Pink slime (also known as lean finely textured beef or LFTB, finely textured beef, or boneless lean beef trimmings or BLBT) is a meat by-product used as a food additive to ground beef and beef-based processed meats, as a filler, or to reduce the overall fat content of ground beef.
Some consumers may be familiar with the practice of using lean, finely textured beef sometimes treated with ammonia, which is referred to by some as “pink slime.” We do not use this. Still curious about what's in our burgers.
No, our Chicken McNuggets® do not contain what some people call "pink slime" or "pink goop." We've seen the photo of "pink goop" or "pink slime" in association with McDonald's. Let's set the record straight: this image in connection with McDonald's is a myth.
However, it's a bit more complicated than that. McDonald's disavowal of “pink slime” is fairly recent, and they only stopped using mechanically processed beef in 2011.
The resulting paste, without the fat, is exposed to ammonia gas or citric acid to kill bacteria. In 2001, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the product for limited human consumption. The product, when prepared using ammonia gas, is banned for human consumption in the European Union and Canada.
The taste was savory and meaty, with big beefy flavor. The chew had just the right texture, substantial but giving. Basically, everything you would want in a burger. The pink slime burger also was perfectly seared and drew me in with an equally alluring aroma.
The additive is banned in Australia, and appears nowhere on the list of approved food additives for this country. I double-checked with McDonald's Australia, and a spokesperson told me: We've never had that in our patties.
In other words, it might have an image problem, but Lean Finely Textured Beef – aka 'pink slime' – is safe to eat.
First, the trimmings are heated to about 100° F, then put into a centrifuge to separate the fat tissue from the muscle tissue. Then the muscle tissue is treated with ammonia to keep bacteria from forming. This entire process is now called “ground beef” even though it's still technically “lean finely textured beef.”
A U.S. government agency has regulated that a processed beef product made from slaughterhouse trimmings — known as "pink slime" — can be legally classified as ground beef.
What is “pink slime?” “Pink slime” is a colloquial term for Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB). LFTB refers to smaller pieces of lean meat that are added to ground beef to produce a leaner product utilizing as much of meat from an animal as possible. The term “pink slime” was not developed by the food industry.
Batavia-based Aldi Inc, in response to growing customer concerns, announced that it will no longer purchase ground beef made with lean finely textured beef -- commonly known as "pink slime" -- although the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved it as safe and wholesome beef.
According to Steward, the dark meat from the drumsticks and the thighs does not go into the McNuggets. However, the breast and rib meat, as well as the chicken tenderloin, are used to make McNuggets. Before McNuggets are made, the entire chicken skin is removed initially, and a small portion is added back "for flavor."
Every one of our McDonald's burgers is made with 100% pure beef and cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else—no fillers, no additives, no preservatives. We use the trimmings of cuts like the chuck, round and sirloin for our burgers, which are ground and formed into our hamburger patties.
Today, Keystone's US operations are proud to produce and deliver the highest quality beef, chicken and fish products to McDonald's, including more than 150 million pounds of beef, 300 million pounds of chicken and 15 million pounds of fish each year.
Biofilm, or pink slime as it's commonly called, is a frequent sight on ice machines, soda fountains, toilet bowls and as buildup anywhere near water. This persistent substance is actually a bacteria colony and could lead to some serious health problems if ingested or if left unattended.
Simply look for the term "finely textured beef" or just "textured beef." That's the popular name for pink slime today, according to meat packer Cargill.
Previously, pink slime was sometimes folded into ground beef sold in supermarkets, or more commonly sold to fast-food purveyors for use in burgers. The anti-contaminant treatment used by BPI is ammonia, which is legal in the US but not in Canada or in the European Union, where pink slime is thus banned.
A pink slime can be applied with Fashion Pods and can respond to Slime Toys, with it favoring the Beach Ball or a DLC Slime Toy if it is wearing its associated Fashion Pod. They have no negative behaviors that become apparent when agitated.
"Pink slime" refers to processed lean beef trimmings, and is a cheap filler used to "beef up" many meat products. It is made by salvaging the meat that gets trimmed off cuts of beef along with fat.
Roche Bros. echoes Foodmaster's position, saying they "only use whole muscle meats of quality beef, and absolutely no additives." Whole Foods also confirms to Consumer World that all its ground beef, both fresh and frozen is pink slime-free, as does Costco.
After a months-long evaluation, the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) determined in December that BPI's signature product—the offering famously called “pink slime” in an ABC News exposé that got the network in a lot of trouble—can be labeled “ground beef.” Legally ...
Pink slime, aka Lean, Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), is used as filler in some frozen entrees, meatballs, canned foods, hot dogs and fast food, for example. But LFTB has become most notorious for its role in ground beef.
McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King announce they no longer use pink slime in their menu items.