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KSDK-TV
Treating scrap meat with ammonium hydroxide creates a pink goo that is used to extend meat products like chicken and beef and to kill bacteria.
McDonald's confirmed that it has eliminated the use of ammonium hydroxide — an ingredient in fertilizers, household cleaners and some roll-your-own explosives — in its hamburger meat.
The company denied that its decision was influenced by a months-long campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to get ammonium-hydroxide-treated meats like chicken and beef out of the U.S. food supply. But it acknowledged this week that it had stopped using the unappetizing pink goo — made from treating otherwise inedible scrap meat with the chemical — several months ago.
Besides being used as a household cleaner and in fertilizers, the compound releases flammable vapors, and with the addition of certain acids, it can be turned into ammonium nitrate, a common component in homemade bombs. It's also widely used in the food industry as an anti-microbial agent in meats and as a leavener in bread and cake products. It's regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, which classifies it as "generally recognized as safe."
McDonald's decision was first reported this week by the Daily Mail, a blaring British tabloid, which trumpeted it as a victory for fellow Brit Oliver against the monolithic U.S. food industry.
Oliver's campaign began in April, when he included a segment on what he called "pink slime" on his TV show, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" (warning: some readers may find this video distasteful):
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver demonstrated how mechanically separated meat — which McDonald's calls "select lean beef trimmings" — is made on his show "Food Revolution."
The use of treated scrap meat "to me as a chef and a food lover is shocking," Oliver said. "... Basically we're taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest form for dogs and making it 'fit' for humans."
Todd Bacon, McDonald's senior supply chain officer, told the Daily Mail that the decision "was not related to any particular event, but rather to support our effort to align our global beef raw material standards."
In a statement, McDonald's clarified that it stopped using "select lean beef trimmings" — its preferred term for scrap meat soaked in ammonium hydroxide and ground into a pink meatlike paste — at the beginning of last year.
"This product has been out of our supply chain since August of last year," it said.
Sarah Prochaska, a registered dietitian at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said that ammonium hydroxide is widely used in the U.S. food industry but that consumers may not be able to know what products include it because the USDA considers it a component in a production procedure — separating scrap meat — and not an ingredient that must be listed on food labels.
"It's a process, from what I understand, called 'mechanically separated meat' or 'meat product,'" Prochaska told NBC station KSDK of St. Louis.
While the government considers it safe, it certainly "does not look anything like ground beef," she said. And since it's not on nutrition labels, the only way to avoid it "would be to choose fresher products, cook your meat at home, cook more meals at home," she said.
NBC station KSDK of St. Louis contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
I wont be eating at mcdonalds anymore.What about those eggs they were selling.
People still eat there?...
You tell them Jim. I am betting your personal boycott of McD's will bankrupt the company, or at least make them respond...
Oh my God! That is disgusting. I'm so glad I don't at at those places. Bon Appetite my friends.
I will never eat there neither but not to bankrupt them but to save my very own life.
Just remember to not use any cake mixes, store bought bread and who knows what else. Sounds like it's in the self rising flour, so baking from scratch is probably out too.
It's also widely used in the food industry as an anti-microbial agent in meats and as a leavener in bread and cake products. It's regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, which classifies it as "generally recognized as safe."
If we totally stop eating items that contain the stuff, well, good luck with that. What about government standards on rat crap in our cereal? McDonalds here, are cleaner than most burger joints in our area, and have far fewer germs that the money you pay them for the food. The stuff doesn't look good, but it is an additive, and is used in minute amounts. I don't particularly like McDonalds' food, but this is just another silly, out of proportion reaction.
Thank goodness, I haven't eaten McDonald's in years. I usually opt for making my own burgers, with the leanest ground beef I can afford.
Their food was deplorable before I read this...
"Soylent Green is made from people" Charlton Heston.
- This stuff is anybodies guess. It kind of makes me hungry for a Big Mac though; mmmmm
Hey MacDonalds. You could cut back on the salt a little though. It makes people get the MacDonalds squirts sometimes; Just saying.
Americans are the heaviest humans to ever walk the planet. It's no surprise when you learn how much garbage is in our food supply.
Haven'teaten at McPukes for 10 years NOW I Know Why.
70 million served daily in 119 countries world wide.
I can see where it could be expensive to actually serve food.
The chemical industry, serving Americans for 60 years making people sick since the end of WWII.
Why stop now?
mmm... good chemicals... fresh too... mmm
My favorite part was where the McDonald's spokesman said that the decision not to use the pink stuff anymore
Translation: The rest of the world won't eat the crap we feed to stupid Americans.
The scary thing to think about is that this substance is allowed in bread and other mass-produced "food products".
Better living through Chemistry.
The stuff is used by most beef plants in their processes, from ground beef sold at all grocery stores to Wendy's, Burger King, etc... i mean anyone who buys ground beef from meat plants. I am sure Apple Bee's, Ruby Tuesday, TGIF's and all other restaurants purchase there ground beef for hamburgers and what nots from the major players IE... Tyson, Cargill, Excel, National, JBS... Cargill here is partly owned by the company making the crap.
America's most beloved swill pit does revolting things to its food? Shocking! Unimaginable!
Hi Dan42day,
You could translate that? It sounded like pure gibberish to me.
Lol @ Json
Yeah, NO ONE eats at the biggest food chain in America anymore. :p
Hahaha that is hilarious. We all know what scrap meat is especially when its pumped full of preservatives. How about another "Happy Meal'.
More motivation to keep filling my freezers with fresh venison and black agnus.
The last time I ate at a McD's was years ago when the Angus burgers started selling at McD's. The reason I don't eat their burgers or fries is because my moth breaks out with soars. so when i tried one of their so-called real Angus burgers, my moth broke out with soars as well.
The food there is just awful. The have scientists in labs to give your burgers color and flavor. Nothing at any of these fast-food places is good for people.
We really need to shut down these places like McDonald's and start putting up fruit and veggie stands in the people's neighborhoods, and do the same for our schools that the kids are eating at.
Places like McD's is poisoning the people. Why do you continue to eat there, and stop feeding your kids this crap food?
moth? soars? really? dude...you are killin' me
Obviously, it is a plot to kill off a certain socioeconomic group that dines at McD's. Of course, THEY cannot kill them instantaneously - it has to be slow as to not bring attention to themselves.
