Food safety seems to be a topic on everyone’s minds nowadays, and with good reason. Now, a battle is erupting over a beef product that some say are healthy and others negatively refer to as pink slime.
Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota-based company, has found themselves in the crosshairs of those who question the safety and quality of their boneless lean beef trimmings product.
It all comes down to the process that’s used to make the product. BPI puts the beef into a centrifuge that spins and removes the fat from the product, which leaves about 90% lean beef. BPI claims that this is no different than what a cook would do to remove the fat from a product; they say the centrifuge just expedites the product.
However, a report on ABC World News Tonight referred to the product as filler and not a meat. It also said such filler is used in more than 70% of meat products in the country. Reports have cited the concerns of two former USDA employees who do not appreciate the government’s decision to allow the beef. A petition has been created asking the USDA to cancel an order of seven million pounds of the item.
As a personal injury lawyer in Fresno, I’ll be paying attention to any further developments in this story. It’ll be interesting to see what the general consensus becomes and how the USDA decides to respond to this. I’ll certainly be keeping track as a Bakersfield personal injury lawyer.