What's in the Beef?

        In an article titled, “Lessons on the Food System from the Ammonia-Hamburger Fiasco,” Tom Philpott exposes the reality of the “pink slime” in beef products that most Americans eat weekly. The New York Times noted that a South Dakota company known as Beef Products Inc., among many, are one of the culprits for adding meat filler that makes up 70% of the burgers we eat in the United States. Appallingly, Beef Products Inc. markets the most undesirable meet to local fast-food joints. The glistening product they market is the fatty scraps that are scraped off the slaughterhouse floor. These scrapings have been tested for infestations of E.coli and salmonella. To rid the meat of this and kill the pathogens, the food is sent through a process in which the meat is sterilized with large amounts of ammonia. The ammonia in these burgers is digested nation-wide and is prevalent in cheap, school lunches. Beef Inc. makes a profit from selling ammonia laced “pink slime” to help “sterilize” the beef, but is it really cleaning our meat?


Philpott, Tom. "Lessons on the Food System from the Ammonia-hamburger Fiasco | Grist." Grist | Environmental News, Commentary, Advice. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.