Take a look at the ethnic group of the majority of their franchisees. It's a plot.
but...but...that's what makes it taste edible
I don't eat beef at all and especially not processed "meat" of any kind. This pink goo mentality by corporations is the reason. If this bothers you (and I can't imagine why it wouldn't) you should take a look into what is in McNuggets and other "chicken products" as well as sausages and meat products destined for frozen dinners and other heavily processed products designed for human consumption but certainly not fit for it.
For a long time I've been eating only minimally processed food and mostly vegetables and organic products when it most makes sense. It takes work and money, but you can eat healthy if you wish. A big thanks for Jamie Oliver for his work in bringing this to the public's attention...
#1.20 - Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:05 PM PST
Allen-2635884
moth? soars? really? dude...you are killin' me
^^^^^
lol, I meant mouth soars. really Dude... don't die on the Vine.
Both me and my wife had some sort of alergic reaction the last time we ate there. Both of our throughts swelled uncomfortable. Never been back since, and still wont go back
2dum2die
I get breakouts in my mouth and gums from eating at McD's. Their food is all chemically treated to give their burgers flavor and color.
I buy fresh ground beef from the market and make my burgers when I want one. I chop up fine pieces of carrots, broccoli, onions, and add a little cajun pepper to it, mix it up and cook it up. Really good, and I use the Ketchup with no HFCS in it. I pretty much make my meatloaf's that way as well.
I give up...
These people will literally sale you death in a box as long as they can complete a transaction then the government protects them if you want to get them back for trying to kill you with their products!!!!
STOP PROTECTING EVIL & START PROTECTING YOUR PEOPLE GOVERNMENT!!!!
WE WANT OUR REVENGE ON THOSE WHO KEEPS SELLING OUT THE CITIZENS OF THE US!!!
OR THE CONTRACT WITH THE CITIZENS IS OVER....
DO YOUR JOBS OR ALLOW FOR THIS TO BUILD UP INTO A WITCH HUNT!!!!
You can't force anyone to be part of a society that jeopardize it's citizens lives.
We might as well be farming for ourselves.
When this stops working every man in this country should have a right to a piece of land without paying for it!!!!
That way we won't have to depend on them for nothing & prevent ourselves from continuing to be taken for a ride by those who don't give a dang about us.
How would the executives feel if some of the people who they didn''t tell about this wanted to kick their butts for doing it????
the government would protect them because they always protect the corporations who are doing evil.
No One EVER GOES TO PRISON FOR TAKING ADVaNTaGE OF THE PUBLIC.
If you take advantage of the rich you will get life like Bernie Madoff....
I eat at McDonald's on a semi-regular basis... This "news" really doesn't surprise or bother me at all. Seriously, I know McDonald's food is toxic waste on a bun, but I like it and I'll eat the hell out of it.. Give me a Big Mac and a Double Quarter Pounder with fries and a large pop and I'm a happy camper. Is it bad for me? Yep... Do I really give a damn? Nope.
There are tons of things in this world that are bad for you and if you think that you can avoid all of it, you are sadly mistaken. Whoever said "All of these places should be shut down." can bite me.. If you want to eat fruit, go eat fruit.. If I want to eat some chemical-laden grease-burger, you have no right to tell me I can't.
WarBeast don't take no @!$%# from nobody...except McDonald's. The Internet Tough Guy is alive and well!
7 billion people on this planet and growing.
This.... is.... necessary.
I understand that it may not be appetizing to look at, but the ammonia treatment is a process necessary to make otherwise wasted scraps fit for human consumption. I'd rather the meat not be wasted for the sake of our prudish sensibilities.
I do agree that they should have been more open about their processes and what goes into it. But seriously, the future will hold far 'grosser' food products out of pure necessity. Scientists are currently learning how to grow meat in laboratories, starting only with a few cells from an animal. Geneticists are working on developing brainless, featherless, headless chickens to grow meat - with only the organs necessary to keep it growing and "alive".
Such things are necessary to continue the 'carrying capacity' of this planet. We are stuck here for awhile, and unless we further our production capacity for food - humanity will hit a plateau of growth and whenever that happens in a society far worse things are the result: famine, disease, and war.
Same, in my rationale if it doesn't make me sick, provides nutrition, and tastes decent... I have no problem with eating it. I really don't care what it looks like in processing.
Exactly, I mean when the hired goons show up and force me at gunpoint to drive to McD's, order a double quarter pounder with cheese, super sized fry and a large shake and eat it all it makes me so angry I don't have a way to get back at them.
Food for thought. The entire modern food chain is chemical based, and it is also genetically engineered. If it wasn't we wouldn't be able to feed everyone because the majority of the raw foods would fall victim to insects, disease, and rot. Read the history of corn. Today's corn is nothing like it was 3000 years ago, not even close. In other words today's corn is anything but natural. The seeds that you buy to organically grow your own garden are engineered seeds.
Warp 7, Number One!
Let's go where no-one has gone before!
Exactly. What one eats is one's own choice. No one is forced to eat McDonald's food, or Taco Bell, or whatever. I choose to eat at home most of the time- but every now and then, I've just got to have some McNuggets. ;)
Fianchetto
Being "tough" has nothing to do with it... I just like to eat what I like to eat, and I figure I'll live until something kills me. It may be tomorrow or it may be 30 years from now.. so I'm not going to worry about things like McDonald's. If it tastes good to me, I'm just going to enjoy it.
Shuklack
I completely agree.. and the way I figure it, I'd rather eat a hamburger made out of chemically treated beef than be reduced to getting my protein from eating bugs like people in many countries have to do. I'll take a Big Mac over a handful of roasted crickets any day.
Mcdonald's has stopped using this stuff but what about other restaurants and groceries? How is this product any less healthy than other meat products?
I choose to eat at home for cost reasons. Trying to save money. : )
I pack my own lunch as well. Just trying to save a buck or two.
I haven't SET FOOT in a McDonald's in about ten or twelve years. Articles like this keep reaffirming me why that is.
Huh? Given your enlightened views on just about every subject, coming from you Shuk I am shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you!!!
I'm not sure if that's sarcasm, but I assume it is....
