Saturday, March 10, 2012

HOWZABOUT A LITTLE PINK SLIME FOR DINNER TONIGHT?



If you've been watching the news the past few days, you've seen the most recent uproar about mechanically separated meat - fondly known as pink slime.  This conglomeration of meat scraps and connective tissue is turned into a yummy concoction with special machines, then bathed in some nice ammonium hydroxide (ammonia mixed with water) to supposedly kill the ecoli and salmonella.  


This has gotten such bad press that even McDonald's quickly announced that they didn't use it, however it is mixed into the hamburger meat you buy in most supermarkets.   If you needed another reason to buy at Publix. Sweet Bay or Costco, this is it.  They do not use pink slime to bolster their ground meat.  We haven't heard from WalMart, Sam's Club, Target or Winn Dixie so far.


This isn't really news.  It's been floating around the internet for a long time now. The FDA says it's safe for human consumption and I'm sure you can trust them; after all, they allow a certain amount of rat feces in ground black pepper too - which is why I buy peppercorns and grind my own.  



Let us know your take on this.  Would knowing this was in the meat you buy lead you to make different choices?