McDonald's Pink Slime

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Steve Kroll

Wine Guy
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When I tell people that I avoid fast food and only buy organic, grass-fed beef, many assume that I'm some kind of a food snob or "elitist." Maybe I am. But when I read articles like the one below, it only reassures me that I'm probably doing the right thing. Some of the additives and processing methods that our government allows is downright appalling.

McDonald’s Pink Slime is Off the Menu

This is what McDonald's does (or did) to its beef, but what the article doesn't tell you is that it's a common practice. This ammonia-laden pink goo is in 70% of the ground beef available everywhere, from school lunch programs to fast food to supermarkets. All in the name of saving about 3 cents per pound.
 
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I think it is more a reflection on the consumer than on the government. It has been my observation that most people are more concerned about price than they are about quality, processing or country of origin. It amazes me when I go into a dollar store and see olives from Egypt or pickles from India being sold at a dollar a jar. It used to be that we thought of imported items as premium products to be coveted now they are viewed with suspicion. I would very much like us to return to the small farm/shopkeeper that was just fading out as I was growing up. I really don't hold much hope for it as a main stream way of life. It is sad, I feel like I am beginning to sound like an old curmudgeon shaking his cane. Its time to WAKE UP AMERICA!!!:(:ermm::ohmy:
 
A lot of times if I find a piece of meat that is on sale, I will get a couple and grind them myself with my KA grinder. My son also will bring his meat over and use the grinder. Freshly ground chuck makes fantastic hamburgers. :chef:
 
AHHHH ya, THAT was a mental picture I could have done without. :sick: The article too. Informative tho thank you for the post.
While on the subject of government and food, anyone read the book "Gristle?" A real eyeopener.
 
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Buy fish or a chicken sandwich then you will have no slime to deal with.
 
Buy fish or a chicken sandwich then you will have no slime to deal with.
Maybe not, but the mile-long ingredient list for these two items doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence either...

Nutrition Facts for McDonald's Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients: Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Water, Seasoning ( Salt, Spice(s) and Spice(s) Extractive ), Sodium Phosphate, Wheat Flour, Corn Starch Modified, Egg(s) Whites Dried, Wheat Gluten, Leavening ( Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate ), Vegetable(s) Oil, May contain : Vegetable(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated and/or Corn Oil Partially Hydrogenated and/or Canola Oil Partially Hydrogenated and/or Cottonseed Oil and/or Sunflower Oil and/or Corn Oil ), TBHQ and Citric Acid To Preserve Freshness, Dimethylpolysiloxane, Flour Enriched Bleached ( Ammonium Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid, Baking Soda, Wheat Flour Bleached, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Disodium EDTA To Protect Flavor, Calcium Propionate Used AS A Preservative, Calcium Silicate, Calcium Sulphate (Sulfate), Dough Conditioner(s) ( Egg(s) Yolks, Emulsifier(s) ( Enzyme(s) ), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB), Corn Syrup High Fructose, Barley Malted Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Contains less than 22% of Salt, Sesame Seed(s), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sorbitol, Soy Flour, Soybean(s) Oil, Sugar, Thiamine (Thiamin), Tomato(es), Vinegar, Egg(s) Whole, Yeast, Mustard Flour, Mono and Diglycerides, Calcium Peroxide, Corn Starch, Polysorbate 20, Ammonium Chloride, Azodicarbonamide, Lemon(s) Juice Concentrate, Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Fatty Acids, Ethanol, Potassium Propionate ), Lettuce


