Patch Poll: Who's to Blame for All This 'Pink Slime' in the News?

Nicole April 12, 2012 at 03:17 am

Social media is to blame lftb is a safe product. Im Nicole a mother of four and I am no where near rich, like all the people who started this pink slime issue, i cant afford 6.00 a lbs n beef i cant afford to go get my own cow and butcher it. If they dont like that lftb is n beef then they should just keep their opinions to their self because thanks to them now we have to pay the price for beef prices going up. My husband also lost his job because of the media did they think for a second about the families who will be effected by what they did. I trust and love the fact lftb was in our meat, not one person has got sick from lftb.

Nancy O'Hern April 12, 2012 at 04:14 am

Kate,
I'm going to try & attach some articles regarding lftb and ammonium hydroxate use in food production. BTW, lftb is not filler, it is beef. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/45619 http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Questions_and_Answers_about_Ammonium_Hydroxide_Use_in_Food_Production http://www.hannibal.net/lifestyle/x1047090419/Dom-Castaldo-The-truth-about-pink-slime-is-that-its-pure-beef http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-04/news/sns-rt-us-food-ammoniabre8331b4-20120404_1_ammonia-food-safety-beef-products

Steve Wilson April 12, 2012 at 06:32 am

If there is ammonia in my food... I certainly want to know. We could do away with the name pink slime and call it ammonia beef.... That works too. Probably the most honest name too.

Carol April 12, 2012 at 11:35 am

Steve - if you do your research, you'll see that it's not "ammonia" - it's "ammonium hydroxide" and your body actually produces it naturally. It's used in many other foods, like chocolate and cheese.

Erv Server April 12, 2012 at 01:38 pm

Household ammonia is dilute ammonium hydroxide, I say to those trying to convince people to eat it, YOU eat it!....the rest of us don't want to eat it. I don't care how many people lose their job or how many times Branstad says its safe. Its my body and my health and I try to avoid all chemicals as much as possible. Food cleaned with ammonia should be labeled as such

Steve Wilson April 12, 2012 at 03:45 pm

mixing ammonia with water (ammonium hydroxide) doesn't change anything.
if the companies that make pink slime can't figure out how to make a meat product without pumping it full of chemicals, they will fail. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to keep the meat safe besides spraying ammonia all over it. Having observed cheese and chocolate being made... I can say that I've never seen the maker use ammonia as an ingredient.

Brent Johnson April 12, 2012 at 05:08 pm

I think there are better ways to handle things, the media reported false information and used it to make money. How would you like to lose your job because somebody told a lie about your company just to forward a agenda. Who's next ?

Steve Wilson April 12, 2012 at 05:32 pm

This isn't a media conspiricy... People actually care about their food. The more appropriate question would be: how would would you feel if you worked for a company that made a poor quality product, and they fired you because they couldn't figure out a way to not pump it full of ammonia?
If the meat industry had recognized the issue, and simply modified their production methods, they wouldn't be in this mess. The only thing the media did was inform consumers what was in their "food". If the "agenda" is to keep people informed on what is in their food... And the meat industry wants to shut it down.... That certainly doesn't say much for the meat industry.

Brent Johnson April 12, 2012 at 07:13 pm

The company didn't hold back information or do anything illegal. The use of ammonia has been legal and excepted for years.And they don't pump it full of anything they expose it to a puff of gas. You are a scare monger and you don't do your research.
Steve.

dt April 12, 2012 at 07:32 pm

I personally will continue to support LFTB. It is a safe, healthy and wholesome product and is made with 100% BEEF. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this issue, it is how the media presented it to the public without all the facts.

