I guess I was always a little suspicious certain burger patty’s were cheaper than the buns … now we know why …

“Pink slime,” which consists of low-grade beef trimmings, cartilage, connective tissue and other less than appetizing animal parts, ground up, chemically disinfected and pressed into a paste-like substance that can be used as meat filler, has been included in our ground beef supply for decades. According to a report by ABC News, 70 percent of ground beef sold in supermarkets in the U.S. contains these additives. Only certified organic meat is guaranteed to be without.

The USDA has declared “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB) – a more palatable term for “pink slime” – to be “generally safe” for consumption and does not require it to be labeled separately. In other words, unlike almost all other additives, including preservatives and artificial coloring agents, meat fillers don’t have to show up on ingredients lists or nutrition facts labels.

Since meat mixtures are more predisposed to E. coli and salmonella contamination than higher quality cuts, they are treated with a pathogen-killing chemical called ammonium hydroxide, which gives it the pink color. The company that sells ground beef treated with ammonia, Beef Products Incorporated (BPI), considers LFTB not only to be safe, but also nutritious and perfectly suited for school children to eat.”

So, now while we find it less appetizing to eat, the Federal government is buying 7 tons for our kids.

Via the SeattlePI.

As someone who will eat nearly anything, I have no problem paying for and eating all kinds of bizarre food but I do not want to pay for a pink slime burger patty shaped thing called 100% BEEF or should it be spelled “B33F,” like K-RAB for imitation crab.

ABC News actually asked supermarkets and the good news is that THESE supermarkets said NO, they do not use pink slime AND if it’s labeled ORGANIC, it’s actually 100% beef from cows. “If your meat is stamped USDA Organic, it’s pure meat with no filler.”

Costco
Does not use pink slime. “Anything that we sell at Costco we want to explain it’s origins, and I personally don’t know how to explain trim treated with ammonia in our ground beef,” Craig Wilson, vice president of quality assurance for Costco, told ABC News. “I just don’t know how to explain that. I’m not that smart.”

Publix
“We have never allowed the use of LFTB (pink slime) in our meat. It’s 100 percent ground beef with no LFTB.”

H-E-B
“All our ground beef sold at H-E-B is 100% pure with no additives.”

Whole Foods
Does not use pink slime.

Kroger
“We do not use finely textured beef in our fresh ground beef. … We are routinely presented the finely textured beef as an option, but have always refused.”

In addition to Whole Foods, Tops Markets told ABC News it does not use “pink slime.”

You can check the full list here at ABC News, some supermarkets said USDA approved, good enough for us! – there’s even a clip from their video segment.

So, if you like to pay a little extra for beef that is 100% beef and not b33f-like additions … even McD, BK & Taco Bell says they’ve stopped using it – leaving only the school kids left to eat up the rest? Humm …