Nutrition Facts for McDonald's Filet-o-Fish Sandwich

Ingredients: Fish Filet Patty (Hoki, Fish Pollock, Water, Food Starch Modified, Corn Flour Yellow, Wheat Flour Bleached, Salt, Whey, Dextrose, Cellulose Gum, Dimethylpolysiloxane An Anti-foaming Agent, Yeast Dried, Paprika Extract, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Polyphosphate, Sugar, Turmeric Extract, Cooked in Vegetable(s) Oil [May contain one or more of : Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean(s) Oil, Soybean(s) Oil Hydrogenated, with TBHQ and Citric Acid To Preserve Freshness], Flavor(s) Natural), Bun (Flour Enriched [Wheat Flour Bleached, Barley Malted Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB), Enzyme(s)], Water, Corn Syrup High Fructose, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean(s) Oil and/or Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Salt Contains 2% or less of the Following: ( Calcium Sulphate (Sulfate), Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Propionate and Dough Conditioner(s) [Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Mono and Diglycerides, Ethoxylated Monoglycerides, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzyme(s), Guar Gum, Soy Flour, Calcium Peroxide], Sodium Propionate [Preservative], Soy Lecithin, Wheat Gluten, Ammonium Chloride), Tartar Sauce (Soybean(s) Oil, Pickle(s) Relish [Pickle(s) Chopped, Vinegar, Salt, Capers, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate Preservative, Calcium Chloride, Spice(s) Extractive, Polysorbate 80], Egg(s) Yolks, Water, Onion(s), Vinegar Distilled, Sugar, Spice(s), Salt, Parsley, Potassium Sorbate Preservative, Xanthan Gum), Cheese American Pasteurized Process (Milk, Water, Milk Fat, Cheese Culture, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Citric Acid, Sorbic Acid Preservative, Sodium Phosphate, Acetic Acid, Color(s) Artificial, Enzyme(s), Lactic Acid, Soy Lecithin)
 
Disgusting, isn't it? :sick:

Non-food food ~ no wonder so many people are sick with preventable diseases.
 
Disgusting, isn't it? :sick:

Non-food food ~ no wonder so many people are sick with preventable diseases.

Not really. If you were to investigate each one of those ingredients, you'd find a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they are in each of those menu items.

Some of them are due to the logistics of getting the chicken or fish from the live animal to your mouth without harm to you. I know, it's popular to think that all chemicals in food are bad. That's not true. Some chemicals are added to protect you. Some are added to keep the food more fresh tasting, and give it a longer shelf life.

Its a case of not being able to have it both ways. Mickey D can't provide the amount of food in so many different places in a timely, safe manner unless they do add most of that stuff. After it arrives, they still have to prepare it safely and get it into a bag for you to take with you.

Take Dimethylpolysiloxane for example. It's used as an ingredient to prevent the cooking oil from foaming over and causing injuries to the staff which cooks the chicken and fish. Without it, much less could be added to each fryer, causing a major slowdown in producing the sandwiches, resulting in Long, long lines at the counter while everyone waits for thier meal to be cooked. This doesn't work in the fast food industry. People want their sandwich NOW, and I mean NOW!!!! or they will go to your competitor to eat. Without Dimethylpolysiloxane, there would be more injuries from foaming 350F oil and massive legal actions in multimillion dollar lawsuits. That also would be calculated into your counter price. How about a $10 chicken sandwich instead of what it costs now? How about if a bucket of chicken at KFC cost $40 everywhere?

The logistics of getting live animals from where they are raised to your mouth to chew are huge and complicated, especially when you multiply the problems by "Billions Served".

I've heard people say "They didn't add preservatives and because they got to skip a step in manufacturing, I had to pay more than the stuff they put preservatives into!

Well, a lesser shelf life means a completely different set of logistics and much more waste. Someone has to pay the price and Mickey D isn't going to pay you to be more healthy. You cost them more, they pass that cost along to you.
 
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In Quebec McDonald's sells sandwiches, not burgers. They aren't allowed to call them burgers. :ohmy: :LOL:

They also sell "shakes", not milkshakes and I think it's just plain "cones" as well.

I haven't eaten there since the early '80s (and not often then) and haven't even bought coffee from them in over 20 years.
 
The article linked in the OP justifies my reluctance to purchase fast food, and supermarket hamburger meat too. And Steve's reply regarding all the chemicals is further justification. Yeah you need all that stuff to serve mass quantities of food, but how about just cooking your own food and you'll have maybe 6 or 7 ingredients? And none of them requiring a chemistry degree to understand...

I prefer to buy inexpensive steaks and then just trim them myself and give them a quick run in my food processor. At least I know there aren't any cow lips or cow noses in my hamburgers! :)
 
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