70% of Ground Beef at (US) Supermarkets Contains ‘Pink Slime’

[NetGear]

I think the approach should be that if it should be labeled it should be products not using pink slime that should be labeled (as a selling point). Its a perfectly valid food product and labelling has a way of punishing the product for no real reason. If anyone wants to avoid it they can buy product that boasts its 100% free of this and regulate that claim so that industry can't scam you with it.

 

[LucyDuke]

I can follow that argument all the way to "as long as it's 'food', we needn't require any labeling".

 

[Quintillus]

Someday soon, I'm going to cook the beef in my freezer, and enjoy some delicious pink slime. And then I'll think, 70% of CFC members are missing out because of fear of slimey pink stuff.

Eventually I might have higher standards, but when there's a 70% chance I already have pink slime in my freezer, why increase my standards now?

Unless you order "steak", taco bell "beef" is mostly vegetarian.

According to Taco Bell, their beef is 88% beef and 12% Secret Recipe. That's less than 50% vegetarian. There was a lawsuit about this recently, which Taco Bell won, so presumably it's at least reasonably close to being accurate.

See also, Taco Bell Asks Litiguous Critics, "Would it kill you to say you're sorry?".

Now, as to whether the beef is mostly pink slime, I'm not sure that has been settled...

 

[NetGear]

yeah i didnt keep up with that lawsuit. apparently they lost so my post was outdated info.

 

[BvBPL]

This is why I try to buy my ground beet at local butcher shops instead from prepackaged styrofoam containers. If I do buy it from a prepackages container then I make sure it lists the cut the beef was taken from.

 

[wolfigor]

Its a perfectly valid food product and labelling has a way of punishing the product for no real reason. If anyone wants to avoid it they can buy product that boasts its 100% free of this and regulate that claim so that industry can't scam you with it.

Labelling a product is not punishing, it is informing the consumer about the content of what is bought.
The consumer has the right to know what is being bought and act accordingly.
If I want to buy food I want to know if I am buying real meat (e.g. muscle) or mechanically separated meat (pink slime) and pay accordingly.
I would feel cheated if I buy a product that I think is high quality meat and instead I get a lower quality product.

The same applies to nutritional values (i.e. content of fat, proteins, carbs, etc.) and additives (all the famous e-something).

This is why I try to buy my ground beet at local butcher shops instead from prepackaged styrofoam containers. If I do buy it from a prepackages container then I make sure it lists the cut the beef was taken from.

At least you see what meat he is using: any deserving butcher will prepare ground beef on the moment according to the meat selection from the customer.

 

[Tycho Brahe]

Are e-numbers famous outside europe?

 

[wolfigor]

Are e-numbers famous outside europe?

Probably they are used only in EU (it's a EU mandate to label all food additives according to them).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number

 

[LucyDuke]

I've never heard of e-numbers, if they exist in the USA they're not common.

 

[NetGear]

Labelling a product is not punishing, it is informing the consumer about the content of what is bought.
The consumer has the right to know what is being bought and act accordingly.
If I want to buy food I want to know if I am buying real meat (e.g. muscle) or mechanically separated meat (pink slime) and pay accordingly.
I would feel cheated if I buy a product that I think is high quality meat and instead I get a lower quality product.

The same applies to nutritional values (i.e. content of fat, proteins, carbs, etc.) and additives (all the famous e-something).

It is punishing. An apple juice doesn't inform me if the apples they juiced were nice and shiny and round. Whether it looks butt ugly doesn't matter if its nutritionally the same. And i dont see the need for regulations informing me every little details such as this. If you really want high quality ground meat then buy product that gurantees what you want and you won't have to worry about it.

 

[Quintillus]

Are e-numbers famous outside europe?

I wouldn't say famous, but I've seen them in the U.S. At least for food colouring. I don't really know what it means unless it says, "E100 Yellow" or something like that, though.

It is punishing. An apple juice doesn't inform me if the apples they juiced were nice and shiny and round. Whether it looks butt ugly doesn't matter if its nutritionally the same. And i dont see the need for regulations informing me every little details such as this. If you really want high quality ground meat then buy product that gurantees what you want and you won't have to worry about it.