I suppose the contrary view of "ewww, it looks yucky! I'm not gonna eat it! ewww!" is considerably more enlightened. (now that's sarcasm as well)
If the food is not a significant danger to my health, if it tastes decent, doesn't make me sick, and provides calories/nutrition necessary to live..... I really see no problem with it. The "yuck" factor is purely emotional. If someone is seriously concerned about a McDonald's hamburger killing them, I'm afraid that they must live one hell of a boring existence.
WarBeast wrote:
WarBeast, you don't have to eat meat or bugs to get protein. I have veggie burgers that have 18 grams of protein per patty. And other items like lentils (beans), brown rice, and even oatmeal have all the protein one needs, as well. Just Google "sources of protein for vegans" (or vegetarians, if you want dairy or eggs) and you'll find that bugs are far from your only alternative to meat for protein.
These posts are either hilarious or a sad example of use of the English language in a country that has stopped valuing education long ago. Vote Republican and keep up the same standards.
I'd even eat bugs if they were tasty, but I think a hamburger with bacon on top is probably my preferred method of protein for me lol. The vegan stuff I would eat too, I've had plenty of veggie burgers and I'm all about some beans... but I like my variety as well, and that includes cheap protein patties from McDonalds on occasion because I think it's tasty.
I enjoy my life by enjoying the things I enjoy. I stay relatively active and fit, but I see no need to go overboard. Super-healthy people get hit by cars all the time, die from cancer, or whatever; and I can think of a million much more likely ways that I will kick the bucket than my eating habits - so I don't really concern myself with it that much or think it's worth cutting out something I enjoy to guard myself against something that is probably going to happen regardless.
I won't eat there simply because of the fact that I have explosive diarrhea within minutes of eating their food...
Oh, and the fact that a mortician that comes to one of the family Christmas parties told me that people are not decaying like they used to because of all the food preservatives we use now days.
He actually made a light-hearted joke how he has extra time now versus 20 years ago before he has to start the embalming process.
I was always led to believe that Mc Donalds was run by the highest standards. They had their own ranches for beef, their own farmers for potatoes, and this wasn't unique to the US, but rather worldwide so that quality was assured in every single McDonalds you entered. Now, I never considered McDonald's as health food, or diet delight, but it has been an occassional treat for our family, but the idea of chemicals such as this will completely put me off McDonalds as a treat (Wow, if I were to feed my kid Clorox bleach, I would be up on child abuse charges, but the government says that these caustic chemicals are "neutral", not causing harm?????) Anyway, now that McDonalds has started an ad campaign to have the public meet their ranchers and farmers....when do we get to meet the chemists and hazardous waste specialists? And I want to know if Wendy's, Burger King, Checkers, Sonic, and the rest of them do the same thing.....Much as I hate to say it, this is the kind of thing that makes you want to stay home.
Dr. Cat
I think I'd rather eat the roasted crickets than a veggie-burger... those things are disgusting. I haven't tasted one yet that tastes even a quarter as good as a Big Mac. LOL
My wife tried to go the vegetarian route for a while, and though she is a dynamic cook, and what she cooked tasted good, every vegetarian dish she cooked would've tasted better with some sort of animal flesh in it.
Basically, all I'm saying is I know there are alternatives out there, but I'm still going to eat what I prefer. I'm not too worried about whether it's healthy or not. I'm in good shape, my cholesterol and my blood-pressure are at a good normal level and I don't have any digestive issues, so I figure as long as I'm active and the doctor isn't screaming at me to change my ways at every physical, I see no reason to alter my eating habits just because something icky happens during the production process.
I think that picture is actually of my former albino python, he was pink and thick, but not as slimey.
@WarBeast
Of course, it's up to everyone as to what they want to eat. I was raised on the typical "American diet," but wouldn't go back now after seeing all the benefits I've gotten from going vegan. And once you get really good at it, you can make things like spaghetti sauces that are as close to a sauce with meat as one can get. (In other words, if I didn't tell you, you probably wouldn't know.)
D.Man said above that he doesn't eat at McDonalds because of diarrhea issues... that's one great thing about going vegan. All those awful bathroom issues disappear. There are other pluses as well, like not having to use Viagra as you get older. E.D. isn't an issue of age. It's an issue of diet. (And all the fat that builds up in your arteries and blood vessels from meat-based diets.)
It does take effort to go vegan and be good at making things that taste great, but like anything, (exercise, etc), the effort is worth it, at least for me.
Well, since we're currently consuming 150% of our resources yearly on this over-populated planet, every scrap counts.
So they're picking on meat. The ammonia kills the bacteria.
Enjoying that cold soda on a hot day? Have some anti-freeze with that (Propolyne Glycol)
Nice fresh Chef's salad? Watch where you get the lettuce from (e-coli, dirt, bug droppings...)
Nothing could be better than that Chicago style hot dog at the ball park! (Made almost exclusively the way the video showed)
Fine! I'll just eat a nice bowl of cherry jell-o! (Animal hooves and bones)
OK! I get it! Just let me drink a glass of kool-aid then! (Bleached sugar, crushed beetles in Red #5)
You ingest more nasty crap than you can imagine. We all do.
For Arieus (no one else, don't look),
As you are using it, it is sores, not soars. A moth soars and a mouth has sores. No one can have a soar in their mouth, because it is a verb.
The rest of you can open your eyes now.
Think I just threw up a little after seeing that picture and reading the story...
What did they replace it with?
NEWS FLASH
EVERY HAMBURGER sold by the nations largest soft serve ice Cream franchise comes out of a tube as a LIQUID....
it is squirted out of a hose & onto a stainless steel chain belt and flash frozen before flows into a puddle & it looks like VOMIT .
Buying PROCESSED FOOD of ANY SORT sets the consumer up for frankenfood, you have NO IDEA what they put into processed food because they are allowed to be deceptive in their labeling thanks to CORPORATE WRITTEN LAWS passed by a BOUGHT CONGRESS .
Capitalism IS DEPENDENT ON the IGNORANCE of the CONSUMER !
Most likely they'll find another more gooey and gruesome substance as a substitute.
Happy eating sheeple!!!
Mr. Fids..
You said "Capitalism IS DEPENDENT ON the IGNORANCE of the CONSUMER !"... That's not necessarily true... I'd say, just as often, it is also dependent on APATHY of the consumer.. such is my case.. I KNOW that McD's food is unhealthy.. BUT... I simply DON'T CARE!
