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posted by chromas on Friday February 15 2019, @03:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the squash-the-beef dept.

https://newfoodeconomy.org/bpi-pink-slime-ground-beef-usda-reclassifed/

Beef Products Inc. (BPI), the South Dakota-based meat processing company at the center of 2012’s “pink slime” controversy, just won a long-sought semantic victory. For years, the company has argued that its signature product is safe, wholesome, and not unlike everyday burger meat. Now, BPI has enlisted a powerful ally in its effort to recoup its image and reclassify its product: the federal government.

After a months-long evaluation, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) determined in December that BPI’s signature product—the offering famously called “pink slime” in an ABC News exposé that got the network in a lot of trouble—can be labeled “ground beef.” Legally speaking, it’s now no different from ordinary hamburger, and could even be sold directly to the public.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @09:41PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @09:41PM (#801780)

    If I understand the articles, isn't "pink slime" still just muscle tissue? It isn't like they're throwing in the hooves and snouts in there. Is most of the "ick" factor just the fact that someone called it "pink slime"? I appreciate that people may not want something that has been through so much processing, and I don't think that it should be called "ground beef", but people seem to think that this is something that comes from various parts that aren't muscle tissue.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @11:03PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @11:03PM (#801806)

    Pink slime has a different ratio of components. This is tilted toward connective tissue.

    It's pretty obvious why the slime is pink, not red. It mostly isn't muscle.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @11:08PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 15 2019, @11:08PM (#801811)

    Is most of the "ick" factor just the fact that someone called it "pink slime"?

    Basically, yes. It is exactly the same stuff as regular ground beef. It's ground so finely that it doesn't have the same texture, but then regular ground beef doesn't have the same texture as chopped steak. That doesn't make it bad, just different.

    The closest thing to an actual problem here is that it might (or might not) be different enough from regular ground beef that buyers might be confused as to what they are getting. I'm not overly concerned about this since if you buy ground beef in the grocery store you can get a pretty good idea of what you are getting just by inspecting the package. The meat is biologically the same, so if it meets your physical expectations there's no problem.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 16 2019, @06:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 16 2019, @06:12AM (#801960)

      That "biologically same meat" is thoroughly rinsed in ammonia too?