SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. — Governors of three states got up close with “pink slime” Thursday, touching and examining treated beef at a plant and eating hamburgers made with it in a bid to convince consumers and grocery stores the product is safe to consume.
The three governors and two lieutenant governors spent about a half-hour learning about the process of creating finely textured lean beef in a tour of the main plant that makes the product, then blasted the media for scaring consumers with a moniker coined by critics.
“If you called it finely textured lean beef, would we be here?” asked Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. Other leaders echoed his comments as they tried to smooth over consumer concerns about the product.
Beef Products, the main producer of the cheap lean beef made from fatty bits of meat left over from other cuts, has drawn scrutiny over concerns about the ammonium hydroxide it treats the meat with to change the beef’s acidity and kill bacteria. The company suspended operations at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa this week, affecting 650 jobs, but defends its product as safe.
The politicians who toured the plant — Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Brownback, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and South Dakota Lt. Gov. Matt Michels— all agree with the industry view that the beef has been unfairly maligned and mislabeled.
“Why are we here today defending a company that has a rather sterling record dealing with making a food product that is very much needed in this country in a very safe manner? Why are we here today?” Perry said.
The officials spent about 20 minutes going over the production process with Craig Letch, the company’s director of quality assurance, viewing and handling more than a dozen slabs of raw meat and the processed, finished product laid out on cutting boards on a round wooden table.
The officials asked about the added ammonia, which Letch said is used as an extra safety precaution against E. coli.
“What we’re doing with ammonium hydroxide is directly targeting those specific microorganisms that could affect human health. It is nothing more than something to ensure consumer safety,” Letch said.
The officials donned hard hats, hair nets and goggles for a walking tour through the facility. Afterward, Perry, Branstad and others ate burgers made from the plant’s meat.
“It’s lean. It’s good. It’s nutritious,” Branstad said as he polished off a patty, sans bun.