Dr. Cat
I suggest you look up the ingredients of those veggie patties, they have to use size 2 font to fit them all and have the ingredients you need a degree in chemistry to know what they are. In my opinion, just as appealing as McFatty meat.
Totally agree with Shuklack & WarBeast on this one. My general philosophy on processed foods is that ignorance is bliss. By and large, my diet is pretty healthy, but I do love me some fast-food every now and then.
Remember when McDonald's tagline was "made with real all-beef patties?" If you read the small print, turns out All Beef was the name of a company, a producer/supplier, not an ingredient.
In any case, if this is the first indication you have that fast food is not good for you, then you must be living under a rock. There are many, many fast foods that scare me much more than minute amounts of GRAS additive. Just look at Taco Bell and salmonella....much scarier than NH3OH.
Warbeast - I can honestly say I like your attitude. But as for McDonald's food... not so much, even before I knew about the dreaded pink goo, or is it pink poo?
In restrospect, none of us should have been surprised by this story.
@ carolyn, do not use God's name in vain.!!! i may be the only one here, but i will not let it go un noticed.!!! people need to start respecting God as the Creator of the universe.!!!
branxoz,
God hates tattletales.
If you buy any cow meat at a chain grocery store I guarantee it's been treated with carbon monoxide to extend the time frame in which it appears bright red. Whole muscle from a butcher is almost always a dark purplish-red, the actual color of meat...
branxoz -
You do realize that "God" is not a name.. it's more like a descriptive title.... you don't even know your own deity's name... I look at you.. I laugh at you... goddamn...
By the way, try commenting on the topic at hand next time, instead of irrelevant unnecessary meaningless posts about magic sky daddies.
Treated is one thing. Mixed with, is another. We're all exposed to miniscule amounts of carbon monoxide. In high concentrations it is immediately toxic and eventually fatal. But small amounts are of no consequence to your long term health.
DO NOT trust the FDA. They work for corporations and not for Americans. I will NEVER be eating at mcdonalds again. They have violated my health, conscience and my economies.
This guy Oliver openly admits he doesn't know how the process works, but then goes on to describe and execute a process of his own creation. He then uses his process to enlist support from the people he has conned to try to force the food industry to change how it operates. He is a charlatan at best.
Certainly his efforts got mcdonalds executives to move on their positions. A charlatan for showing the world he is worried about food supply. You are grasping Lee.
Not grasping, at all. Please watch the video again without the distractions. There is no evidence anything he did had any impact on McDonalds' decision. What is grasping is assuming you know facts that are not in evidence. What is grasping is assuming you know anything about the actual process used because you watched this video. What is grasping is ignoring Oliver's own words where he admits he knows nothing about the process and further tells you that what he uses as a process is from his imagination and, knowing that, giving credence to his demonstration.
This is analogous to having someone tell you they don't know how rocket flight works, further telling you how they imagine it works, and then giving them deferrence as an expert.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400685/Ammonia-in-Ground-Beef.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/027872_ammonia_beef_products.html
This ammonia-injected beef comes from a company called Beef Products, Inc. As NYT reports, the federal school lunch program used a whopping 5.5 million pounds of ammonia-injected beef trimmings from this company in 2008. This company reportedly developed the idea of using ammonia to sterilize beef before selling it for human consumption.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/027872_ammonia_beef_products.html#ixzz1lWafNr00
Yeah this charlatan is alone in the World. Telling his audience that he does not know the exact process which the company may use or the amounts thereof clearly shows a truthful approach. Full disclosure. It certainly does not take away any of his credibility as to try and show his audience a process which would include ammonia treatment of discarded beef, he is after all a Chef. Doubt a charlatan would work with full disclosure. Finally, he only asked for labeling and full disclosure from the FDA and the food companies. How charlatan of him.
I never claimed that the actual process used was a good idea. I don't know if it is or not. Neither do you.
Were he not a charlatan, he would not have resorted to dramatic effect to bolster his credibility.
By your definition all politicians are charlatans then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlatan
He did not sell anything to any of his audience. He certainly spelled out the process and showed a bottle of the chemical utilized in the process all the while explaining that he does not know the amount of chemicals actually utilized in proportions. A charlatan would not work that way. Asking for full disclosure from our government is our right and duty. We have been sold yet once again.
The definition you supplied fits him perfectly. His entire bit is to make the audience believe they are being duped by others while he uses pseudoscience to make his point.
What do you know about ammonium hydroxide? Are you aware that what he did in his demo does not equate to using ammonium hydroxide? Are you aware that if using ammonium hydroxide, which requires bubbling ammonium gas through water at the correct temperatures, the ammonium will evaporate rather rapidly? After the process, what is left?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_hydroxide
Just exactly where did he use pseudoscience. HE showed you exactly what kind of meats are being used. Not a lie. He placed it in a centrifuge. Not a lie. He added water and ammonia to the beef. Not a lie. He also told everybody that his presentation is a stage or an example because he obviously can not replicate the process of a factory 'exactly' as the process would be on the factory floor.
Joe is right.
Lee, we are all entitled to our opinions. Glad you have one and good health eating that rosy goo. I just have to disagree with you that he is a charlatan for caring about people's health. I certainly do not want my children eating this cr@p.
PJ, please stick with folklore. It is more up your alley. Goodbye.
I will stick with what is correct. When Viners, folklore, science, politics, industry or anything else for that matter tries to steer me in the wrong direction I will call them out as well. Cheers.
REPLY: GULP! So, we finally know the secret of the Big Mac "special sauce" Yikes! Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
Given this revelation, I sort of hope that the KFC and Coca-Cola "secret recipes" are left in their vaults, forever. Something tells me we really don't want to know!!!
:-(
Lol. Mmm. Thank god they don't charge extra for the slime in them Big Macs!
I, for one will probably eat MickyD's even more often! Someone in #1 mentioned they use the leanest ground beef they can afford. Anything leaner then 85/15 is too dry for burgers. 90/10 or 95/5 is only good for spaghetti sauce or hamburger chili and the like.
If this is all that would stop you from eating at MickyD's, I suggest you read the labels on everything you buy.
