Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pink Slime Update, Plants Close, Company Blames YOU

Really need a theme song for this Segment.

Hey folks,

Time for what is growing into a regular Segment here at the OPNTalk Blog. Pink Slime Update. I knew when I first started looking into this it would be big. I had no idea HOW big it would become. I originally thought it was McDonald's only, well, Fast Food in General all do about the same things, so others would not surprise me. But then we learned it's in our Schools and in our Stores. There is a chance you may have it in your FRIG. You may have bought what you were lead to believe is "healthier" ground Beef, only to learn that "lean, finely textured beef," is nothing more than a code word for Pink Slime. The same process they use to make Dog Food.

So you spoke up. Some of you YELLED. Last Sunday I reported to you that Stores All Over Country Pulling Pink Slime. They have stopped selling it all together. Except Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. This is why I will shop elsewhere.

So what happens when you have a Company, that has LIED to people over the years, HID what they are actually doing, and people find out? What do you do if you have a Company that makes a Product that no one buys? Yup. You go bye, bye.

So "Beef Products Inc.," the maker of Pink Slime, and Regina Roth, the VP of the Company, are closing Planets, laying off workers, and blaming YOU! {Laughing} I kid you not. Remember Ms. Riley? She was the one back on Sunday, March 18, 2012 OPNTalk -
Pink Slime WAS Dog Food who, when asked why not Label Packages to let people know they were eating Pink Slime, said...

"What are you asking me to put on the label, its beef, it's on the label, it's a beef product, it's says beef so we are declaring … it's beef,"
Well, Ms Roth just repeated the line. She said..

"What should we label it? It's 100 percent beef What do you want us to label it? I'm not prepared to say it's not beef because it's 100 percent beef."
NO it's not Ms Roth. It's GARBAGE. It's filler to extend Profit. It is NOT Beef. But we know this now, so I doubt you need worry about it. No one is buying it anyway.

So according to ABC News - 'It's 100 Percent Beef': Company on Defensive as It Closes Plants By Jim Avila ABC News – 5 hrs ago

After two weeks of no comments, Beef Products Inc., the maker of "lean, finely textured beef," a product now known by the critics' term for it, "pink slime," came out swinging today during a news conference to announce the temporary closing of several facilities.

The company said that it was suspending all operations at three of its four plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa. Its headquarters in Sioux City, S.D., would remain.

It said today that it would continue to pay its workers for 60 days as it launches a public relations program designed to restore confidence in its product.

"After that 60-day period is over, if we haven't been able to resume operations again by then, we believe we won't have a decision other than to formally terminate those employees' employment," said Rich Jochum, the company's corporate administrator.
{Laughing} So we are going to LIE to you some more over the next 60 days and hope you buy our Product. If you don't YOU are responsible for all these people losing their Jobs. YOU are responsible for this.

The company blamed social media and news organizations, specifically ABC News, for what it called a gross misrepresentation of its product and process.

"What should we label it? It's 100 percent beef," asked Regina Roth, the company's executive vice president. "What do you want us to label it? I'm not prepared to say it's not beef because it's 100 percent beef."

She said that the company would "attack" the misconceptions in consumers' minds through social media.

"What we're going through is not something any other companies want to … have to endure," Roth said.
Good lick with this. The Stores are not going to buy it. We are not going to buy it. YOU lied to people for years, "90 percent Lean?" uh, Pink Slime. Healthier, less fat, MORE EXPENSIVE for less REAL Meat. No Ms Roth, YOU are to blame. And as much as you say it's One hundred percent beef, others disagree.

Two former scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture who reviewed the product advised against using it in ground beef and told ABC News that it was not the same as ground beef.

"It's not fresh ground beef. It's a cheap substitute being added in," microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein said.

The scientists added that the filler was not as nutritious as ground beef, though the company disputed that. An industry website noted that a side-by-side comparison of nutrition labels showed "90 percent lean beef trimmings and 90 percent lean ground beef have substantially identical nutritional value. And all USDA certified ground beef [with or without lean finely textured beef] found in your grocery store is considered to be a good or excellent source of 10 essential nutrients including protein, iron, zinc and B-vitamins."
An Industry Website said. They say so, so, just except it.

The low-grade trimmings used to produce lean, finely textured beef come from the parts of the cow most susceptible to contamination, often close to the hide, which is highly exposed to fecal matter. But because of the treatment of the trimmings - after they have been simmered in low heat, separating fat and tissue using a centrifuge, they are sprayed with ammonia gas to kill germs - the USDA says it's safe to eat.
It goes on to talk about the Stores and the Schools. So there you have it. It's your fault folks. But they will give you just 60 days to change your mind. Or YOU will be responsible for all these fine people losing their Jobs. I don't know about you, but I know I'm not eating Dog Food anymore. If you want to buy this garbage, go to Wal-Mart and Sam's. They still sell it. Probably dirt Cheap too.
Peter

Sources:
ABC News - 'It's 100 Percent Beef': Company on Defensive as It Closes Plants

2 comments:

Scott said...

Honestly, your view on this is pretty sad. My mindset on the pink slime case comes pretty close to the BPI company line. Beef is beef, meat is meat, and pink slime is both. But that's not the point up for debate.

The ABC reports--hell, all reporting on this, including yours--have stilted the issue to make it sound like BPI was intending to scam us. Like ANY company, they needed to be profitable, and using these scraps meant more profit. It also meant cheaper meat, more jobs, etc.

The ABC report calls the former USDA officials whistle blowers, but I don't think that term applies when what BPI was doing was completely legal, completely within the constraints of the USDA and FDA and, finally, completely safe.

There is no adverse health effect to pink slime--it is SAFER than regular ground beef. The food tastes no different or it wouldn't have taken an news report to tell us about it. And if you think pink slime is disgusting, consider reading the ingredients of many of the foods americans love. Anything containing "mechanically separated meat" is the same thing as pink slime. Hot dogs, bologna, etc, all use this mechanically separated meat.

So ABC presents the public with a news report that could have done NOTHING but cause an uproar. Their report was the beginning of a targeted campaign to cause a public uproar and slander a company. The american public, apparently unaware of how processed their food is in general, bites and goes into an uproar.

So yes, it is OUR fault that those factories are going out of business. Instead of doing research, reading unbiased sources and thinking for ourselves, we let Diane Sawyer and ABC tell us what we don't like. Now hundreds of people are out of a job.

Seriously, if pink slime bothers you, read into how the ingredients in 90% of the food in our supermarkets end up at your table. You won't be able to eat again.

P.S. I will laugh so hard if you moderate this.

Peter said...

Hey Scott,

See your comment and my reply on the New Blog http://opntalk2.blogspot.com/ this Sunday!!! This Blog is no longer compatible with Google. I keep it for Archives and this reason. But again, check out the New OPNTalk2.blogspot.com. Lets have the debate there...
Peter