Is your filet mignon a fake steak put together with hazardous glue?
This could make a Spam casserole sound downright appetizing!
Several years ago I warned you about a sleazy trick being used to take cheap cuts of meat and turn them into “gourmet” steaks.
But aside from the “yuck” aspect of this transformation of junk meat to filet mignon, there’s a dark side to this deceit.
And it’s one that could be the tipping point between staying healthy or having your body start attacking itself with a potentially deadly autoimmune disease.
If you were disgusted by pink slime, well, meet “meat glue.”
That’s right, meat glue, a.k.a. transglutaminase.
And it does exactly what its name suggests. Meat glue will allow food processors and dishonest restaurant cooks to bind together scraps of meat, poultry and seafood and pass them off as prime cuts, gourmet sushi and grade A fish filets. You would have to check raw food under a microscope to detect any clues that a glued-together item wasn’t actually a fake steak.
Now, I could give you a list as long as my arm about the dangers in this trickery. But what researchers from Israel and Germany found out pretty much trumps them all.
In a just-out study, additives in processed foods were put under the spotlight — including a long, hard look at meat glue.
And what the researchers discovered is that many of the common autoimmune illnesses of today’s world, things such as celiac and Crohn’s disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis and autoimmune hepatitis, can be triggered by certain additives.
That’s because these diseases can “stem from damage” to the “tight junctions” that normally protect our intestinal mucosa layer from bacteria and other toxins.
When these barriers are compromised (something called “leaky gut” syndrome), that ups our risk factor big time for developing an autoimmune disease. And one of the top culprits in weakening them is none other than transglutaminase — meat glue.
The researchers said that during the past few decades, while infectious diseases have taken a hike, there has been a dramatic rise in the cases of allergic diseases, cancer and autoimmune disease.
And now we know why that might be — because meat glue has become as popular as ever.
The company that makes transglutaminase is none other than Ajinomoto — the folks who brought MSG to America. And they’re so proud of this food fakery powder that they even have a video posted showing how easy it is to use.
Why, you can even buy meat glue at Amazon.com! Any restaurant could cook up a storm of fake this and fake that — and sell it at a premium price.
If you’re wondering where the FDA is in all this, don’t. Because the agency washed its hands of meat glue back in 1998, telling Ajinomoto that it could go ahead and decide all on its own if it was safe or not.
The only federal agency to get involved so far is the USDA, and that was nothing to write home about, either.
Fifteen years ago the USDA gave a nod to Ajinomoto, and determined that meat products sold in the supermarket that are glued together with transglutaminase don’t need to say anything more than “formed” or “reformed” on the package.
So obviously, it’s up to us to keep ourselves and our families safe from this deceptive and dangerous ingredient. And here are four ways to do that:
- Most “glued” meat appears to be so-called filet mignon distributed by the food service industry. So be wary of cafeterias, banquets and other catered events serving this cut.
- Sushi is another expensive dish, so steer clear of bargain-priced or buffet sushi.
- In the supermarket, be alert for those magic words “formed” and “reformed.”
- Also, watch out for cheap specials in restaurants serving rib eye steak and roast beef. Meat glue can make a rib eye that looks so natural, you’d never believe it wasn’t the real deal!
Sources:
“Processed food linked to autoimmune disease” Charlotte Libov, December 31, 2015, NewsMax, newsmax.com
