Amid concerns over recent E.coli outbreaks, the New York Times continues to investigate the safety of using ammonia to kill salmonella and E.coli bacteria as part of beef processing.
At the center of the story is Beef Products, Inc., the South Dakota company that introduced the ammonia treatment for its beef trimmings, which are used primarily as filler in hamburger patties. The Times tries to sort through how the meat is classified and distributed in an effort to understand how processed beef is monitored by the government's school lunch program and food safety inspectors.
Beef Products Inc. is not a well-known company outside of the beef
processing industry, even though it supplies major fast food restaurants
(McDonald's and Burger King) as well as hamburger manufacturers
(Cargill). It's one of the companies featured in the
documentary Food Inc. -- footage of the plant's production process is set to ominous music in this clip.
In response
to the story, McDonald's, Burger King and all said
they'll continue to use Beef Products meat and that the products are
safe. All of the companies said they do independent testing beyond
federal inspections to ensure that their food meets
quality assurance standards.
Critics might argue that Beef Products Inc. is being unfairly targeted, but stories like this one tend to improve cooperation between government agencies and provide additional information for consumers.
[Image via Flickr: pointnshoot]
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Critics might argue that Beef Products Inc. is being unfairly targeted, but stories like this one tend to improve cooperation between government agencies and provide additional information for consumers.
I'll believe that Beef Products is being unfairly targeted only when they list all of the companies that buy their adulterative beef additive, and that they formally request that the USDA and FDA require all meat processors to label any meat with this adulterative beef additive as containing such.
I'll believe that government agency cooperation in protecting consumers will happen when they:
1 - hire Ralph Nader to write the regulations,
2 - make it a treasonable offense for any corporation to make any political campaign contributions,
3 - try, convict, and execute all government officials that allowed this (synonym for manure should be inserted here) to occur, as well as fining them all $100 trillion each,
4 - make all employees of any company that manufactures, uses, or supports the manufacture of this adulterative beef additive (also, this includes any other person in the media, corporative business, or government that says that there is no problem with the use of this adulterative beef additive), and say that it is okay to use in my meat without letting me know that it is in my meat, as well as all of the employees' children, grandchildren, and sundry nieces and nephews, and godchildren, and grandnieces and grandnephews, and great-grandchildren and great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews, undergo the following procedure:
a - watch as a huge batch of the adulterative beef additive is made, live, and filmed continuously on a dozen IMAX-quality HD cameras, and broadcast live to several IMAX HD theatres, as well as being broadcast live on every broadcast and cable network in North America (including ESPN, EWTN, and the Weather Channel),
b - to ensure that the product is made correctly, 200 inspectors from Consumers' Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports), ensure that the adulterative beef additive is manufactured properly (by that, I mean as it was made after the reduction in ammonia used, and that the scraps are really scraps, and not "stunt" scraps that are normally used in good meat),
c - ask each person to eat a six ounce portion of the raw, freshly prepared, adulterative beef additive, with no seasonings allowed except for a maximum of two shakes from a salt shaker (or a salt substitute shaker with no additional flavorings allowed), in front of a live camera that broadcasts this live on every broadcast and cable channel in North America.
I want to see what happens - my bet is that the cameramen would be beaten to death by the adulterators before their children actually take one bite.
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