A few months ago a local TV station here did a segment on how they make their Chicken McNuggets. It looked like the same pink goo they show in this article as ground beef. I imagine those frozen 'boneless, skinless chicken breasts' and other frozen boneless chicken in the frozen food section of your supermarket is the very same thing. I bought those 'chicken breasts' once and think they taste nothing like real chicken and won't buy them ever again. If it doesn't have bones, it's probably not real chicken - at least not 100% chicken that you would want to put into your mouth if you knew what it really was. You can take a real half chicken breast with bones and skin, sprinkle a little seasoned salt on top, pop it into the oven for an hour and you have a delicious piece of chicken - no breading, no oil, just real baked chicken. Delicious! If you are worried about the skin - just don't eat it. I'm not a dietician but I am sure it's a lot more healthy than the pink goo disguised as chicken.
This is the only sensible thing you say - but of course you don't even understand that you got it!
You should read the labels on everything you eat, duh!
I like to eat for flavor. Nothing wrong with a little "juice" in your meat. I enjoy the convenience of fast food on occasion. When I said I would eat more now, I meant it. No more slimy pink stuff. But I was also being a bit sarcastic :) It is also a good thing to eat for health, I agree but I go by the philosophy to eat a little bit of everything, just don't eat so dang gone much! Too much too plenty no good. Yes yes, friuts and vegetables, but even some of them too much no good. It isn't good enough to just read the labels, one has to also understand them, which means understanding so many hidden meanings, like low fat, lite, light, no cholesterol. Lots of games the manufacturers play.
I have always like the notion that if you can't pronounce it, you probably don't want to eat it. I read labels all the time. And I am continually amazed that our government and the medical profession is very good at berating people for being careless and stupid with regards to healthful eating. It is so convenient to blame the person for their own illness, but most of us are not chemical engineers and not able to determine how "benign" these items might well be, and most of us, if we were aware of their presence, would avoid them anyway out of common sense. I am further amazed that the FDA, who is convened to protect the American public can actually permit this stuff and can actually pinpoint safe levels of caustic chemicals? Let's save lots of money in the federal budget as it doesn't appear that the FDA is really protecting us from anything anyway.
I have always like the notion that if you can't pronounce it, you probably don't want to eat it. I read labels all the time. And I am continually amazed that our government and the medical profession is very good at berating people for being careless and stupid with regards to healthful eating. It is so convenient to blame the person for their own illness, but most of us are not chemical engineers and not able to determine how "benign" these items might well be, and most of us, if we were aware of their presence, would avoid them anyway out of common sense. I am further amazed that the FDA, who is convened to protect the American public can actually permit this stuff and can actually pinpoint safe levels of caustic chemicals? Let's save lots of money in the federal budget as it doesn't appear that the FDA is really protecting us from anything anyway.
Sue,
You probably eat a little α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranoside every day. It goes by the much more common name of sugar. Just because something has a hard to pronounce name doesn't mean it is automatically harmful to you.
no but i'm betting that the alternatives will cost more money. that's ok. people shouldn't eat fast food anyway.
Gross. Disgusting, not healthy at all, and deceptive advertising. Nasty.
I always love the Chemphobia:
" ammonium hydroxide — an ingredient in fertilizers, household cleaners and some roll-your-own explosives"
I bet they also use water - a liquid used in all ovf the above and for cooling nuclear reactors...
Yup... while we're at it, we should boycott everything with Dihydrogen Monoxide... nasty stuff... found in cancer cells, and pretty much all foods either contain it or are processed with it.
For more information, look on dmho dot org
Brings a whole new meaning to 100% pure beef, doesn't it? I never dreamed that could mean ground up bone and "meat by-product" (does that include brains, eyeballs and testicles??) YUCK!!!!
Hey if you have never eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters" you don't know what you are missing>
Actually those "inedible" bits are commonly eaten by many cultures who can make them into extremely edible tasty meals.
It's the ammonia that bothers me.
I think most people would be amazed at how much better grass feed beef tastes compared to the stuff they sell in the store.
@Dave
I've heard them simply called Mountain Oysters before, and there's something wrong with that picture lol. Most people I know that have tried them say they're really good though, but I'll stick with a 1/2 pound of chemically induced beef (wonder if they serve that pink stuff in ice cream cones??)
(does that include brains, eyeballs and testicles??)
One can only hope so!
Well technically is is all "beef" it did come from a cow.....as far as we know! This is old news. Processed beef has been made this way for years.
This is beyond disgusting and almost immoral. WHY are were they even allowed to add such poison to their food.The very few times a year I crave fast food it will be In and Out only.
pmelros
You really don't read food labels now do you? If you did you would not be surprised by this. When is the last time you ate a hotdog? Yes you thought you knew it was bad but did you REALLY KNOW LOL
What you all going to do, stop eating? Its not just McDs. Everything has some kind of additives or pesticides on it in a grocery store. Even your veggies. They have to do something to keep food fresher to accomidate the growing number of people in the world. If you have a meat locker in your town you are better off getting your meat from there, if you can afford a half a hog or beef. Most of the time, its just better off not knowing the way most of your food is grown or made. I used to work in a meat packing plant and you don't want to know what is in bologna and hot dogs. Or your water added hams.
It's no wonder people are getting sick and fat ! What else are they putting in our food that we don't know about?????????????
The reason they are allowed to add toxic chemicals to food is because they hire very high-priced lobbyists that go to Washington and put their own laws into place and remove any common-sense protections for the consumer. There are rich guys like Romney putting dogs on the roofs of their cars for long-drives today because you eat chemical sludge they market as food.
YOU are essentially living in the Corporate States of America and Romney wants to be the Robber Baron in Magic Underpants king!
Pretty much ALL processed and packaged foods have chemicals in them that you should be concerned about. Pretty much all canned goods are high in BPA and other toxic chemicals - and that's before you even look at the "food" inside the can. You name it - if it is processed in a factory it is highly likely to contain lots of dirty little secrets in it...
Eating healthy isn't that hard if you use Google and trusted information sources like worldshealthyistfoods.com, web MD, and many other good sites. Don't trust Fox News or any corporate sites for your information.
In and Out only ,where pmelrose like to eat his burgers might be made from the same kind of meat Mc Donalt is using and many more burger places like this, but it comes to the point that you get scared to eat in any other place then your own home if you buy the meat straight from the butcher,and you hope that his meat is good,but this can be also a big question of how the catle were raised.
