This is not your father’s butcher — modern meat preparation is dodgy business

See if this phrase sounds familiar… “Lean finely textured beef.”

It also goes by the acronym LFTB.

No? Doesn’t ring a bell?

I’ll bet you know this “beef” by its slang name: pink slime.

Last spring, the pink slime controversy became the rage of the moment. Many grocery store chains immediately banned LFTB, even though they’d used it for years.

That probably relieved some consumers. But pink slime isn’t the only shocking secret of meat prep. It’s not even the worst.

A few years ago, I told you about “modified atmosphere packaging.” With MAP, various gasses help preserve meat. They also give meat a fresh red color. And one of those gasses is carbon monoxide.

That’s right — carbon monoxide. In your LFTB-enhanced ground beef! Yum!

The newest revelation of meat trickery is transglutaminnase. Meat preparers refer to it as “meat glue.”

This “glue” is just an enzyme that permanently bonds proteins. So, for instance, you can take two scraps of meat and bond them into a larger portion. The bond is seamless, so customers never know.

But some meat producers get creative with meat glue. They might take beef scraps and form them in the shape of filet mignon. Presto! Meat scraps that would sell for next-to-nothing become gourmet cuts.

All this makes me wonder what other meat surprises are in store. Chances are, we’ve only scratched the surface of dirty little meat secrets.

Sources:
“Meat Glue: Pink Slime’s Classier Cousin” Andrew Tarantola, Gizmodo, 5/2/12, gizmodo.com