Ammonia in Your Beef

Filed in National by on January 5, 2010

And this isn’t even a story about Chinese made or processed goods.

Via the NYT — Beef trimmings were often sent off to be made into cooking oil or into pet food because the trimmings had a high risk of E. coli, salmonella and other food pathogens. A company called Beef Products, though, found a way around this — by treating this beef (gassing it basically) with ammonia. This ammoniated beef is then sold to school lunch programs and McDonalds and other processors where it is used as an extender product.

Appalled yet? There’s more. This company got this product and process approved by the USDA 8 years ago — and the USDA was so impressed with Beef Products’ own research (not verified by the USDA) that they exempted Beef Products’ “beef” from additional E. coli testing. Part of the pitch that got bought here was that this ammoniated beef would also kill the pathogens in the meat it was mixed with. Along the way, people complained about the taste and the smell of this beef, beef was returned to Beef Products because it had a higher than allowed amount of ammonia in it, and Beef Products started fiddling with its treatment formula so that it was indeed showing unsafe amounts of E. coli and salmonella.

And the reason that you didn’t know about the ammonia is that the USDA agreed with Beef Products — that the ammonia was a “processing agent” not an ingredient. The good news out of this is that the Beef Products’ “beef” is now subject to the same testing as other beef. But I think I’m done with commercial burgers now.

Tags:

About the Author ()

"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas." -Shirley Chisholm

Comments (23)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Geezer says:

    mmmm…extender product!

  2. anon says:

    It’s a dessert topping AND a floor wax!

  3. MJ says:

    sounds like more lax regulations left over from Dubya.

  4. Miscreant says:

    You hippies would soil your sandals if you really knew how little quality control there is at meat packing facilities. In another life, I had a job which involved visiting several slaughter houses, from corporate to small privately owned, in the Midwest. By comparison to what I saw, ammonia would be considered a light marinade. Let’s just say, it’s surprising I’m not a vegetarian.

    “sounds like more lax regulations left over from Dubya.”

    It it still hip to blame everything on GWB? I thought that trend would fade when our new President changed everything.
    Wait! Was that racist?

    Sorry…

  5. A. price says:

    yeah, its a dirty hippie socialist pipe dream to want food that isn’t 60% hormones 54% poop and 35% Fox math. Is being o.k with eating unhealthy food a pillar of conservatism too?

  6. Miscreant says:

    “Is being o.k with eating unhealthy food a pillar of conservatism too?”

    Methinks you perhaps read a bit too much into my comments, Grasshopper. Must be a hormone deficiency …

  7. A. price says:

    hey man, you said yourself outrage over tainted food makes us hippies. therefor, defense of tainted food makes you a conservunist.

  8. Miscreant says:

    Impeccable logic like that is hard to beat.

  9. A. price says:

    “You hippies would soil your sandals if you really knew how little quality control there is at meat packing facilities” – you.

    excuse me for wanting food that isnt sprayed with poison….. if that makes me a socialist….. all hail the motherland.

  10. kavips says:

    Excuse me, all of you, but no one has ever said what was wrong with hippies… A lot of implications are being thrown around, but really, what exactly IS wrong with hippies?

    Perhaps more is wrong with non hippies, normally called conservatives? With all the proof out there between the comparison of the Clinton years of prosperity and the Bush years of corporate rape, upon looking around our country today, there is a lot of proof that says non-hippies are all on crack.

    So excuse me… can you educate some of us as to exactly what IS wrong with hippies?

    Just wondering if you guys were smokin’ something good, .. or because of the Bush economy if even conservatives were reduced to smokin’ the cheap shit…

  11. Miscreant says:

    Kavips,
    I love hippies, but it’s the kind of like the love one has for a pet. I believe it’s A.Price who’s having an identity crisis, or tripping on some bad acid. (He thinks all hippies are socialists.)

    “You hippies would soil your sandals if you really knew how little quality control there is at meat packing facilities” – you.

    excuse me for wanting food that isnt sprayed with poison….. if that makes me a socialist….. all hail the motherland.”

    A.Price,
    I’ll try to use small words this time.
    – Ammonia in meat is BAD.
    – I have been to the places where cows are killed, and have seen things that are even BADDER.
    – I’m not sure how that makes me a conservative, and you a socialist.
    – Get a sense of humor… or some good weed.

  12. kavips says:

    Well, I have heard that most people love their pets more than they do their spouse… so I guess that is a good thing.

