What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef" • Hacker News Board

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#41

Post by Pharmakon » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:11 AM UTC

zdragnar wrote: post #37

Pharmakon wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally speaking when everything has been taken off the carcass, including parts used for animal feed, the remains are blasted by high pressure water. The resulting tissue, much of it membranes and other fascia are then collected and processed. It is as you say, not really meat, it’s mostly a collagen slurry. In the cases of turkey and chicken the term used is “mechanically separated.” You can find that term on any…

This isn't about mechanically separated chicken or turkey, it's about "Lean finely textured beef (LFTB)", which is actually leaner than the ground meat that it gets mixed in with.

...Which is the same product, centrifuged and ammoniated.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#42

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:12 AM UTC

PakG1 wrote: post #7

tptacek wrote: post #3

Why is this supposed to upset me? If we're going to keep eating animals (and that sure is my plan), we shouldn't give ourselves the luxury of getting squicked out over using the whole animal. If you're picky about what's in your ground beef, find a butcher you trust, or grind your own.

I guess people are worried about uneducated and poor who don't or can't think about the difference. For example, where fast food chains previously might be unhealthy but still OK, this might tip the scales closer towards not OK. If you're knowledgeable enough to make an informed decision and also can afford to take the time to grind your own meat, people probably aren't worried about you.

I don't think it even has anything to do with being uneducated or poor, although they will likely be hit the hardest because they cannot shop at the fancy organic markets / Whole Foods where this sort of business practice is not even considered.

I should be able to shop at a normal grocery store and know what I'm purchasing, regardless of wealth or education level.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#43

Post by myspy » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:12 AM UTC

jeffdavis wrote: post #23

hskaw wrote: post #17

Pink slime is banned from human consumption in the European Union.

Why? Sincere question. Is it unhealthy or not nutritious?

In the EU it is required to write on the packaging that „pink slime“ is included but more importantly it‘s not allowed to use these pieces of bone and meat (but only that of cattle) in any produce due to BSE.

Another problem is that ammonia is not a good choice for this. Either the stuff stinks after ammonia or E.coli bacteria ratios are too high in the produce.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#44

Post by porphyrogene » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:13 AM UTC

Former butcher turned coder here. If this concerns you just find a meat counter that grinds their meats in-house. It is an incredibly easy thing to do and it is very economical as whole sealed sub-primals keep for much longer than ground beef, which begins to oxidize and change color much more quickly than it goes bad. That means you have to grind new beef about every other day even if it isn't selling. We used to take the unsold ground beef and freeze it before it oxidized too much for people who wanted to stock their freezer.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#45

Post by Zarel » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:15 AM UTC

Pharmakon wrote: post #29

sp332 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still beef though. If I'm getting a burger at a McDonald's or something, this is fine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_separated_meat#... Concerns were raised again when the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic, commonly known as "mad cow disease", occurred in the United Kingdom in 1986. Since bits of the spinal cord (the part most likely to be carrying the BSE prion)[4][5] often got mixed in with the rest of the meat, products using mechanically separated meat taken from the ca…

Your link also says that, as of 2004, the USDA considers mechanically separated beef prohibited for use in human food.

So I'm guessing that means the "pink slime" this article is talking about is something else?

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#46

Post by rgbrenner » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:15 AM UTC

zdragnar wrote: post #31

Pharmakon wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is much higher in fat, and much lower in protein than meat. It also contains pulverized bone, nerve tissue and more. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_separated_meat This puree includes bone, bone marrow, skin, nerves, blood vessels, and the scraps of meat remaining on the bones. The resulting product is a blend primarily consisting of tissues not generally considered meat along with a much smaller amou…

I don't think that's what this is. In fact, the particular product in question is leaner than ground beef, and added to ground beef to get it qualified as "lean". If it's not in the posted article, it's in the linked article (which I cited in my original comment).

No, it's the same thing. The beef trimmings they're referring to in the article are those left on the carcass after the meat has been removed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_meat_recovery

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#47

Post by brandonmenc » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:18 AM UTC

Pretty sure I saw this quote here a while back:

"When indigenous peoples work to make use of all of an animal we call it respect.

Do it in a factory and all of the sudden it is gross."

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#48

Post by hn_throwaway_99 » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:18 AM UTC

Pharmakon wrote: post #36

zdragnar wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's what this is. In fact, the particular product in question is leaner than ground beef, and added to ground beef to get it qualified as "lean". If it's not in the posted article, it's in the linked article (which I cited in my original comment).

As I said, A lot of the time the stuff is centrifuged to remove fat, in which case it’s used as filler. It’s the same product, it’s just processed more, but it’s taken off the carcass the same way, and you still get to enjoy that lovely spinal cord. Colloquially the full fat product is “white slime” and the centrifuged and ammoniated product is “pink slime”.

It is not the same product, at all. The linked Wikipedia article that you posted quotes the USDA regulations which are clear that mechanically separated beef is not permitted for human consumption.

On the contrary, "pink slime", or lean finely textured beef, is made from the scraps and leftovers of (non-mechanically separated) beef, and is put into ground beef for humans.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#49

Post by Pharmakon » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:20 AM UTC

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #48

Pharmakon wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I said, A lot of the time the stuff is centrifuged to remove fat, in which case it’s used as filler. It’s the same product, it’s just processed more, but it’s taken off the carcass the same way, and you still get to enjoy that lovely spinal cord. Colloquially the full fat product is “white slime” and the centrifuged and ammoniated product is “pink slime”.

It is not the same product, at all. The linked Wikipedia article that you posted quotes the USDA regulations which are clear that mechanically separated beef is not permitted for human consumption. On the contrary, "pink slime", or lean finely textured beef, is made from the scraps and leftovers of (non-mechanically separated) beef, and is put into ground beef for humans.

Right, the difference between the two products is that the latter is the former, centrifuged and ammoniated.

Re: What ABC called "pink slime," USDA now says can be labeled "ground beef"

#50

Post by sp332 » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:22 AM UTC

Pharmakon wrote: post #29

sp332 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still beef though. If I'm getting a burger at a McDonald's or something, this is fine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_separated_meat#... Concerns were raised again when the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic, commonly known as "mad cow disease", occurred in the United Kingdom in 1986. Since bits of the spinal cord (the part most likely to be carrying the BSE prion)[4][5] often got mixed in with the rest of the meat, products using mechanically separated meat taken from the ca…

The term “pink slime” is actually a derogatory one for all the little cuttings and “trim” that appear when cattle carcasses are being sliced up into steaks. Mechanically separated beef has been illegal in the USA since 2004 and I don't see that this ruling changes that. Please show me a source with this interpretation.