Is the slime really coming from the media on issues of food safety?
I can only imagine the frustration of our hard working beef producers. After a full day of feeding and caring for their animals, they come home to read a very poorly researched article in their hometown paper. While the article was written by a person in Illinois, it was clear the content was harmful to beef producers. Some quick research would have also shown the article used a very liberal approach to the facts. I am very disappointed that the paper did not reach out to our local experts on this topic. We have some very educated people in this community. A veterinarian, such as Ryan Loseke, could have provided the paper with a great opportunity to provide some facts on the issue of food safety of beef that would have provided factual information on the topic of slime that was presented. Instead, the paper chose to run the content and in turn harm the very same beef producers that proudly and humanely take care of animals and support this fine community. I am disappointed in this and I believe these producers are owed an apology from the paper.
Before I address some of the issues in the article, I want to first point out that from a life expectancy standpoint, we really have it good. Articles that are quick to slam food safety often fail to talk about the truth about life expectancy.
According to the University of Oregon, the average age of death in years: 1850-39 years, 1920-55 years, 2000-78 years. This trend has been almost constantly linear since 1850, with most of the improvement in life expectancy coming as a result of fewer children dying. In the 1900s, we lost about 165 children per 1.000, while in 1997 that number dropped to about 7 in 1,000. Safe food does play a role in this.
Some facts about the beef we eat. Ammonia is naturally occurring, found in the human body, beef, other proteins, and virtually all foods. It plays an important role in the body's nitrogen cycle and in helping the body synthesize the protein. It also maintains the pH level that the body needs. One form of ammonia, ammonium hydroxide, is used in processing foods like baked goods, cheeses, chocolates and some beef products. This is not the same type of ammonia in household cleaners. It is classified as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is approved in most other countries including the European Union. When used for meat processing, ammonium hydroxide creates an environment that is unfriendly to pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, and provides a significant food safety benefit.
Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings, Finely Textured is made through a process that facilitates separation of lean and fat portions of the beef. One company uses a tiny puff of ammonium hydroxide gas as part of the process in order to destroy pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7. The lean meat is then frozen rapidly. This lean beef can be added to other ground beef during the grinding process and is an excellent way to harvest additional lean meat and foster sustainable processes.
So while the “Pink Slime” issue makes for an interesting story and probably has sold a lot of newspaper and airtime for the media, there is not an issue of food safety. In a society that values reducing waste, the beef industry found a way to remove some more meat from the fat. The process saves the equivalent of 1.5 million head of cattle! As a result of the types of processes, the incidences of E. coli O157:H7 in beef has dropped dramatically.
To my good friends that will come home tonight from another day of taking care of their animals, thank you for all you do. We have the safest food system in the world. Despite what the media says, I am going to go eat a hamburger today. I am not against reporting factual information that can help improve food safety. No person or system is perfect. What disappointed me most is this article used a liberal use of the facts that could quickly be Googled and proven false. I hope readers will support our beef producers and let the Telegram know that they don't appreciate articles like “Pink Slime” that attack our fine industry, while lacking factual information. Agriculture is very important to the economy of the State of Nebraska and I for one would like to keep it that way. I don't think we would tolerate attacks on any other of our Chamber businesses. I believe agriculture deserves the same respect.
Cory Honold, a resident of Columbus, works for Pfizer Animal Health.
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