[Encannavalf]

This is the stuff they'll feed your kid after dismissing your turkey sandwich and apple slices as nonconforming to their guidelines.

USDA school lunch meat contains "pink slime"

(CBS News) McDonald's and other fast food chains may have gotten rid of "pink slime" from its burgers, but the gooey sounding chemical treatment that removes bacteria from meat is popping up elsewhere: Kids' school lunches.

The Daily reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to buy 7 million pounds of "Lean Beef Trimmings," what many dub pink slime, from Beef Products International (BPI) for the nation's school lunch programs. Though the USDA said in a statement that all meat "meet(s) the highest standard for food safety," many have decried the use of the beef item, including celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

"The USDA-AMS [Agricultural Marketing Service] does allow for the inclusion of BPI Boneless Lean Beef in the ground beef they procure for all their federal food programs and, according to federal labeling requirements, it is not a raw material that is uniquely labeled," Amy Bell, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education Food Distribution Program, told The Daily in an email.

The USDA says that no more than 15 percent of each serving will consist of pink slime, MSNBC reported. Bell noted it is hard to tell from a finished product if the processed meat byproduct is included, making it hard for parents, students and consumers to discern for themselves.

The USDA could not be reached for comment by HealthPop.

Not many people are happy with this news, including microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein. He is widely credited for coming up with the term "pink slime" to describe the ammonia hydroxide-doused meat products salvaged from the scraps of slaughterhouses.

"I have a 2-year-old son," microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein told The Daily. "And you better believe I don't want him eating pink slime when he starts going to school."

"They've taken a processed product, without labeling it, and added it to raw ground beef," Zirnstein said. More at link above...