Tom April 12, 2012 at 07:37 pm

What we have all been exposed to with this "pink slime" coverage is a classic example of media sensationalism aimed at ratings and not based on facts. The association of ammonia used as a cleaning agent is very misleading. After the lean beef is separated from the high fat trimmings. Food grade ammonia gas, which is naturally occurring in many foods including beef, is used to slightly elevate the ph of the product. Elevating the ph of the beef creates an environment that is unfriendly to bacteria. So the intent here is truly food safety. The next thing we should be asking ourselves is, who's going to suffer? Well, simple economics will tell us we, as consumers, will pay more at the meat counter due to the lose of lean beef in the market place. I would encourage that we all do some research for ourselves and not buy into the media hype. A well informed consumer now has the tools to, and will, make good choices.

dt April 12, 2012 at 07:40 pm

LFTB is 100% BEEF, it is safe and wholesome and I will continue to purchase it. I certainly do not want prices to rise either, and am afraid this might happen. People really need to educate themselves about LFTB before they jumped to conclusions and the media needs to report accurate information with all the facts.

Kristin VanBerkum Cliff April 12, 2012 at 07:44 pm

here is a little research for you
http://beefisbeef.com/2012/03/09/why-is-ammonia-used-in-some-foods-2/

Tom April 12, 2012 at 07:44 pm

I agree with you, the problem is we've only been exposed to the demonizing side. Hey media; Give us quality information so we can make our own choices.

Erv Server April 12, 2012 at 08:37 pm

A well informed consumer includes proper labeling on the item. I care what i eat. I will not eat pink slime, or any meat cleansed with the ammonia process. The idea to consume pink slime to save jobs is absurd and makes me even more wary of the beef industry. I think they are sending the wrong message here. The proper thing to do is label the stuff and let those who want to eat it do so, but just keep slamming the people who care what they eat and see how that works for ya!

Tom April 12, 2012 at 09:13 pm

I have seen a lot of back and forth about labeling. This is a tough one. There are some questions that have been posed many times. Do you label it ground beef with lean beef added? Or, do you put on the label ammonia used to elevate the level of already existing ammonia? Contrary to what many might believe, this debate has been going on throughout for quite some time.

Steve Wilson April 12, 2012 at 09:39 pm

I never said they did anything illegal. You are fine eating this stuff. That is okay with me. But I personally want nothing to do with it, and would like to avoid it, and do not want to support it in any way. Therefore. I want it labeled, and I don't want it in public schools, Apparently there are a lot of Americans that agree with me. Be happy, it just means more pink slime for you.

Steve Wilson April 12, 2012 at 09:41 pm

I have no problem paying more money for better meat. Nobody is saying we should outlaw pink slime. We just want it labeled. You can still buy the cheap stuff if you really want to.

Misty H April 13, 2012 at 01:30 am

I find it funny that most folks will grab just about anything that looks good off the shelves of the grocery store and never give one thought as how that food is made. You all yell Label It and act like these processes were secret just to fool us all. The reality is you wouldn't give this one thought if had not been for the misinformation given in the media for ratings and because a woman started a petition because she watched an over exaggerated daytime cooking show without looking up the facts or visiting the plant. Mr. Roth, I am sure. would of been more than happy to accomodate her with a tour if she had asked, rather than her going on a witch hunt to ruin peoples livlihood and taking a chance of us now getting unsafe, imported meat. This is not a slaughterhouse but it is one of the cleanest production facilities in the nation and has awards to prove it. I would much rather know that my food is produced from a company like BPI that is extremely health and social conscious than from a business that is only for the money. All of you that argue about ammonia can keep your high fat beef that may come from Australia or Canada and when its recalled or you get ill because of ecoli dont cry about wanting safer food production or more regulations. Me, I will stick with my lean, safe, made in America meat. Thank you BPI for your commitment to giving us safe, healthy meat all these years.

