| This controversial meat filler is used in a larger percentage of ground beef. CREDIT: NewsLinkForward | YouTube |
"Pink slime" refers to processed lean beef trimmings, and is a cheap filler used to "beef up" many meat products. It is made by salvaging the meat that gets trimmed off cuts of beef along with fat. The trimmings are first simmered at a low temperature to separate muscle and fat, then spun in a centrifuge to complete the separation. Next, the salvaged meat is squeezed through a pipe and sprayed with ammonia to kill bacteria, after which it is dyed pink, packaged into bricks, frozen and shipped to meat packing plants.
Once used only in pet food and cooking oil, pink slime is now found in a large (but unknown) percentage of the ground beef sold in supermarkets and served in fast food restaurants.
U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist Carl Custer recently told ABC News that pink slime is essentially a "salvage product" and, in his opinion,