# Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution - McDonald's won't use Pink Slime Anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384 "2012-02-01T03:17:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/41 "2012-02-04T22:53:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Mmm… pink slime. > > I like to think that’s what’s in the “[TUBBB](http://guyism.com/wp-content/uploads/Simpsons-Tubbb.jpg)!” on the Simpsons. Nope. According to the commentaries, Tubb is basically the white part of the Oreo. And Jamie Oliver is on my list of celebrities I would like to see punched in the nose. I would not do so, but if someone else did it, I would greatly enjoy watching it over and over. Oooh, food sometimes looks gross between the “walking around” and “on the table” stages, I’m so shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/42 "2012-02-04T23:10:19Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > My father-in-law saw some documentary (maybe it was the Jamie Oliver one in the OP) and is now convinced that every menu item sold at every chain restaurant – sit-down and fast food alike – is nothing but a mysterious paste that is flavored and shaped to resemble the food it purports to be. Heh. This sounds exactly like the “Beige Foam” theory I heard to explain the cafeteria food in college. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/43 "2012-02-04T23:28:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > You got to love these guys at Wikipedia. 😉 > Wikipedia already has an article on Pink Slime. A term just coined by Jamie Oliver a few months ago. It looks well written with sources. > > The Washington Post Article they source is very complimentary of the process. Maybe Jamie Oliver was making a big noise about nothing? I just don’t know. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink\_slime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime) Well, the term was actually coined almost ten years ago. > **[Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned (Published 2009)](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?pagewanted=all)** > > E. coli and salmonella have been found dozens of times in meat processed with a novel ammonia treatment. I first became aware of it from that article, which makes clear that there are legitimate concerns about the process because (1) treating this stuff with enough ammonia to kill e. coli can in many cases lead to undesirable odors/flavors and (2) worse by far, it’s not clear that it really kills e. coli as much as is claimed by the producers. And that’s the problem with the simplistic parts is parts argument. We specifically know that as a general matter, you’re very unlikely to get e. coli from meat that is freshly ground from a single cut of beef right before cooking, but that as you go down the scale of using more and more intermingled parts from the slaughtering process, you generally speaking multiply the risk of contamination/cross-contamination. In a world in which e. coli and listeria weren’t an endemic problem (and we could argue for days about whether antibiotics are overused in agriculture, feedlots exponentially raise disease risk, etc.), I’d be on board with the “if you can eat haggis (which I do) . . .” arguments. We don’t live in that world though. In n’ Out fresh grinds their beef on premises. That’s one reason why I wish one would open by me. I posted a thread after reading that NYT article asking if any other burger chains avoided pink slime and no one seemed to know. I’d still be curious, especially if Mickey D’s move pressures the other big chains. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/44 "2012-02-04T23:48:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > But, I foolishly thought a burger from Wendys, McDonalds or those other places had 100% real ground round. Turns out its not. Most of fast food marketing is designed to make you think the food is something that it really isn’t (wholesome, fresh, “pure,” etc.). “Beef” just means it comes from a cow–it could be any part; USDA “inspected” just means it doesn’t surpass some threshold of contamination, and so forth. If this kind of thing really bothers you you probably shouldn’t patronize McDonald’s at all, and just cook your own food. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/45 "2012-02-05T02:36:18Z")
I don’t normally eat fast food, and when I do I don’t care for McD’s. I personally think Hardee’s has a far superior fast food burger. That being said, if you like a McD’s burger right now but wouldn’t eat another because of “pink slime” it is your disgust that is irrational. If you’ve actually eaten it and enjoyed it…it’s ridiculous to be overly concerned with its unprepared appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/46 "2012-02-05T02:50:13Z")
Jello is just cow hide and hoof melted in lye. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/47 "2012-02-05T05:07:14Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > In n’ Out fresh grinds their beef on premises. That’s one reason why I wish one would open by me. I can confirm that In ‘n’ Out puts together a superior burger. Their fries are oddly meh, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/48 "2012-02-05T07:18:26Z")
So what is McDonald’s going to use in place of the pink slime? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/49 "2012-02-05T09:00:27Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > So what is McDonald’s going to use in place of the pink slime? Real ground beef apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/50 "2012-02-05T09:06:29Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > if you like a McD’s burger right now but wouldn’t eat another because of “pink slime” it is your disgust that is irrational. If you’ve actually eaten it and enjoyed it…it’s ridiculous to be overly concerned with its unprepared appearance. I don’t in recent years like the Mickey D’s burger. And I won’t say it’s unrelated to the pink slime issue (and I’ve eaten in Snake Alley and the Taipei night markets, so I’m not squeamish). They’ve also, in tacit acknowledement that the pink slime does not kill all e. coli, moved (as have Applebees’s) to frying their burgers to the point of shoe leather. Applebee’s now offers **only** medium well or well-done burgers, and Mickey D’s cooks it till grey, and smells funny. And the fries have gone South since they took the beef tallow out. Mickey D’s fries may still be the best, but they’re not a shadow on what they used to be. I will tomorrow try a McD’s burger for the first time in ten months and confirm my impression that absent the pink slime, it is better. Five Guys similarly insists on only serving well-done burgers, which taste like cigarette ash to me. If you used better, more un-processed beef, you could safely serve a juicier medium rare or medium burger. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/51 "2012-02-05T15:18:51Z")