Nancy O'Hern April 13, 2012 at 02:39 am

Here is some more info on ammonium hydroxide and a list of foods it can be used in:
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/gsfaonline/additives/details.html?id=380 http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Questions_and_Answers_about_Ammonium_Hydroxide_Use_in_Food_Production http://radio.foxnews.com/2012/03/29/please-educate-yourself-on-ammonium-hydroxide-before-you-scream-over-pink-slime/ http://beefproducts.com/ammonium_hydroxide.php

Steve Wilson April 13, 2012 at 03:14 am

Pink slime is a relatively recent product only approved as a food additive in early 2000s. Some of us HAVE been freaking out about it since then.
But I suppose you do have a point.... If nobody knew it was in there, nobody would freak out. Same could be said of anything, lead in Chinese toys? Nobody would care if they hadn't found out. As for BPI. I will just have to respectfully disagree with you. I will take my beef from my butcher, who gets the cow from the farmer. You can have your conveyer belt ammonia beef, I'll stick to the higher quality, safer, and more personal experience I get with a butcher. In meat, the only reason we have ecoli outbreaks is due to poor handling at giant beef factories. This whole ammonia nonsense is a band-aid on the bigger problem of big factory meat production. And over consumption of meat in general. As for most of Europe and Canada, pink slime is banned there. Apparently it isn't that odd to reject the pink muck that had previously only been approved for dog food as a food product for humans.

CFBusinessOwner April 13, 2012 at 03:16 am

Stick with purchasing your beef from a small family farm and you won't have to worry about recalls, raising ph levels in the beef ,etc. because small family farms don't mix hamburger in million pound batches. It's all manageable. We were never meant to treat food like widgets on an assembly line. Watch the movie Food Inc. and you'll learn all about it.

Steve Wilson April 13, 2012 at 03:32 am

amen sister!

Erv Server April 13, 2012 at 12:13 pm

How many years now has the beef industry and the government assured us antibiotics in beef were safe...well well well...guess what. The Food and Drug Administration laid out new rules Wednesday to cut the use of antibiotics in livestock, the plan is to eventually eliminate use.

Jorge Garcia April 14, 2012 at 01:15 am

Exactly Jessica! Nobody argues about its safety but about the fact that it was sneaked into our ground beef supply without labeling. BPI lawyers lobbied the USDA in 2001 to keep ammonia off the label, even as the USDA expressed some concerns about the high levels of ammonia (800 ppm) in the treated product.
http://documents.nytimes.com/meat-industry-and-government-records#document/p26/a2

Jorge Garcia April 14, 2012 at 01:22 am

Carol - the instant ammonia (a gas) hits moisture it turns into ammonium hydroxide, so it's essentially the same NH3 + H2O = NH4OH
Our body produces it as a WASTE PRODUCT, before it gets converted into urea and eliminated in urine. And it is used in many other foods, to control pH BUT NOT to kill bacteria.

Phyllis April 15, 2012 at 05:37 am

Then, I guess you won't be buying hotdogs, beef steak, chicken, fish, cheese, bread, fresh vegetables and fruits, canned vegetables and fruits, chips, , popped corn, candy..... on and on and on. What will you eat? OH - no milk, bottled water, either (or tap water), fruit juice, soda. What will you drink?

Chris April 15, 2012 at 12:42 pm

WWW.Beefisbeef.com read what all these independent media and scientists say. Stop with the pink slime name, call it what it is LFTB. For those who think this was being kept a secret are wrong why would BPI allow a documentary be made with the process. You can NOT listen to everything the media says. At the end of the day the news is out for ratings.

Jorge Garcia April 15, 2012 at 03:45 pm

The information in that website is obviously slanted and favorable towards BPI. USDA and Georgia DA documents from 2001 & 2003 report 800 to 1300 ppm ammonia in the finished product that leaves the plant. Since untreated beef has 101 ppm according to http://beefproducts.com/ammonium_hydroxide.php that would make it 8 to 13 times higher than natural. It would also make it higher than 58 of the 61 foods listed by Beefisbeef.com

Steve Wilson April 15, 2012 at 04:14 pm

Let me get this strait... You are comfortable eating dog food grade meat that has to be disinfected because it has ecoli bacteria?
BPI should come out with an ammonia spray for home use. Moldy/soiled meat? No problem! Do what we do and disinfect your food that would otherwise make you sick.