Brownback, other governors tour beef plant to see ‘pink slime’

[KansDem]

Source: Associated Press

South Sioux City, Neb. — Governors of three states got up close with “pink slime” Thursday, touching and examining treated beef at a plant and eating hamburgers made with it in a bid to persuade grossed-out consumers and grocery stores the product is safe to consume.

The three governors and two lieutenant governors spent about a half hour learning about the process of creating finely-textured lean beef in a tour of the main plant that makes the product, then blasted the media for scaring consumers with a moniker coined by critics.

“If you called it finely textured lean beef, would we be here?” asked Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. Several other leaders echoed his comments as they tried to smooth over consumer concerns about the product.

Beef Products, the main producer of the cheap lean beef made from fatty bits of meat left over from other cuts, has drawn scrutiny over concerns about the ammonium hydroxide it treats meat with to change the beef’s acidity and kill bacteria. The company suspended operations at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa this week, affecting 650 jobs, but defends its product as safe.

Read more: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/mar/30/brownback-other-governors-tour-beef-plant-see-pink/

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Sure, Sam, go ahead and eat ammonium hydroxide! See if we care. But don't tout it as "safe." If it were "safe," grocery stores and fast-food restaurants wouldn't be discontinuing its sale.

And just how does one make "finely textured lean beef" from "low quality protein of connective tissue, spinal, rectal, and digestive lining?" Also "fat?" It really "closely resembles disinfected beef gristle puree," right, Sam?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime

Ol' Sam is flummoxed by the outcry against pink slime said on "Democracy Now!" this morning that we've been eating it for 20 years. Sure, Sam, but now that we know the truth, we won't be eating it anymore. You know, Sam? "The Truth?" When Americans know the truth, you and you're Party are in Big Trouble!

Ol' Sam's a member of ALEC and I suspect what he says is first cleared by ALEC. Start representing Kansans!!!

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I don't give a good goddam HOW safe this product is supposed to be

Consumers have weighed in on the subject, and they consider pink slime repulsive - as do I. Conservatroids only believe in the invisible hand of the free market when it suits their purposes. When THEIR ox is getting gored, it's a different story. And you do make a good point: not one of these motherscratchers has been seen chowing down on pink slime sausage.

[Kolesar]

11. Expect pet food to come down in price now that this ingredient is available for cheap

I better start reading labels for what I feed to Miss Fluffy.

[liberal N proud]

2. I wonder, what are the donations to these Governors from the Pink Slime Companies are?

That should be public information.

[Drale]

3. On the news this morning I heard Perry say that "its perfectly safe"

I personlly really don't care if its safe or not, if I'm eating meat, I want it to be 100% meat.

[denverbill]

4. I sure you could make 'hamburger' from ground up worms too and it would be 'safe'.

[mdavies013]

5. I would like to order an 85% hamburger please...I like texture so please add in marrow, connective

tissue and anything else you can squeeze through a sieve.

[LiberalLovinLug]

14. Lets see that on hamburger stands board menus

You already may have condiment choices....why not filler choices too?

Along side tomatoes, cheese, etc...the consumer could also have a choice about what meat filler they prefer.
connective tissue, spinal, rectal, or digestive lining?

[drynberg]

6. HERE'S AN IDEA...

let's have a photo lunch of these nasty pols gobbling down fried pink slime, we'll be generous and call it Burger Time with the Elected. Now that's entertainment, folks!

[april]

7. oh yes and pizza is a veggie ..OMG

[bulloney]

8. It's probably a big contributor to the obesity problem in this country.

Lower-wage families can only afford this stuff as a "meat" for their diets. Pink slime consists of the fattiest, least-nutritious by-products of the animal, meaning that people eating this stuff are just filling up on fillers with little or no nutrition value.

[AllyCat]

12. I've been harpooned on DU for saying the poor shouldn't be eating this stuff

Obesity comes from malnourishment, so I agree with you. If you fill yourself up on empty calories, you will gain weight. The body will still be hungry because it has not received what it needs to keep itself healthy...thus, still hungry...and on it goes.

[hedgehog]

9. "Mechanically de-boned meat"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_separated_meat

[SDjack]

10. If "pink slime" is so good and tasty,

then why not declare the package contents in big bold letters and charge more for it? The reason is that nobody wants to eat crap. When I see "pink slime" appetizers being served NYC's finest restaurants, I'll reconsider my negative opinion of it.

[intaglio]

13. But all they need to do to see pink slime

is to look in the mirror at bathtime

[aquart]

15. I've been saying for a while that the flavor of hamburger isn't what it was.

Interestingly, the places that I return to, because their hamburger does taste the way I remember, are the ones listed as NOT using pink slime. Funny about that.

[OhioChick]

16. Let the governors feed their families that shit then n/t

[Trillo]

17. pink slime ground beef compared with real hamburger

First, the unadulterated burger. The aroma was luscious. The meat was juicy, tender and nicely seared. Where I'd cut, juices slowly dribbled out onto the plate, collecting in a pool. The taste was savory and meaty, with big beefy flavor. The chew had just the right texture, substantial but giving. Basically, everything you would want in a burger.

The pink slime burger also was perfectly seared and drew me in with an equally alluring aroma. But no juices collected on the plate. Or dribbled out. Or were apparent in the meat in really any way. The taste was — OK. I took another taste of the first burger, then back to the pink slime burger.

It was not bad. But nor was it good. It was flat. I added more salt. No. It was simply one-dimensional.

And then there was the texture. Unpleasantly chewy bits of what I can only describe as gristle, though they were not visible, seemed to stud the meat of the pink slime burger. The result was a mealy chew that, while not overtly unpleasant, didn't leave me wanting another bite.

http://www.ajc.com/health/pink-slime-sounds-gross-1387079.html