South Dakota beef company to close plants over 'pink slime' controversy

South Dakota beef company to close plants over 'pink slime' controversy
Published May 07, 2012
FoxNews
Associated Press

The company Beef Products Inc. announced they will have to close plants in Texas, Kansas, and Iowa because of what they say is the "unfounded attacks" against their "Great" product we all call Pink Slime.

It is a shame that 650 people will lose jobs, but maybe a study or two by experts would have given them a clue about Public Perception when it comes to eating something that had contact with the same stuff we use to clean windows and strip wax off floors !!

Not even to mention that ammonia stinks to high heaven

DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. – Beef Products Inc. will close processing plants in three states this month because of the controversy surrounding its meat product that critics have dubbed "pink slime," a company official said Monday.

About 650 jobs will be lost when the plants close on May 25 in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kansas; and Waterloo Iowa, company spokesman Rich Jochum said. A plant in South Sioux City, Neb., will remain open but run at reduced capacity.

The South Dakota-based company blamed the closures on what it said were unfounded attacks over its lean, finely textured beef. During its processing, bits of beef are heated and treated with a small amount of ammonia to kill bacteria. The filler has been used for years and meets federal food safety standards.

Shall we call in a violin quartette now ?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided that school districts may stop using it, and some retail chains have pulled products containing it from their shelves.


State executives who have supported the company blamed what they considered a smear campaign against the product, which has drawn scrutiny even though they and industry officials insist that it's safe.

Ammonia poisoning

Ammonia is a strong, colorless gas. If the gas is dissolved in water, it is called liquid ammonia. Poisoning may occur if you breathe in ammonia. Poisoning may also occur if you swallow or touch products that contain very large amounts of ammonia.

WARNING: Never mix ammonia with bleach. This causes the release of toxic chlorine gas, which can be deadly.

What about that Happy Meal folks !!

State executives who have supported the company blamed what they considered a smear campaign against the product, which has drawn scrutiny even though they and industry officials insist that it's safe.

Oh??? Perfectly safe and good eh? Okay.. I'll buy that for a $3 bill. Now, when these fine, upstanding defenders of the beef plants start eating their own "safe" and "good" product and more than a single stunt at a press conference, I might actually believe them. However, after reading the first round of stories about this pink crap? I'd rather eat Spam in a Can as my sole diet.....and I hate Spam.

Good, let it close down. Are we supposed to feel sorry for this place? If they made quality products then it wouldn't be closing its doors. People don't want to eat pink slime, improve the quality or go out of business.

Once the controversy is gone and swept under the rug they'll be putting the stuck back in our food again.

Here in the UK most of the cooked meat products on supermarket shelves are 'formed from' the actual product. What does that mean? It means they mix up a load of slurry then shape the gunk to look like a cut of ham/whatever. You really have to search to find a cut of pure cooked meat and even then it may have added water or preservative. Unfortunately people don't seem to know (or care) what they are eating.
Of course the real thing is a lot more expensive but I would rather have a little of what I know than more of what is essentially an artificial prodiuct.

This just goes to show you that public opinion (when people actually know the facts) can still make a difference. That is a relief to me! I had been wondering if the opinion of the people matters anymore. This little tidbit gives me a little hope!

I don't personally believe that it was an "attack" on the company. Reading the original "pink slime" articles that were brought to my attention made me start going to a local organic beef producer. Let me tell you-the natural stuff reminds me of how meat tasted when I was a young kid.

I really wish the FDA would reconsider how much man made crap is allowed to go into our foods these days. There is enough scientific evidence that this stuff is way worse than it is good for a person. Yet it is still approved by TPTB.

Just think of how it would conserve the precious black gold that is oil in the ground if they were to eliminate all the artificial craps that are added to food, and just let people eat things that are natural. It would be healthier and it would be cheaper, with the exception of the fact that the non-preserved stuff would be have to be kept frozen before being sold...

Originally posted by xuenchen

The filler has been used for years and meets federal food safety standards.

And how is that even relevant?

You could say the same thing about the Japanese turd burger too.

The problem here is people don't want to eat it. If they want to solve this problem, they need to come up with some manipulative form of trickery to convince people otherwise.

reply to post by NuclearPaul


The turd burger wasn't real.
www.youtube.com...

Anyway, on to the topic. Why are you guys going on about pink slime when this process is used on almost all industrial meats? If ammonia gas near your food bothers you then you better stop buying meat at the grocery store. Most of it is irradiated as well.

Here's the detail I looked for in the linked news article:

" "BPI is a good family-owned business, and we will continue to work with them in an effort to continue to promote their safe and healthy beef," Heineman said."

This is just the latest move in a long-ongoing campaign of the big corporate beef industry against the small family-or-individually-owned segment of the industry.

Pink slime gives a whole new meaning to, " 100% pure beef !"
Now that this is out in the open it makes you wonder how long the fast food industry has been using it.

Whats the matter with people politicians know whats good for us we are too stupid to know that for ourselves so we need to obey them without question!