    As for my original question.

    I’m still wondering what is wrong with hippies… and as for A. Price, what on earth is wrong with Socialism? Isn’t that the same thing as Medicare for Republican members of Congress?

    If that is socialism, that sounds like a good thing, at least if you are a Republican congressperson….

    Compared to Conservatism and what Conservatism has done to this once great nation that under Clinton was considered to be the best run government entity ever on the planet earth, … most of us would think any alternative to Conservatism is a good thing, whatever it’s name might be…

    Conservatives are the ones we should be hating… not because of who they are… but because of what they did…

    Conservatism destroyed the United States of America. No one can deny or spin their way out of that one… Can you?

  13. Dave M. says:

    The points above seem to support shooting your own meat, therefore guns are good.

  14. A. price says:

    “I’m still wondering what is wrong with hippies… and as for A. Price, what on earth is wrong with Socialism? Isn’t that the same thing as Medicare for Republican members of Congress?”

    Um guys, i have said many times i am both a Hippie AND a Socialist. I never said anything was wrong with socialism. My only problem with some of my fellow flower children is that they get blazed and listen to White Rabbit instead of getting things accomplished….. where they SHOULD be listening to Volunteers, getting things accomplished THEN getting blazed …. and Mis seems to look down on hippies.. pets? really? your fellow human being?

    I think it is pretty conservative to make fun of people (by likening them to a goldfish) for demanding safe food. And for the record, all my beef comes from a a friend’s farm in Maryland and they make DAMN sure it is slaughtered and butchered without poison. I haven’t been eating the factory farm shit for years.

  15. A. price says:

    I agree Dave. Just arent too many deer walking around in major cities.

  16. cassandra_m says:

    There’s more deer than you think walking around major cities. I heard a story a month or so back about a deer who was on the loose in Wilmington Hospital. You heard me.

    My sister lives in Baltimore and deer wandering around her yard is a fairly frequent occurrence.

    ps. The gross of the American meat industry is not just limited to the slaughter and packing process — a peek into how chickens, pork and beef are raised and finished isn’t a pretty sight either.

  17. a.price says:

    cass, don’t go givin the gun-humpers any reason to advocate people walk around cities with hunting rifles.

    yeah, pork is even worse than beef. Chickens (like the farms in slower lower) are the worst of them all. But at least we can get 12 nuggets for 2 dollars instantly.

  18. Unignorant Lawyer says:

    I disagree with the chicken thing (except from the chickens’ point of view). I’ve worked in the plants, and they are incredibly clean at all times. The procees is amazing that they can process 250,000 chickens in a day, or 5,456,897 nuggets.

  19. Miscreant says:

    “…. and Mis seems to look down on hippies.. pets? really? your fellow human being? ”

    Don’t worry, I feel the same way about liberals and Socialists.

  20. cassandra_m says:

    Consumer Reports just came out with a study that found contamination by disease-causing bacteria in 66% of the chicken they bought in stores. The percentage was higher if the Chick came from Tyson’s or Foster Farms. Not exactly an indicator of clean.

  21. a.price says:

    thus making you a conservunist….. i dont see what is so difficult about this. Keep eating your poo-tainted “meat” that has been frozen/treated/chemically enhanced. I’ll take my socialist fresh-killed-farm-raised-grass fed Maryland cow.

  22. Miscreant says:

    “…conservunist…..”

    Did you make up that word all by yourself?

    For the record, I prefer to kill my meat but when not possible, I get local or organically grown. In fact, the last we bought was from Trader Joe’s in DC. The one in Delaware doesn’t sell 2 Buck Chuck (or any wines).

    Holy Sheepshit, I hope that doesn’t make me a hippie or Socialist!

    Full disclosure: I don’t know about now, but there was one meat packing facility that was the exception… Hormel. Not a product endorsement by any means, but their killing floor was as clean as any modern butcher shop. They were constantly cleaning and disinfecting the floors, walls, tables, and cutting tools. Most of the others had two inches of congealed blood on the floor before 9:00 AM. ALL of the larger houses had USDA inspectors working and accommodated with on-site offices. Even back then, I realized the potential for corruption with this arrangement. The smaller houses were inspected at random times. In other words, that blue USDA stamp really don’t mean squat.

    Bon Appetit, hippies!

  23. A. price says:

    i DID make up that word, as far as i know. Thanks for noticing.