You mean McDonalds fries have gone South since 30 years ago? They haven’t used beef tallow in their fryers since the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/52 "2012-02-05T17:06:21Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > WTF? Is this idiot Jamie saying we should just throw away perfectly good chicken carcasses just because _he_ thinks they’re icky?! I mean, talk about wasting good food! He’s slinging araound this filleted bird expecting those kids to get all grossed out, and there’s nothing to get all grossed out about. Blending in the chicken skin into the puree? The chicken skin is the best part, you dumbass. Putting the results through a sieve? There’s nothing gross about that, it’s just a fine grind. > > Hey, hand me that chicken carcass pal. I’ll make soup. > > What a wasteful smarmy jag-off. Is he in fact saying that those carcasses shouldn’t be made into soup? No he isn’t. There are perfectly appropriate uses for those scraps, some higher value than others (gelatin, dog food, fertilizer). What he’s objecting to is that we don’t necessarily know where our food comes from, and what it had to do to get to the state that it’s in. The point is, if we knew how are food was made, would we continue to eat it? In the kids’ case, as long as it was breaded and fried, it was fine. His disappointment is that he did the exact same trick in the UK and the kids were revolted, and he expected a similar response here. What does this say about our kids? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/53 "2012-02-05T17:12:00Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You mean McDonalds fries have gone South since 30 years ago? They haven’t used beef tallow in their fryers since the early 80s. A little later than that. [1990](http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2011/10/meat-extract-in-mcdonalds-french-fries.html), according to this and a few other sources. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/54 "2012-02-05T17:18:19Z")
Is this “slime” the same as “mechanically separated” meat? The phrase isn’t used in the wiki article. While I don’t really object to chemical or radiative treatment to remove pathogens, I’d feel much better about meat that just didn’t have poop in it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/55 "2012-02-05T17:28:28Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Is this “slime” the same as “mechanically separated” meat? The phrase isn’t used in the wiki article. > > While I don’t really object to chemical or radiative treatment to remove pathogens, I’d feel much better about meat that just didn’t have poop in it in the first place. Yes, this is the same as mechanically separated. McD’s is still using mechanically separated meat (crushing the ribcages of chickens and straining out the bits of meat) for McNuggets. I should have been more specific about beef tallow. It **has** been a good number of years since they used tallow per se, but oh how I remember it. They were using some extractive or flavoring of beef/tallow within the last ten years – I know because the Hindus sued them and (damn you Hindus – no offense other than on the flavor) won within the past ten years, and even that last flavor remnant got thrown out. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/56 "2012-02-05T17:32:03Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > Is he in fact saying that those carcasses shouldn’t be made into soup? No he isn’t. There are perfectly appropriate uses for those scraps, some higher value than others (gelatin, dog food, fertilizer). What he’s objecting to is that we don’t necessarily know where our food comes from, and what it had to do to get to the state that it’s in. The point is, if we knew how are food was made, would we continue to eat it? In the kids’ case, as long as it was breaded and fried, it was fine. His disappointment is that he did the exact same trick in the UK and the kids were revolted, and he expected a similar response here. What does this say about our kids? They’re more rational? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/57 "2012-02-05T17:35:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A little later than that. [1990](http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2011/10/meat-extract-in-mcdonalds-french-fries.html), according to this and a few other sources. That’s a completely different issue. They stopped frying in tallow around 1983, which is what disappointed so many people. They used a miniscule amount of beef-based flavoring as an ingredient in the fries for a while, and stopped in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/58 "2012-02-05T17:48:27Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > That’s a completely different issue. They stopped frying in tallow around 1983, which is what disappointed so many people. > > They used a miniscule amount of beef-based flavoring as an ingredient in the fries for a while, and stopped in the 90s. Are you certain about that? My understanding is beef tallow (with some cottonseed oil) until 1990. Then, in 1990, they switched to vegetable oil with a beef extract (not telling people about the beef extract, which angered vegetarians and led to a successful lawsuit.) [Here’s another source for you](http://www.rense.com/general7/whyy.htm) > [@](#): > > For decades McDonald’s cooked its french fries in a mixture of about seven percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow. The mixture gave the fries their unique flavor – and more saturated beef fat per ounce than a McDonald’s hamburger. > > In 1990, amid a barrage of criticism over the amount of cholesterol in its fries, McDonald’s switched to pure vegetable oil. This presented the company with a challenge: how to make fries that subtly taste like beef without cooking them in beef tallow. A look at the ingredients in McDonald’s french fries suggests how the problem was solved. Toward the end of the list is a seemingly innocuous yet oddly mysterious phrase: “natural flavor.” That “natural flavor” is what ended up being something from an animal source. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/59 "2012-02-05T17:54:29Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > Is he in fact saying that those carcasses shouldn’t be made into soup? No he isn’t. There are perfectly appropriate uses for those scraps, some higher value than others (gelatin, dog food, fertilizer). What he’s objecting to is that we don’t necessarily know where our food comes from, and what it had to do to get to the state that it’s in. The point is, if we knew how are food was made, would we continue to eat it? In the kids’ case, as long as it was breaded and fried, it was fine. His disappointment is that he did the exact same trick in the UK and the kids were revolted, and he expected a similar response here. What does this say about our kids? nothing. I don’t assume that what I’m shown on TV is necessarily the way it actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384/60 "2012-02-05T18:00:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Are you certain about that? My understanding is beef tallow (with some cottonseed oil) until 1990. Then, in 1990, they switched to vegetable oil with a beef extract (not telling people about the beef extract, which angered vegetarians and led to a successful lawsuit.) There are conflicting reports on the Internet. I’ve seen multiple sources that say both 1983 and 1990. My guess is that it wasn’t until 1990 that every last store made the switch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-mcdonalds-wont-use-pink-slime-anymore/611384.md?page=4)