The timeline of 'pink slime' (2024)

FAQs

What is pink slime real name? ›

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.

Now the US Department of Agriculture this week reclassified the product, saying it can officially be called “ground beef.” The term “pink slime” is actually a derogatory one for all the little cuttings and “trim” that appear when cattle carcasses are being sliced up into steaks.

AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. McDonalds stopped using the by-product, known in the industry as lean, finely-textured beef, in 2011, according to a statement the company made on its website around that time.

Pink Slime is injected with ammonium hydroxide gas.

Yes, pink slime is safe thanks to this chemical. Iowa State University Professor James Dickson says, “The gas actually kills a lot of the harmful bacteria that could be present. It's important to remember that meat isn't sterile.”

It is beef, 100% beef, but in a finely textured version. The safety concern that many have expressed is not valid. Lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) is the proper term for the beef product that is being referred to as 'pink slime' in recent media reports. It is beef, 100% beef, but in a finely textured version.

Kroger and Giant Eagle announced yesterday that they're not going to use the filler, more properly known as “lean, finely textured beef,” in ground beef they sell. “For Kroger, it's a customer-preference issue, and one that we respect,” said spokesman Keith Dailey.

What's the problem? Borax (and other boron derivatives like sodium borate, sodium tetraborate or disodium tetraborate) is used to cross-link with the glue to create the rubbery substance. Overexposure to boron can irritate a person's skin, cause respiratory problems and lead to gastrointestinal bleeding if ingested.

Beef on display at a new Wal-Mart store in Chicago. The retailer announced it will offer consumers meat that does not contain lean finely textured beef.

McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King announce they no longer use pink slime in their menu items. ABC's Jim Avila airs a story on meat processor Beef Products reporting that 70% of ground beef at supermarkets contains "lean finely textured beef," as the company calls it.

“We've never used 'pink slime,' and we never will,” the ad says. “Pink slime” is a low-cost filler that has been used for years to lower the overall fat content of ground beef. While consumers have grown alarmed by the filler, it isn't dangerous, government officials and grocery chains say.

Is pink slime illegal? ›

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.

Yes and no! Edible slime is non-toxic and made without borax. However, is it a slimy snack for your kids to chow down on? NO!

The term “pink slime” was not developed by the food industry. Rather it was a nickname developed by a scientist (Gerald Zirnstein, a former USDA microbiologist) to describe LFTB.

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 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. The product was the focus of an ABC News documentary in 2012, after which a company that makes the so-called "pink slime" — Beef Products Inc.