Special to The Birmingham NewsI'm sure you've heard about the pink slime included in beef found in a number of grocery stores.
The American Meat Institute responded to Slimageddon 2012 with their own video and websites.
- The correct name for “pink slime” is “Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings” (BLBT)
- The USDA has allowed BLBT use since 1991
- Americans eat an average of 61.4 pounds of beef per year per person
- Using Ammonia in food processing has been commonplace since the mid-1970s
- Ammonia is also used in processing: baked goods, cheeses, chocolates, puddings, meat, condiments, dairy, fruits, vegetables, cereal and sports drinks
- The use of Ammonia in food processing is approved as “GRAS” (GRAS is not something cows eat but stands for “Generally Recognized as Safe”)
- The year that Americans ate the most beef per year was 1976 (94.3 pounds/person)
- There are currently 27 Facebook groups about “pink slime” (1 of them is a band)
- There are 29 possible cuts of beef that can be made
- Red meat slaughter and processing industry sales totaled more than $96 billion in 2006
- In 2009 American meat companies produced 26 billion pounds of beef
I would love to know what you think about pink slime -- hype or true concern?
Go here to check out their sites and responses:
and
Here's their video with Janet Riley senior VP of public affairs and member services.
Here's Jamie Oliver's explanation of the "Pink Slime"