Pink Slime Time

The Escambia County Commission is about to wade into the slime. Pink slime.

During their meeting this Thursday, commissioners will consider a resolution in favor of labeling meat products that contain “lean finely textured beef”—otherwise known as “pink slime.” Commissioner Grover Robinson is bringing the issue forward.

“My personal thoughts on it?” the commissioner said this afternoon. “It sure sounds disgusting.”

Pink slime is a processed beef product that is used as an inexpensive filler in products such as ground beef. The ‘lean finely textured beef’ (LFTB), the industry-preferred term, is produced by processing meat trimmings, separating the lean beef from the fat via a heated centrifuge. The process liquifies the fat and allows the lean beef to separate from the fat, bone fragments, connective tissue and sinew. The finished product is then bricked and froze and used as an additive.

The practice got a great deal of attention recently, after ABC News reported that about 70 percent of ground beef in the country’s grocery stores contained pink slime. Since that time, a number of national chains—grocery stores and restaurants—have issued statements that they will stop selling meat containing the filler.

Commissioner Robinson said he had been contacted by the Miami-Dade County Commission and asked to support a resolution calling for the banning of pink slime. While the commissioner said he doesn’t favor an outright ban—“If the consumer wants to still eat it, it’s their choice.”—he does think some labeling on such products is a good idea.

“At the end of the day, I think the buyer should at least be aware of what their eating,” Robinson said.

The Escambia County Commission meets Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the county’s downtown complex.