What is pink slime - Essay Example

coli from undercooked hamburgers that made many people sick and caused a few death cases. This prompted a betterment of pink slime in an attempt to reduce pathogens by treating with ammonia gas in a method known as pH Enhancement System that was approved by the FDA. During processing, heat centrifuges to separate fat from the meat in beef trimmings as the product is also used as filler or to reduce the overall fat content of ground beef. The pink slime is produced by processing low-grade beef trimmings and other meat by-products and the heating process liquefies the fat and facilitates the separation of lean beef from fat.

The use of ammonia gas in killing salmonella and E. coli has raised concern among many Americans although the statutory bodies concerned feel that the process is safe enough to allow the resulting product to be added to ground beef (Sandler 520-523). Disinfecting meet using injected anhydrous ammonia in gaseous as well as rapid freezing and mechanical stress used in treating the pink slime induces increase in the pH and damages microscopic organisms that may be living in the product ("Pink Slime Closes Three Plants" 16).

It was noted that ammonia was a processing agent and therefore there was no need of including it on the ground beef labels as one of the components but this triggered controversies. Food advocates do not feel that pink slime is healthy for consumption and want the product to be gotten off supermarket shelves. Even though the nickname given to the beef product makes it easier for the food advocates to flex their cases because it makes it look like a colorful sounding foodstuff, more people are queasy about it especially how the treatment is done (Sandler 520-523).

It is also unfortunate because knowing how prevalent the product is because it is not labeled is never easy. This leads to uncertainty among the larger population who consume the product. Labeling the ammonium hydroxide gas level in the may help in