So, who else has heard about the pink slime debacle? For those who haven't heard the term, it refers to beef trimmings (which would otherwise be discarded) which are mixed into ground beef. These trimmings consist mostly of beef fat, and is part of how the lean meat percentage is controlled in each package (typically from 80% up to 95%, with leaner beef being more expensive). What's got the public in an uproar is the way these trimmings are treated - with ammonium hydroxide - to kill bacteria, which has the side effect of producing a visible pinkish 'slime'. The pink slime is still beef, although mostly beef fat, and has been altered in no way other than the anti-microbial treatment.
When this information was published, many people went nuts, demanding that the product be taken from the shelves, decrying the use of the chemical, and questioning why companies didn't list it as an ingredient. Many supermarkets have been pressured into either pulling the product, or introducing labels to the packaging.
So the question is this. Is the pink slime actually detrimental to health, and if not, what's the big deal? Ammonium hydroxide is classified by the FDA as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). This puts it in the same category as many common preservatives, as well as many vitamin/nutritional supplements (a full list of GRAS substances can be found here). In other words, these are ingredients that are consumed on a daily basis, ingredients that have been confirmed by a panel of experts as being safe to consume.
Of course, no one is infallible, and the possibility remains that maybe, this method of treatment is detrimental to human health. If that is the case, however, it certainly hasn't made a noticeable impact, at least compared to other problems caused by bad nutrition. How long do you think pink slime has been around? A year? 2? 5? Try almost 20. If you've had a burger at any point in your life, you probably consumed pink slime. Estimates suggest that almost 70% of all ground beef sold in the US contains the pink slime. Pretty much all US fast food burger chains use meat with the stuff, with almost 20% content in some cases (which makes sense...compare fast food burger patties with grocery store patties, and you'll find that the taste/texture is most comparable to the 80% lean beef, aka 20% fat). Over the past 20 years, no link has been made between pink slime and any health problem, no cases of it causing any illness.
The usage of ammonium hydroxide started as a response to E. coli outbreaks. When it was introduced, tests showed that it effectively eliminated the bacteria. Without it, the trimmings that are included in ground beef would be discarded, a not insignificant amount of waste.
When it comes to our food, just about everything is treated in some way, unless it has an organic label (and even then, the laws regarding labeling leave a few loopholes). Flour is bleached with peroxides, chlorines, or other chemicals to achieve that pure white color, and also to help improve the texture of baked goods. Sorbic acid, sulfites, and others are used in many canned or boxed foods as an antimicrobial preservative. That soda you're drinking? It probably has caramel coloring, which often contains ammonium compounds or alkalis. And let's not even get into some of the stranger additives. Red 4 (aka Carmine)? It's made from crushed beetle shells. More commonly known, but still shocking to some, is that gelatin is made from animal hooves.
The point here is, we do a lot to our food. Sure, it may not be natural. But these practices developed for a reason. Here, it's all about preservation, and making food safe to eat. By banning pink slime, the trimmings that get treated and sold would have to be discarded, as they are typically more likely to be contaminated. The ammonium hydroxide treatment eliminates bacteria, making it safe to consume without having to worry about getting sick. While there is certainly something to be said for eating food that is as close to its natural state as possible, the concept of 'natural' is perhaps at the same time a bit overblown. Let's face it. Barely anything we do as humans today can be considered 'natural,' from technology we use daily, to modern longevity (life expectancy has consistently risen over time), to all medical practices, down to the basics like cooking our food or purifying water. We do these things, because although unnatural, they are beneficial. So perhaps, sometimes ignorance really is bliss. After all, people ate their burgers happily for years before news of pink slime scared them into action. Maybe sometimes, it really is better just not to know. And if you do want to know, make sure your reactions are informed, lest we fall prey to the witch hunt mindset, and start burning things simply because we don't understand them. We've all seen how that worked out for humanity.
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