Grumpy Editor wonders why newspaper and magazine food writers didn’t raise eyebrows in preparing tasty meat recipes when one of the “hidden” ingredients --- used for two decades --- recently surfaced, branded as “pink slime,” a ground beef additive made from butchered scraps.
Perhaps food writers were too involved in getting the right amount of cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chopped ginger, steamed snow peas or cilantro leaves into recipes.
Furthermore, in most cases, ground beef bolstered by the filler then was treated for bacteria with ammonium hydroxide (two words normally not found as mouth-watering ingredients in recipes).
The so-called pink slime recently made the rounds on the Internet, bringing it to light and triggering supermarket chains to proclaim they would phase out the ground beef containing the mysterious filler.
Among them: Safeway Inc., Kroger Co. and Supervalu Inc., which operates Albertson’s and Jewel-Osco.
Despite this and knowing about the meat filler coupled with the ammonium hydroxide treatment, the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintained all was safe for the pink slime-laced ground beef highlighted in backyard barbecues and in preparing culinary delights when relatives visit.
Comments