Remember the “pink slime” debacle of a few years ago?
It’s ready to come roaring back into the spotlight thanks a new court decision!
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‘Pink slime’ will be back in the courtroom
Back in 2012, an ABC News report claimed that some 70% of ground beef sold in supermarkets had the so-called “pink slime” additive.
The story, which played out heavily on social media, effectively created a hostile environment for manufacturers of “lean finely textured beef,” as its proponents prefer to call it.
In fact, the outcry against “pink slime” was so intense that it effectively shut down some production of the food additive at that time.
Following the production moratorium, Beef Products Inc (BPI) brought a $5.7 billion defamation case against ABC News for coming up with the “pink slime” moniker and turning public opinion against its product.
The beef processor had been pushing to have its case heard by a jury, though ABC was hoping to settle without going to trial in front of jurors.
After a lot of legal scrimmaging back and forth, Reuters now reports that South Dakota’s highest court has ruled a trial can proceed as per BPI’s wishes.
So…what exactly is ‘pink slime’?
Technically, pink slime is defined by Wikipedia as “a meat-based 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. In the production process, heat and centrifuges remove fat from the meat in beef trimmings. The resulting product is exposed to ammonia gas or citric acid to kill bacteria.”
How can you tell if you’re eating it?
Simply look for terms like “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB), “textured beef,” “finely textured beef” or “boneless lean beef trimmings” (BLBT).
“Finely textured beef” is perhaps the most common name for what would otherwise be called “pink slime” today, according to meat packer Cargill. The meat processor offers that juicy tidbit and more on the website GroundBeefAnswers.com.
7 protein-packed foods that are cheaper than beef
Two years ago, beef prices were at historic highs as the cattle herd shrunk to a 63-year low. But that’s not the case now. Cattle counts are up and prices are dropping.
The average price for ground chuck is down to $3.54 a pound in February 2017 from $4.40 a pound just two years earlier, according to the latest figures from the USDA. That downward trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future.
Yet even though beef is getting cheaper, some people have switched away from red meat for health reasons. If that sounds like you, here’s a list of 7 protein-packed foods that are cheaper than beef.
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