A couple of former USDA scientists called this beef product “pink slime” on a recent ABC news program. Media picked up on it characterizing the product as scraps and waste normally destined for pet food. Actually the company producing it developed a method to separate the lean from fat trimmed from retail cuts of beef, roasts and steaks. This produces a product that can be mixed with ground beef, sausage and hamburger. Because all of the fat is removed it is lean, high in protein and FDA approved safe.

Ammonium Hydroxide is used in the process to insure the product is free from E. coli and salmonella. And while this was also mentioned negatively by the media the process was championed by food safety groups. Ammonia is naturally occurring. It is found in the human body and most foods. The compound is used as an antimicrobial food additive in baked goods, cheeses, puddings and candy.

All living things need protein; ammonia is a key player in the human body’s nitrogen cycle and protein synthesis. The FDA approved ammonium hydroxide for food processing in 1974.

Taking this product off the market or demanding our hamburgers don’t contain it, will not make us healthier. It will result in less hamburger being available and raise food prices. With the current cost of groceries, we need to be careful about making demands without getting the facts.

For more information contact Andrew Granger, County Agent, in the Vermilion Parish LSU AgCenter Office at 1105 W. Port St. in Abbeville or call 898-4335.