McDonald’s: Pink slime won’t be used in hamburger meat
McDonald’s french fries sit under a heat lamp at a McDonald’s restaurant on April 19, 2011, in San Francisco, California.
Last year, television personality Jamie Oliver had a segment on the "pink slime" present in many processed beef products. But McDonald's told the Daily Mail last week that it no longer uses the goo in its hamburgers.
The goo is made from left over pieces of meat and ammonium hydroxide, a chemical used in fertilizers, household cleaners and explosives, MSNBC reports.
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The US Department of Agriculture says the chemical is "generally recognized as safe." The purpose of ammonia use is to kill the E. coli bacteria found in meat products.
However, a 2010 New York Times investigation found that E. coli was still present in ammonia-treated meat. A former USDA microbiologist told the Times that he was concerned about use of the chemical.
In interviews with the Daily Mail, McDonald's denied that its decision was influenced by pressure from Oliver.
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