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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