The truth about beef

Dear Editor,

Lean Finely Textured Beef. You've heard about it in the news, referred to as "pink slime." What is it? What does this mean? Here are some references for you to know the facts.

Lean finely textured beef is just that. Beef. When steaks and roasts are cut, it creates the "trim" that becomes ground beef. The companies supplying lean finely textured beef use a process to remove a lot of the fat from the lean beef in the trim, which is then added to ground beef as a concentrated, lean source of protein. It's beef plain and simple. The nutritional profiles of lean finely textured beef and traditional ground beef are nearly identical. Lean finely textured beef is 90%-to-95% lean (5%-10% fat) and, just like all beef, is a good or excellent source of 10 essential nutrients including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins.

Ground beef offers affordable nutrition for kids, which is critical given shrinking school budgets, rising food costs and the fact that for many kids, school lunch is their best chance at a getting a well-balanced meal during the day.

Ground beef that includes lean finely textured beef is safe according to independent scientists, safety advocates and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). By law, E. coli and Salmonella cannot be in meat supplied for school lunch. In some cases, a small, safe amount of ammonia hydroxide gas or citric acid is used to produce the lean finely textured beef, which like other safety measures along the way, reduces the potential for bacterial contamination. FSIS has reviewed and approved this practice as safe, and safety advocates have applauded it as an effective way of ensuring safe beef for consumers.

If you would like more information, please visit www.beefisbeef.com.

Respectfully,

Sue Krentz

Past President Arizona State Cowbelles 1995-1996

The Cowbelles