Pink Slime: Ammonia-Treated Beef Additive in Ground Meat

Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2011/04/17 - Updated: 2026/02/07
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Nutrition - Related Publications

Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This report provides information about ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings, commonly known as pink slime, which has become a widespread yet largely unknown component in American ground beef products. The content offers valuable food safety and nutrition awareness for all consumers, including seniors and people with disabilities who may have heightened sensitivities to food additives or compromised immune systems. By explaining the manufacturing process, prevalence in the food supply, and practical avoidance strategies, this information helps readers make informed dietary choices when purchasing ground beef from grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, and institutional food programs including school lunch services - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

Pink Slime: Ammonia Infused Meat Additive

Jamie Oliver's demonstration on the premier of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" filmed in Los Angeles and aired on April 12, 2011, showed how "nasty pink slime," as one FDA microbiologist calls it, is wrung in a centrifuge to remove the fat from the meat scraps, and then treated with ammonia to "retard spoilage," and turned into "a mash-like substance frozen into blocks or chips".

Main Content

What is Pink Slime?

"Pink slime" (ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings) is the nickname earned by a formerly inedible byproduct of the beef industry. Once used in pet food, it's now a cheap additive in ground beef. Pink Slime is an additive that the U.S. federal government has approved to be mixed in with ground beef. To make "real" beef stretch further, manufacturers can use this ammonia-infused beef as up to 15 percent of the product. Pink slime is now an additive in 70% of the ground beef in America, which means that if you're eating a burger, there's a good chance you're also eating Pink Slime.

According to a New York Times article:

The "majority of hamburger" now sold in the U.S. presently contains fatty slaughterhouse trimmings "the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil, typically including most of the material from the outer surfaces of the carcass" that contains "larger microbiological populations."

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stamp of approval, the company's processed beef has become a mainstay in America's hamburgers. McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone. And since the USDA considers it a "process", Ammonia doesn't have to be listed on the packaging as a separate ingredient!

This image shows pink slime in its processed form - large, pale pink, tubular masses of ammonia-treated beef trimmings coiled inside a cardboard box at what appears to be a meat processing or food service facility. The substance has a soft, paste-like texture and unnatural appearance, resembling extruded tubes or coils rather than conventional ground beef. A gloved hand is visible reaching toward the box, and workers can be seen in the background of the industrial setting. The distinctly processed appearance of this meat product starkly illustrates why it earned the nickname pink slime and helps explain consumer concerns about this beef additive that was once relegated to pet food before being approved for human consumption.

What Does Pink Slime Consist of?

Grist's Tom Philpott explains pink slime this way:

It's "the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer - fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. (Beef Products, Inc. or BPI) sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens."

What Companies Use Ammoniated Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings?

According to the manufacturer Beef Products Inc. in South Dakota, America, if you're eating a hamburger, odds are very high that it includes their product. Producing more than 7 million pounds a week, the product is included in fast-food burgers and retail packages of ground beef.

The USDA allows this ammonia treated meat to enter the marketplace and with no labeling requirement on the packaging to inform the consumer that the meat they are about to buy contains ammonia. This is certainly a rude awakening to the majority of Americans that don't know where the meat in their fridge, the meat in their conventional local grocery store, the meat in their fast food hamburger, and the meat in their restaurant made hamburger comes from.

How to Avoid Eating Pink Slime

The only way to keep the beef trimmings out of your meals is to know where your beef comes from. Avoiding fast food burgers is a good start, since BPI uses the additive in ground beef for the fast food industry. Hotel and restaurant food isn't necessarily slime-free, though. Avoid prepackaged ground beef in the grocery store, especially in a major chain, and ask your favorite burger joint where they get their ground beef. No matter the size of your town or city, grass fed beef (real beef) is not unreachable. Unlike ammonia treated beef, grass fed beef is clearly labeled and contains no ammonia.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: The emergence of pink slime in the American food supply represents a significant shift in meat processing standards that most consumers remain unaware of despite its presence in the majority of ground beef products. While manufacturers and federal regulators defend the ammonia treatment process as a food safety measure against pathogens like E. coli and salmonella, the lack of mandatory labeling leaves shoppers unable to make fully informed purchasing decisions. For those seeking to avoid this additive - whether due to health concerns, dietary preferences, or simply a desire to know what they're eating - the solution remains straightforward: buy grass-fed beef from known sources, avoid pre-packaged ground meat from major chains, and ask restaurants and butchers directly about their beef sourcing. As food production methods continue to evolve in ways that prioritize efficiency and cost reduction, consumer awareness and demand for transparency become increasingly essential tools for maintaining control over our nutritional choices - Disabled World (DW).

Ian C. Langtree Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.