Are Mcdonald's Burgers 'unfit' For Human Consumption?

Have you heard of the term 'pink slime', as it relates to ground beef and burgers in America?

In Grandmother's Kitchen, we all love Jamie Oliver, but really who doesn't right? He is a great chef, a fun personality, and is always doing his best to make the world a better place.

So we want to congratulate him on a recent 'win' he had in one of his big fights in regards to what he terms 'pink slime'.

According to a wonderfully convincing live show by Jamie Oliver, we learn that after the good part of the beef is used up, there are leftover bits that no one wants. The sinew, meat, bits that cannot be turned into anything useful. The butcher will pay to get this taken away. It is the outside of the meat close to the guts have e.coli, and salmonella.

This waste goes to dog food production. It is not fit for human consumption.

In America, big manufacturers have figured out a way to make this possible for humans to eat. (oh great!).

They take this waste , put it into a large machine and spin it to split the fat from the meat. They take the meat that is left, and take a very strong chemical called ammonia, and wash this waste beef with it. This kills the e.coli and salmonella. It then gets drained, and made into mince meat and goes straight onto the shelves and in particular, fast food buys it up to increase their profit. Yes, we are talking about McDonalds. This is what Jamie Oliver calls 'pink slime'.

Jamie Oliver says that he has nothing against a burger. However, 15 % of this waste is allowed into burgers. What is even scarier is that the USDA has made it legal that no registration of ammonia is needed. This means that they can sell it to you and your children without having to put a label on it.

Some statistics quote that 70% of ground beef products in America use this 'pink slime'.

The Good News

Straight off the McDonalds' News section of their website:

McDonald's USA: Discontinued Use of Select Lean Beef Trimmings (SLBT)

" McDonald’s does not use lean beef trimmings treated with ammonia, what some individuals call “pink slime,” in our burgers, and hasn’t since 2011. Any recent reports that we do are false. Burgers are at the heart of the Golden Arches, and the fact is, McDonald’s USA serves only 100% USDA-inspected beef- no preservatives, no fillers, no extenders- period. Prior to 2011, to assist with supply, McDonald’s USA, like many other food retailers, used this safe product but it is no longer part of our supply."

This very interesting news was not broadcasted all that much, hmm, I wonder why. Likely, those in command of the fast food chains didn't really want anyone knowing that they ever used it at all.

So, even though McDonald's will never admit that the outcry from one man (Mr. Oliver), has very possibly brought about this great step in the right direction for food production in the US.

How do I know that my ground beef is high quality?

Either by buying a meat grinder, or watching the butcher grind it for you, otherwise (in American especially) we are laying our trust into the hands of people who perhaps have more of their eyes on the almighty dollar than they do your rights of high quality food.

Check out some of Grandmother's homemade burger recipes and find a local butcher you can trust.

Grandmother's Substitutes for Big Mac's

Grandmother's Cheeseburger Recipe

Grandmother's Turkey Burger Recipe

With love,

Grandmother's Kitchen