But, apple juice does vary in taste somewhat by the type of apple. It's most noticeable in the fall when you occasionally get significantly better-than-average apple juice.

 

[Tycho Brahe]

I wouldn't say famous, but I've seen them in the U.S. At least for food colouring. I don't really know what it means unless it says, "E100 Yellow" or something like that, though.

...

Noboddy knows what the e numbers mean, just that a lot of them on the list of ingredients means a lot of additivs in the food.

I don't se the harm in labeling the food with the ingredients so the consumer can make an informed choice. Its at least as important to know if there is machine pressed meat in it, as knowing if it's made from cow, pig or dog. Theres no added health risk in eating dog-meat, but I just would like to know.

 

[Silurian]

Noboddy knows what the e numbers mean, just that a lot of them on the list of ingredients means a lot of additivs in the food.

I don't se the harm in labeling the food with the ingredients so the consumer can make an informed choice. Its at least as important to know if there is machine pressed meat in it, as knowing if it's made from cow, pig or dog. Theres no added health risk in eating dog-meat, but I just would like to know.

If you have a hyperactive child you may find out that E102 is Tartrazine which could increase hyperactivity in children. If the drink has E102 on the label you can chose to buy something else or limit consumption of that particular product.

If you do not label products the consumer cannot make an informed choice.

 

[NetGear]

But, apple juice does vary in taste somewhat by the type of apple. It's most noticeable in the fall when you occasionally get significantly better-than-average apple juice.

type =/= shape.

 

[BvBPL]

Boston public schools have banned ground beef from their lunchrooms until they can confirm the beef is not made with pink slime.

 

[wolfigor]

It is punishing. An apple juice doesn't inform me if the apples they juiced were nice and shiny and round. Whether it looks butt ugly doesn't matter if its nutritionally the same. And i dont see the need for regulations informing me every little details such as this. If you really want high quality ground meat then buy product that gurantees what you want and you won't have to worry about it.

You are missing the target here, your comparison is not the same as pink-slime vs real meat.
The apple juice doesn't have to tell me if the apple was "nice" but it must tell me if it was made from fresh fruit or concentrate, and what is the content of water and sugar.
You could do something with little concentrate juice, sugar, water, and lot of additives to fix the taste.
Both are "apple juice" but they have huge difference in nutritional value and production cost.
The consumer have to be informed of the ingredients to be able to make an informed choice when buying.
Not labeling correctly, in such a case, is cheating the customer.

The same applies to the pink slime (MRM): the value of MRM is much lower nutritionally and economically to real (muscle) meat.
For this reason the consumer has to be informed, else how can we make an informed decision when buying and pay the right price for the product?

Noboddy knows what the e numbers mean, just that a lot of them on the list of ingredients means a lot of additivs in the food.

actually there is plenty of links explaining what the e numbers are.
Even the wikipedia link I posted is very complete on the topic.

 

[Commodore]

Can someone explain to me what is so wrong with pink slime that people actually want to ban it?

 

[Takhisis]

Ditto.

 

[kochman]

Can someone explain to me what is so wrong with pink slime that people actually want to ban it?

It comes from the fact that in mass produced beef, amongst several other ills, they spray the meat down with ammonia to kill bacteria (which is caused by those aforementioned other ills)... which is NOT good for you... just better than e. coli, which comes from us feeding our cows corn (which they cannot properly digest, but supports the corn industry), which is one of those ills...

 

[Commodore]

It comes from the fact that in mass produced beef, amongst several other ills, they spray the meat down with ammonia to kill bacteria (which is caused by those aforementioned other ills)... which is NOT good for you... just better than e. coli, which comes from us feeding our cows corn (which they cannot properly digest, but supports the corn industry), which is one of those ills...

Have any serious health problems been attributed specifically to the use of pink slime? Also, how long has pink slime been used? I am terribly uninformed on the issue, but since it seems to be coming up a lot recently I figured I'd better learn something about it.