Good Morning Carnivores,
I’ve been thinking about this for some time. There are quite often ‘Hot Button’ topics I’m asked to explain, this is one I’ve been asked about a LOT lately.
What I’m about to write will come as a surprise to some of you, some of you are already aware of this ‘Process’.
Controversy.
It makes headlines, sells newspapers and leads off the evening news. Sometimes it’s good for careers, sometimes it shatters them. Often it provokes an angry reaction.
This topic is one of those that provokes an angry reaction.
You’ve all heard the term “mechanically separated”. If you haven’t, take a look at a package of Hot Dogs.
‘Mechanically separated’ … it’s been going on since processed meats have been available, and it refers to a “heat-treated method” the industry uses to extract every available ounce of usable meat from a carcass, once an animal has been slaughtered and cut down. All of the leftover scraps of fat, sinew, tendon and bone are sent to another ‘stage’ where they go through a heating process (just over 100 degrees F). This produces an end result that is then spun in a centrifuge. The resulting product from the centrifuge is called (Click here:) Lean Fine Textured Beef (LFTB) and, it resembles pink tooth paste. The LFTB is then treated with Ammonium Nitrate gas to kill any potentially harmful bacteria that is inevitably present.
I know all of this sounds disgusting but, the process has been approved, is monitored by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and determined to be safe for humans to consume.
LFTB has been added to ground beef and ground beef products for years. If you’ve ever eaten burgers from your favourite fast food joint, chances are very good you’ve already eaten your fair share of it.
Now, … if that’s not controversial enough for you, add to the mixture one celebrity Chef named Jamie Oliver, his school lunch crusade and a nickname given to LFTB: Pink Slime.
I’m here to neither endorse nor discredit the use of LFTB in ground beef products, but I can tell you that since (Click here:) Jamie Oliver made this issue front and centre on his syndicated TV show the topic has gone viral. Since originally airing, the use of LFTB in MANY major fast food restaurants and big chain grocery stores has been completely discontinued.
Controversy. It gets the blood moving.
As for me, … I still love a Hot Dog at the Ball park. Everything in moderation folks.
Stay hungry Carnivores
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