Totally agree about it being disgusting, but this article is typical of "scientific" reporting. Ammonium hydroxide and ammonium nitrate are two VERY different compounds. I don't want EITHER in my hamburger, but still, just saying.
Yes, it's disgusting. But you're right about "scientific reporting". Nitrogen gas (78% of the atmosphere) can be used to make ammonia, and ammonia in turn can be used to make ammonium hydroxide, which can then in turn be used to make ammonium nitrate. By the article's logic, beware the nitrogen gas in the atmosphere.
Regardless of the Mr. Greenjeans science lesson, I'm eating at BK from now on!
Yes, it will be much better to eat at BK, if you don't bust your a$$ slipping on the greasy floor, that is.
Mr. Greenjeanss??? Now THAT's funny.
Dudogger,
BK has used pink slime for years, as well. I wonder why the article didn't mention this fact or the fact that Wendy's has NEVER used it.
This "Pink Slime" has been added to your Ground Beef bought in stores for years. It is not new. If you buy a 5 pound "CHUB" of ground beef that is prepackaged it has about 20 % fat added. This 20% is loaded with "Pink Slime". The only way to know for sure is to know your source, a local trusted butcher. Good luck finding a fast food place that will not use fake fillers, legal or not, moral or not..... Peace!
Yeah, it is very typical. "Found in fertilizer, some household cleaners, and explosives"
Also found in fertilizer - nitrogen (naturally occurring in the air), potassium (found in bananas), calcium (found in milk)
Also found in some household cleaners - lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar
Also found in some explosives - fertilizer (see above)
So make sure you stay away from air, lemons, bananas, and dairy products too everybody!
So what? Calcium derivatives are used to de-ice the roads. Are you prepared to give up ever eating salt?
It's bad enough they can't use 90/10 beef in their burgers and find a way to flash bake their fries instead of turning a 110 cal potato into slivers of death.... Now they want to turn us into unaware suicide bombers... Nice job Ronald, how hard can it be to make the stuff U peddle fit for human consumption..... I realize 50/50 (I know it's no more than 30% fat), beef is a real money maker for U guys, but have you considered some other kind of nutritional filler? We need all the renderings we can get our hands on for BIO FUEL..... Who's the brain trust that came up with apple dippers? U better patent them for their saturated fat absorption abilities..... 2 late APPLE Inc. just did.....
Oh no..... My Big Mac is ticking.....
"Slivers of death"? Relax, sister. They are fried potatoes, not poison. And 90/10 beef? Did you expect Kobe? For two bucks?
I get you're being funny and all, but think about it: you (OK, not you but someone) goes in and for three bucks you get a bag of *something* that may even be scraped off the parking lot, but it's apparently edible.
jtjo, the great thing is that you don't have to eat at McDonalds, they will survive it. I read somewhere that the average person who eats cereal most of the time for breakfast eats at least a pound of rat crap, and not necessarily from McDonalds. Strange things in food is a fact of life, and will continue to be, no matter where you dine, even at home. Most home kitchens would not pass a McDonalds health inspection.
Very unhealthy, not a good idea for the customers they should know better than that. I'm glad that I don't eat there that often and I like Wendy's much better there burgers taste much healthier.
jstewart, the same thing in in Wendy's hamburgers.
Dasvet,
Wendy's NEVER used pink slime.
I only in there in extreme cases. Mcdonalds is poison food!!!!
dang... bet the burgers don't taste as good now!
You may be onto something there...let me know when you go into business and produce what you're advocating someone else should do as you enjoy the comfort of your couch. You'll be the leader of a multinational, multi billion dollar giant in no time flat!
Now I know why vegetarians ARE vegetarians. Yuk! One look at that pile of pink slop, then reading the part of the article that basically states that McDonalds meat is basically ammonia treated dog food has me ready to eat nothing but veggies myself.
I became a vegetarian about 5 years ago when in one month there were four meat recalls that I knew of, and a video of a cow being tasered and lifted by a forklift because it was too sick to stand and walk to the slaughterhouse.
Beyond the ammonia aspect of the story, I felt so sorry for the cow in that segment. I don't think that Oliver would have had any takers had he said that if any of the adults wanted to eat beef they should be able to kill that cow in front of their children. It's a lot easier to eat meat when meat is an ingredient and not an dead animal that you had to kill.
You are going to be so healthy eating bugs, grasshoppers, rat feces with those vegetables.
Christina, My husband is a hunter. He hunts white tail deer and brings them home for processing. I bought a meat grinder attachment for my mixer so we could use even MORE of the meat than we previously had been. I have helped him to process/butcher deer in the past - he would cut the deer into quarters and I would take all the meat off the bones. Our 5 year old son observed the two deer carcasses he was able to bring home this year while they were still in the back of the truck and he HELPED (as much as he could) to process the venison and get it ready to come upstairs so I could put the roasts, steaks etc in the freezer and then he helped me to feed the small pieces of meat into the grinder to make ground venison. The few parts that we don't personally eat, we return to the Earth to feed her other children.
Today's societies are removed from the processing of animals into meat, but our not-so distant ancestors were not. Kids who grow up on farms also are not sheltered from the realities of where their meat come from. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I spent a lot of time in farm country so I didn't grow up with an illusions about where my meat comes from. You'd be surprised at what country folk would allow their kids to see and take part in when it comes to getting meat on the table. Urban and Suburban people may not have any idea about where their meat comes from ... they also are probably not aware that the beef they are eating is "genetically modified" over generations and centuries to yield more fat, more muscle and thus is not as good for their bodies as the original animals before selective inbreeding were. Venison and Buffalo (along with other "game" animals) are MUCH healthier for you than cattle, pigs, chickens and commercially raised turkeys (interbred to increase the breast meat)... but you won't be finding venison or buffalo/bison steaks and roasts in your grocery store (you CAN find ground bison, though) because there simply aren't enough bison farms or wild bison to fill the demand.
Meat is often just not healthy, even when it is real, actual meat. If meat and dairy is something you must have then eat it sparingly and in moderation. Vegetables and fruit, fresh or frozen, is the answer to good health and ironically also to being environmentally and socially responsible.
