McDonald’s drops use of gooey ammonia-based ‘pink slime’ in hamburger meat

Thanks to MSNBC:

Treating scrap meat with ammonium hydroxide creates a pink goo that is used to extend meat products like chicken and beef and to kill bacteria.

By M. Alex Johnson, msnbc.com

McDonald’s confirmed that it has eliminated the use of ammonium hydroxide — an ingredient in fertilizers, household cleaners and some roll-your-own explosives —  in its hamburger meat.

The company denied that its decision was influenced by a months-long campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to get ammonium-hydroxide-treated meats like chicken and beef out of the U.S. food supply. But it acknowledged this week that it had stopped using the unappetizing pink goo — made from treating otherwise inedible scrap meat with the chemical — several months ago.

Besides being used as a household cleaner and in fertilizers, the compound releases flammable vapors, and with the addition of certain acids, it can be turned into ammonium nitrate, a common component in homemade bombs. It’s also widely used in the food industry as an anti-microbial agent in meats and as a leavener in bread and cake products. It’s regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, which classifies it as “generally recognized as safe.”

 

I’m constantly amazed at what the Department of Agriculture declares to be recognized as safe. Perhaps it is because of chemical industry lobbyists, or campaign funds from McDonald’s  or phenomenally non-scientific evaluation programs.

There’s more in this good article… go read it HERE.

Wow… an unexpected Quote of the Day…

I assume this was said in error… but there are many who say that such accidents let out the true beliefs of torchbearers.

“By the way, I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor…”

–Mitt Romney, February 1st, 2012, while talking on the air to Soledad O’Brien of CNN.

You know, I believe his true beliefs actually came out here.

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Millard Fillmore's Bathtub

Suzanne Bonamici won the Congressional seat for Oregon’s North Coast in a special election Tuesday, Oregon Congressional District 1.  She had 54% of the vote, in an area that often votes Democrat and supported Barack Obama in 2008.

She will replace Rep. David Wu, a Democrat who resigned after he was accused of making sexual advances towards a daughter of a campaign donor. Bonamici must stand for election in November, too.

Check out the results from The Daily Astorian, one of the finer small daily papers left in America, a paper that still does real news reporting.

Watch one of her last campaign ads:

Is this a bellwether?  Democrats had a scandal-plagued representative, but won anyway.  The area traditionally votes Democratic.  Portents of November results appear rather dim.

More: 

• Bonamici eager to start work on economy, she tells Daily Astorian
• Teachers will probably find some comfort in Bonamici’s experience…

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