Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Don't Fear the Burger


Earlier today I was helping a professor trim beef cuts for customers that buy meat from our university.  As I was trimming the cuts, I wished our facility had the equipment and procedures for making lean finely textured beef (LFTB).  I did not have the time nor skill to remove every little piece of lean meat from the trimmings, so this meat (full of protein, minerals, and other nutrients) went unused.  However, the process for making LFTB is able to salvage that wholesome meat by separating it from the fat to which it is attached.  Unfortunately, this protein-saving innovation has come under fire since 2012 when ABC World News Tonight called LFTB a “filler” that was not necessarily meat (Flynn, 2012).  Most ground beef that included LFTB in its formulation was not labeled as such, and many consumers saw this as a breach of trust between themselves and producers.  A debate over whether LFTB should be added to ground beef and/or labeled as an ingredient ensued.

 

How fitting it was, then, when I later read on Meat & Poultry’s website that Cargill has announced its decision to label its ground beef products containing finely textured beef (FTB) with the phrase “contains finely textured beef” prior to the grilling season of 2014 (Meat & Poultry staff, 2013).  Further investigation on Cargill’s website revealed that Cargill Beef’s president John Keating believes the labeling will allay fears and concerns of consumers that desire more transparency in the meat industry (Cargill, 2013a).  Cargill has made FTB since 1993 with the approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Cargill, 2013a), and hopefully the labeling will regain consumer approval of the FTB.  While FTB and LFTB are produced in slightly different ways, the main concept of separating otherwise wasted lean meat from fat is utilized to make both products (American Meat Institute (AMI), 2013).  A three-minute, comprehensive video made by Cargill explains the process and its benefits; you can follow this link to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQVXeUNDedo (Cargill, 2013b).

 

In addition to providing consumers with a nutritious whole-beef product, producers of LFTB and FTB are simply following the adage “Waste not, want not.”  According to the American Meat Institute, if L/FTB is not utilized, 1.5 million extra cattle would need to be raised for the current demand on ground beef to be met (AMI, 2013).  When more cattle are raised, more pressure is put on land, water, and other resources that are growing more limited in availability.  When FTB is made, an additional 25 pounds of quality beef can come from every animal, thereby reducing the cost of the beef for consumers (Cargill, 2013b).  Keeping the cost of ground beef low will allow more people to enjoy the nutrition and taste of beef on a regular basis.

 

So even though winter is knocking at our doors, next year’s grilling season will be here before you know it.  When you shop for patties or ground beef for your first cook-out, look for products labeled with “contains finely textured beef.”  These products are 100% beef, completely wholesome, and beneficial for producers and consumers alike.   And, please, don’t say they contain “p*nk sl*me.”  Thank you.

 

References

American Meat Institute.  (2013, August).  Questions and Answers about Lean Finely Textured Beef.  Retrieved from http://www.meatami.com/ht/d/sp/i/286/pid/286

Cargill.  (2013a, November 5).  Cargill Announces New Labeling for Finely Textured Beef.  Retrieved from http://www.cargill.com/news/releases/2013/NA3080930.jsp

Cargill.  (2013b).  Ground Beef Answers.  Retrieved from http://www.groundbeefanswers.com/

Flynn, D. (2012).  BPI ground beef gets support from food safety leaders.  Food Safety News.

Meat & Poultry staff.  (2013, November 5).  Cargill to Label ‘Finely Textured Beef.  Retrieved from http://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/news_home/Business/2013/11/Cargill_to_label_finely_textur.aspx?ID=%7B57D409DF-409D-447A-A342-B4F8E36842EB%7D&cck=1


 

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