When it comes from the American Food Industrial Complex it is more like a toxic petroleum-based product than actual meat.
Dasvet--huh?
Cat--agreed. However, the audience in Oliver's show would see that cow as a cute little pet, not dinner. I still don't think anyone in that audience would have killed that cow, and certainly not in front of their children. We, as a society, are so removed from the reality of where our food comes from and what is in it and how most factory farm animals live their lives.
I, personally, can't kill that cow so I shouldn't be eating it. I would probably fish if I had to survive, but I am not in that situation.
And what about that poor little fish's rights? Christina, you are being silly. I thought I would just join you.
For all the vegetarians out there, there are things to be concerned about. Much produce now comes from out of the country where practices in farming allow flooding fields with raw sewage - human and animal as fertilizer- hence e-coli and salmonella outbreaks from vegetables. You can't wash this stuff out because it was taken up into the plant and is part of the plant. Also, there are the chemicals in our ground water, in our soil, acid rain etc, and as plants naturally purify the environment, those toxins are in the plants themselves. And the quest to breed better, larger, more fruitful plants, we have pretty much created things that look pretty but don't have alot of nutritional value...a plant that could yield four tomatoes at a time is being pushed to produce double...but it is sitting in the same soil with the same amount of nutrients coming up the stem from the roots and that is being divided among how many extra fruits...that is why food doesn't taste like it used to and doesn't carry the nutrition
Daveset--at some point you do what you have to do to survive. I, thankfully, am not there. For me, it's about personal responsibility. If you want to eat it, you should kill it yourself. Yes, the poor fish has rights, which is why I would not kill an animal for food lightly. Many hunting cultures have the ritual where you thank the spirit of the animal you just killed for helping you to survive.
There are issues with the vegetables being grown. It's pretty much a given now that consumers should be eating mostly organic vegetables. I get locally grown organic vegetables at the co-op. They are not pretty, but they taste very good. Don't even get me started on the GMO issue.
We live out in the country. Our next-door neighbor is a cow pasture and another neighbor has goats and sheep along with cattle. My son is very aware of the fact that cows are beef, pigs are bacon or pork chops etc. We've had an incident with a territorial ram who battered us and I am personally aware that cattle, chickens, goats, sheep and turkeys are STUPID. Pigs are more intelligent ... but they are so TASTY when they have been smoked. I guess while I didn't grow up on a farm, the time I spent at farms in the area I grew up in (we had a cow pasture across the street) and the fact that my great-grandparents had a farm helped me to grow up knowing that cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys were for food.
I believe that humans are omnivorous, but we need to raise and dispatch the animals in a humane manner. The cattle farms around here are not factory farms, the cattle are moved from field to field and are raised on grass along with their grains. Our deer population is certainly raised on grass, acorns, corn from harvested fields, clover and my roses and shrubs. The buffalo farm not too far from here actually invites people to come and look at the herd in their pasture. The move away from "natural" game to the "farm-raised" game has contributed to the obesity epidemic as well as the skyrocketing cholesterol issues in America. It also has driven natural apex predators to the brink of extinction as more and more land is needed for the farms and people have moved cattle into areas they are NOT genetically compatible with (like Wyoming and Montana and Texas) because of the scarcity of suitable grass. I honestly wish we could get away from the cattle-heavy diets in America and reduce the acres of grazing land to those areas where it makes SENSE and allow the original apex predators to return and allow the Buffalo to return to areas that they were DESIGNED for by evolution.
Cat--I totally agree with you. People with your opinions, however, are in the very small minority. Most people scarf down factory farm raised animals without any regard as to how those animals lived or died.
If we are looking at this issue in evolutionary terms, humans are omnivorous, but wild game is much tougher and leaner than farm-raised game. Humans also ate more grains and vegetables than they did meat. There is a reason we have the tradition of the big roast for holidays--the rest of the time most people had a minimum of meat in their diets, and they ate or preserved the whole animal--brains, tongues, kidneys, hides, etc.
I think there is a difference between wild and domesticated animals in the sense that a wild turkey will act differently than a farm-raised turkey. Also, we have bred animals to the point that it is hard to say how intelligent the animal originally was in the wild.
your kidding right? thats crazy!
but not as crazy as msg in lots of your food!
checkout www.nomsg.weebly.com/products.html for
seasonings without the junk.
Pure vegan propaganda.
@Christian, Nope I eat meat every other day and eat healthy and thats the only way to go for me and
many others[like me] eat lean food and enjoy life, but thoughs[mcd's] burgers taste so-so , but I prefer a Sonic burger.
I really prefer my own burgers. At least I know there's actual meat in it and not pink gooey slime and who knows what else.
CarolynG....you watch your butcher ground your meat? It's in all the ground beef sold at Wal-Martz... Getting 100% Angus is the only way to eliminate it unless you have butcher... just sayin'.
!00% angus is not 100% beef, by a long shot. That meat is mixed up with all other breeds of beef cattle meat. I used to work for a meat packing company.
Gee I wonder why conditions like ADD, ADHD, and Autism (just to name a few) are on the rise?
just look at big-pharma as to the reasons for that...
Because people are hysterical twits and confuse normal childhood behavior with the disease du jour.
Not to mention medicated children are easier to handle by incompetent "education majors".
ADHD medications are stimulants, not depressants. If a child becomes easier to handle after being given stimulants, they're probably ADHD. Otherwise, they'd be off the walls and jittery instead. Just because a given condition is over-diagnosed doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist.
Oh man isn't that the truth. My nephew before I took custody of him had; ADHD, dyslexia and disgraphia (the inability of write neatly) and was on a host of meds. It was a easier fix than working with him. When I got him, I took away his meds and gave him a foot up his a** and viola, cured! Okay it wasn't an over night process, it was actually a battle royal but he hasn't been on meds in years and just made honor roll.
Wow, you're a miracle worker! Ever think of taking that stank foot of yours on the road? With your personality, you'd be a hit!
So instead of medications, lets just beat our children senseless and that'll cure em! Much better than ADHD drugs.
Just take a belt and beat your kid until he's a crying mess lying on the ground in a fetal position. Or if you don't have a belt, just punch him in the stomach repeatedly.
That'll show the pharma industry right? I'm sorry, comments like that are just sickening.
