USDA approves “pink slime” meat additive for schools

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is allowing meat served in schools to be made of up to 15 percent boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT), or more commonly known as “pink slime” due to its pink color and gooey texture.

Although the USDA approved it, Lakeside, Somers and Bigfork schools will not be serving it in their lunches.

“It used to be sold to dog food manufacturers and used for cooking additive,” Somers Middle School food service director and nutrition teacher Robin Vogler said. “It’s the least desirable parts, using all the parts that could be salvaged like the cavity’s lining or the outer layer of the membrane where the hide separates from the carcass.”

The process of making BLBT uses ammonium hydroxide on beef trimmings “that would otherwise be wasted” according to a statement from the American Meat Institute’s president, J. Patrick Boyle last week. The fat and meat in those trimmings are too interwoven to be separate with a knife, so they are made into a pulp and separated through a rendering process.

The ammonium hydroxide is used to kill pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella that could have emerged during that process as some of the trimmings are from various parts of the animal.

“I don’t think you’ll get sick, but it’s a low quality,” Judy Kinyon, food service supervisor for Bigfork schools, said.

Kinyon attended a government foods and commodities meeting in Missoula earlier this month where opinions were mixed about using BLBT.

Healthier school lunch requirements such as lowered sodium, fat and calories also goes into effect next school year. This requirement means an increase in cost for school lunch food production, as sodium-based preservatives would no long longer be an option.

“It ensures that our products remain as affordable as we can make them while helping to feed America and the world,” Boyle said in the statement.

The USDA does not require meat with BLBT to label it since it is still meat from the same animal as the rest of the product and is deemed safe for human consumption.

“There are no requirements to label it, which I think is disturbing,” Vogler said. “It’s deemed safe for school lunches (by the USDA) and could be in commodity beef.”

Lakeside and Somers school district has not served commodity beef in their lunches since 2006. They currently get their beef from White’s Distributing in Ronan. Bigfork schools currently uses OPI commodity beef, who say they don’t use BLBT.

Kinyon is currently double checking to make sure there is no BLBT in Bigfork school’s beef and plans to switch providers if BLBT is found in OPI’s beef.

“I don’t think it’s ethical and I wouldn’t do it,” Vogler said. “My philosophy is to serve fresh, they are particular about the meat I serve.”