Friday, March 23, 2012

Consumer complaints drive ‘Pink Slime’ from supermarket chains

         Good Day Humboldt County!

  In the course of millions of Americans culinary travels, they’ve eaten “pink slime,” at one time or another.

Most of us weren’t even aware that we were making hamburger patties from an ammonia-treated beef additive.

  The food industry refers to pink slime as a “finely textured beef” additive and has been quietly approving the crap for years.

 Social media, and the mainstream media, recently expressed worries about how safe the pink slime was to eat. Hundreds of thousands of online petitions popped up seeking to stop schools from serving it after the word got out students enrolled in the national school lunch program were being served pink slime. The Agriculture Department got the message and announced starting next fall, schools involved in the national school lunch program will have the option of avoiding the product.

It’s nice to see how quickly most of the major supermarkets are responding to customer’s concerns:

Snippet:

“Supermarket chains Kroger Co. and Stop & Shop said Thursday they will join the growing list of store chains that will no longer sell beef that includes an additive with the unappetizing moniker "pink slime."

The Kroger Co., the nation's largest traditional grocer with 2,435 supermarkets in 31 states, also said it will stop buying the beef, reversing itself after saying Wednesday that it would sell beef both with and without the additive. The chains joined Safeway, Supervalu and Food Lion, among others, who have said they won't sell beef with the filler.

The low-cost ingredient is made from fatty bits of meat left over from other cuts. The bits are heated to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit and spun to remove most of the fat. The lean mix then is compressed into blocks for use in ground meat. The product is exposed to ammonium hydroxide gas to kill bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella. Whole Foods, A&P and Costco said they have never sold beef products with the additive.” (Source)

Interestingly enough, no word yet from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., - which sells more food than any other retailer in the nation. What do you think? Will Wal-Mart live up to it’s slimy reputation and keep stocking the refrigerator section with pink slime?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

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