No THESE comments are sickening and weird. What the f**k are you even talking about???
I'm all about meds when their warranted but when their used because actually "working" with a child is too much trouble that's sickening. That is setting them up for failure. The kid went from Cs and D's on meds and low self esteem to honor roll this week, feeling on top of the world and no meds. There's your child abuse.
No, I just give a damn.
Ammonium hydroxide is safe and also removes E.coli. Here are some questions and answers about it. People are way to paranoid!
I don't believe that ammonium hydroxide is safe for a second. Is it one of those compounds that the FDA assumes will vanish/evaporate in the cooking process? Anyway, why is it bright pink? Now, maybe Jamie Oliver can convince the food industry to get rid of the BPA in canned foods.
It's interesting that McDonald's supports sick children and their families with the Ronald McDonald houses. Maybe some day a light bulb will go on and they'll stop poisoning the food they serve kids and their families.
Nice post Carolyn G. My daughter was going to put her son on meds. The kid is bright and plays with Legos for over 2 hours at a time. However a teacher said he was ADHD. My daughter told the doctor who IMMEDIATELY without testing gave him meds! The kid is 6 and underweight. I told my grown daughter if you give him ONE of those I will come over and kick your behind!. You are ABSOLUTELY right. It's easier to drug them than work with them. The attack by Real World Progressive- they consider ALL discipline as "beating" our kids. Not true- so congrats on your success! You saved one kid from probably a lifetime of drugs and liver disease!
I'll miss the pink-goo burgers....
you wood mr Mc Goo.
Jon, and McDonalds will certainly miss you.
What a relief, for a second I thought they were getting rid of the secret sauce!
Hahahahaha! When I clicked on the article I thought so too! Not that I have ever eaten it (eck!) but that was the only discernible thing I could come up with.
Oh No! Put a gallon of mayonaise under the heat lamp! We're out of secret sauce!
My God I will never eat another bite of hamburger, Muck Donalds or Processed Food of any Kind. The Stingy Greedy Jew bastards can keep their filthy crap and eat it themsleves..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
Ok, you will you stop eating this crap now?
Probably not. It didn't taste that bad while they were using the pink slime. Maybe it'll taste better without it.
The author of this article needs to use Snopes. Mechanically separated "pink slime" meat is not treated with ammonium hydroxide (although some may get in it) and is not scrap meat. The "pink slime" meat is probably a lot safer to eat than the meat that is actually treated with ammonium hydroxide.
You DID read the bit where McDonald's ITSELF admitted they had *ceased* using the ingredient, no?
You'll note that here and other places where this story is up, McDonald's does NOT deny the usage of the chemical OR the processing of the meat with it in the past.
FWIW, I'm married to a chef and yeah, there's TONS of companies that make meat extenders with stabilizers of this sort in them. You should read the foodservice industry trade magazines he gets - it's *unreal* the things restaurants are offered that can make it into a menu and the consumer *never knows* how gross and inorganic and unappetizing most of it is.
Better living through chemistry, and a whole bunch of food coloring and flavoring too.
Publicity is why they quit using it, not that it was harmful, but some people only scratch the surface when trying to learn the real situation in all of our food processes.
Food and Art,
I don't think you actually clicked on the link, where it says that McDonalds "admitted" this.
It leads to the Snopes article. Which says that the meat is NOT soaked in Ammonia, but that the Ammonia is part of the refrigeration process, and that occasional leakages of the chem gets into the meat. That its ALSO occasionally used in small amounts as an anti-bacterial.
In addition, it says that McDonalds stopped using the MSP based food in their nuggets since 2003.
So now... its not because of pressure on them because of this.
Read, people. Read.
Chicago John...that it even comes near our food/meat is a problem..Ammonia is toxic and just the fumes of it are caustic...try putting your nose to a bottle of it and breathe in...IT HURTS RIGHT? So just imagine what that is doing to our insides....of course they are going to minimize this...and let's forget about the Ammonia for a moment shall we...WHAT ABOUT THE MATERIAL THAT IS USED TO MAKE THIS STUFF...the bits and scraps of the cow that is deemed 'Unedible" and used for dog and cat chow....how is that ok to put into our food?
And you thought Taco Bell's meat was bad! L M A O
I like Mcdonald's fries with a strawberry shake for dippin !!
That's disgusting. Everyone knows that Vanilla is the proper dipping shake.
;)
Nope - the best shake is a Wendy's Chocolate Frosty with some salted fries for dippin! Yum!
I'm sick of companies making a profit at the risk of our health. This has to stop!
You are probably sicker at all the companies that make a profit.
On the other hand, heck with it, I own a meat grinder. I already never buy "stew beef". More economical (and safer) to buy chuck roast and just cut it up. I'll just make my own hamburger from now on, and the ground beef producers can go to (one of those words people punctuate in the middle of).
wise choice ski
Notice the 'generally regarded as safe' statement?
Those are 'weasel words' that business uses as a way to dodge liability if it is discovered that a product or additive DOES have a long-term, chronic toxic effect.
The American public - the *consumer* - really, REALLY needs to pay attention to the claims that businesses make about their products - esp. the Big Food concerns, many of which have taken dissembling about their products and ingredients to the level of an advanced artform.
Years ago - I stated that I'd tunnel a big fat juicy BOOGER out of my nose and eat it before I"d put anything from McDonald's into my pie-hole.
That is nasty. Makes me OH! so glad I stopped eating McDonald's, or any fast food, almost 30 years ago.
My question is when did McDonald's start to incorporate this filth into their products?
That's just gross. Again, I am SO glad I stopped eating that stuff in the early 80's.
Ammonium hydroxide is used is nearly all dairy foods and meats to prevent ecoli outbreaks. It also appears naturally in many foods, including beef.
Please do not confuse all these people who are posting here with facts.
Betty Poison is considered medicine up to certain level.
Food for thought: what else is in fast food that the general public does not yet know about?
I know that there are more than 25 chemicals in their chicken mcnuggets. I avoid eating there. The founder of the chain would be outraged at the stuff they pass off as food.
Well, their fries may be sprayed with a chemical that helps them brown when cooked. Their rolls are sprayed with something like that. Come on, folks. Enough is enough.
Soylent green is people!
And Soylent Pink is REAL.