef (LFTB). There is a lot of negative buzz about LFTB but there are also a lot of facts and truth behind it which need to be pointed out:
- LFTB is completely safe for consumption.
- LFTB is NOT made from beef parts intended for pet food. It is made from meat that is extracted from the external and KPH (kidney, pelvic, heart) fat from cattle. Part of the process involves using ammonium hydroxide to ensure the product is free from bacteria and microorganisms. The ammonium hydroxide mist evaporates and is not present in the final product. Therefore, it's completely safe for consumption.
-- LFTB helps us meet consumer demand for safe, affordable and nutritious food - Dr. Russell Cross, Head of the Department of Animal Sciences at Texas A&M
There are many other very well written and informative factual-based commentaries about LFTB and I encourage you to read up on the facts.
Q & A about ammonium hydroxide in food
Is Pink Slime Dangerous to Consumers - written by the Ninja (@frobose on Twitter)
Pink Slime is a Myth - great resource
Engineering a Safer Burger - Washington Post article about LFTB production
Pink shirts, pink ties and pink slime - Common Sense Agriculture by Jeff Fowle (@JeffFowle on Twitter)
Also, I was asked by a contact I made in Australia if I thought the US would adopt irradiation in meat processing. I wrote about this a year ago or so and hope you'll check that link out, too. Although I don't see irradiation being adopted/accepted anytime soon, unfortunately.
Become an investigator and find out the truth. The news isn't always true but science doesn't lie.
Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~Labels: Australia, beef, cattle, food, food production, food safety, hamburger, irradiation, lean beef, lean finely textured ground beef, meat, pink slime