From ABC article entitled, “&0 Percent of Ground Beef at Supermarkets Contains ‘Pink Slime’” Zirnstein and his fellow USDA scientist, Carl Custer, both warned against using what the industry calls “lean finely textured beef,” widely known now as “pink slime,” but their government bosses overruled them… The “pink slime” is made by gathering waste trimmings, simmering them at low heat so the fat separates easily from the muscle, and spinning the trimmings using a centrifuge to complete the separation. Next, the mixture is sent through pipes where it is sprayed with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. The process is completed by packaging the meat into bricks. Then, it is frozen and shipped to grocery stores and meat packers, where it is added to most ground beef. The “pink slime” does not have to appear on the label because, over objections of its own scientists, USDA officials with links to the beef industry labeled it meat. ABC News has learned the woman who made the decision to OK the mix is a former undersecretary of agriculture, Joann Smith. It was a call that led to hundred of millions of dollars for Beef Products Inc., the makers of pink slime. When Smith stepped down from the USDA in 1993, BPI’s principal major supplier appointed her to its board of directors, where she made at least $1.2 million over 17 years.

Thursday May 10, 2012 9:23 am

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http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/03/09/clarified-much-a-goo-about-pink-slime/

Clarified - Much a goo about 'pink slime'

At present, the USDA does not require labeling that would let consumers know if the beef they're buying contains the mixture.

"The only solution I can give you is: The only way you can use ground beef is by watching the butcher grind it in front of you - which they can do, but that's a real pain in the backside," said Oliver.

However, a new report in the tablet-only newspaper The Daily suggests the USDA plans to buy 7 million pounds of lean beef trimmings from BPI this spring for the national school lunch program. Change.org has since started a petition against the USDA and its use of BPI's products in school lunches.

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Red Slime: Scourge of Supermarket Sushi

By Lindsay Beyerstein In These Times

http://www.inthesetimes.com/duly-noted/entry/13193/red_slime_scourge_of_supermarket_sushi/

You've heard of pink slime, aka "lean finely textured beef," a bubblegum-colored paste made from the scrapings off cattle carcasses. But what about red slime, the viscous scrapings from the skeletons of tuna and other fish, a supermarket sushi staple, and sometimes a vector for food poisoning? As nasty as it looks, pink slime is treated with ammonia to kill bacteria and served cooked. Red slime is untreated and served raw.

The brilliant nutrition scientist Marion Nestle answers a reader's questions about red slime in her montly Q&A column:

Q: I had no idea that the tuna in my sushi roll was scraped off the bones in India, ground up, frozen, and shipped to California. Is this another "slime" product? Can I eat it raw?

A: No sooner did the furor over lean, finely textured beef (a.k.a. "pink slime") die down than we have another one over sushi tuna. On April 13, the Food and Drug Administration said Moon Marine USA, an importing company based in Cupertino, was voluntarily recalling 30 tons of frozen raw ground yellowfin tuna, packaged as Nakaochi scrape.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigations linked consumption of Nakaochi scrape sushi to about 250 diagnosed cases and an estimated 6,000 or so undiagnosed cases of illness caused by two rare strains of salmonella. Among the victims who were interviewed, more than 80 percent said they ate spicy tuna sushi rolls purchased in grocery stores or restaurants. [Emphasis added.]

Nestle doesn't call it red slime, but I've eaten enough sketchy sushi to recognize the stuff. My advice? Steer clear of chopped and "spicy" rolls, unless you watch the chef chop the fish.

Speaking of sketchy, when I read the name Moon Marine, my first question was whether the Unification Church is trafficking in tainted tuna. Melissa McCart of the Broward Palm Beach New Times is wondering the same thing. In addition to the Washington Times, the Moonies are deep into the sushi grade seafood business. If you know the answer, please drop me a line.