Hamburger chef Jamie Oliver has won his long-fought battle against one of the largest fast food chains in the world – McDonalds. After Oliver showed how McDonald’s hamburgers are made, the franchise finally announced that it will change its recipe.
Oliver repeatedly explained to the public, over several years – in documentaries, television shows and interviews – that the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is deemed unfit for human consumption. According to the chef and hamburger enthusiast, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry, “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.”
Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver famously coined this the “the pink slime process.”
“Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” Oliver asked.
In one of his colorful demonstrations, Oliver demonstrates to children how nuggets are made. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.
In reply to all of the bad press this process has received from Oliver, the company Arcos Dorados, the franchise manager for McDonalds in Latin America, said such a procedure is not practiced in their region. The same, it should be noted, applies to the product in Ireland and the UK, where they use meat from local suppliers.
Oliver repeatedly explained to the public, over several years – in documentaries, television shows and interviews – that the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is deemed unfit for human consumption. According to the chef and hamburger enthusiast, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry, “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.”
Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver famously coined this the “the pink slime process.”
“Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” Oliver asked.
In one of his colorful demonstrations, Oliver demonstrates to children how nuggets are made. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.
In reply to all of the bad press this process has received from Oliver, the company Arcos Dorados, the franchise manager for McDonalds in Latin America, said such a procedure is not practiced in their region. The same, it should be noted, applies to the product in Ireland and the UK, where they use meat from local suppliers.
In the United States, however, Burger King and Taco Bell had already abandoned the use of ammonia in their products. The food industry uses ammonium hydroxide as an anti-microbial agent in meats, which has allowed McDonald’s to use otherwise “inedible meat.”
Most disturbing of all is the horrifying fact that because ammonium hydroxide is considered part of the “component in a production procedure” by the USDA, consumers may not know when the chemical is in their food.
On the official website of McDonald’s, the company claims that their meat is cheap because, while serving many people every day, they are able to buy from their suppliers at a lower price, and offer the best quality products. But if “pink slime” was really the “best quality” that McDonalds can muster in the US, then why were they able do better in Latin America and Europe? More to the point, why can they apparently do better now in the United States?
These questions remains unanswered by the franchise which has denied that the decision to change the recipe is related to Jamie Oliver’s campaign. On the site, McDonald’s has admitted that they have abandoned the beef filler from its burger patties.
Source: http://politicalblindspot.org
Barf. :( McDonalds has always been vile ... Along with the rest of fast food. Its trash for lazy people. Where it once was an easy meal for familes once in a while, it has become a regular staple in most American homes. I'm not saying its not a matter of choice or that big brother and the courts should step in and we should ban it ... But maybe if people stop eating it, then America could get back to being fit. Then again, if we stop shoveling food in our faces for too long, maybe we would actually see the mess the country has become.
ReplyDeletei don't know where you live, but i live in america and i see it as trash as well. you think that americans are fat because they fork McDonalds into their faces everyday. it isn't "trash for lazy poeple..." it is crappy food for the people who are uninformed. i feel ashamed how this country as acted over the course of its history. now more than ever there are so called food places that swear on its 100%-ness (beef,chicken,etc...) only the informed know its alllll bullshit. america needs to purge all of its fast food and gmo (genetically modified) peices of shit and get healthy.
Deletemy grandfather use to talk about how if you wanted something fresh, organic, and healthy all you had to do is go to the grocery store. now being organic and fresh comes at a hefty price and some are not even that trust worthy.
Would they listen?
DeleteMaybe we should find ways to improve the economy so that people can AFFORD to eat healthier....did you know that a single artichoke costs $4?
DeleteFYI all the meat comes from the same places. so they are all the same.
ReplyDeleteI think you've missed the point entirely.
DeleteQuote: FYI all the meat comes from the same places. so they are all the same.
DeleteYou are wrong. Most fast food franchises have two things that make this not true. First, they buy the part of the meat they want, not necessarily the hamburger we buy off the shelf as hamburger. Also, they have processing plants where they change the content of the meat by adding filler, at least until now. That was the point of the story. The filler they were using was considered "unfit for human consumption" until the processing plan used ammonia hydroxide to "wash" the filler and make it "safe". Then they took the ammonia saturated filler and put it in their hamburger. Other companies stopped doing this because it is ammonia!!! So, no, they are not all the same.
All the meat come from China. The vegetables are never washed carefully. I heard that China always send poisonous chicken. Chicken eats cockroaches. Some employees found out the truth that chicken is imported from China, so they got fired.
Deletestill wouldn't eat this garbage....1 burger is equivalent to 5,000 cows from 3 different Countries, and they still serve GMO tainted foods. quit eating that poison 3 years ago, have lost 40 lbs and dont feel sluggish anymore. Fak Fastkill Food
DeleteOMG! guess I'm giving up my lover for the double cheese burgers.
ReplyDeleteBeen screaming these facts for 10 yrs now. The worst food on the planet with the most profits! It is disturbing how Americans ignore the effects far and wide of these monstrosities. Corps only care about profits, not people. U are not a citizen, u are a consumer! So, the less you consume the less they profit. Know what is in your food before you eat it, not after you get diagnosed with some illness. That is being responsible, not putting trust in things that don't deserve it! I quit eating fast food 10 yrs ago n lost 65lbs in 10 months. No exercises at all. Just eating organic foods and juicing! The nation is obese and living with more illnesses than ever because of these conventional foods. Anything in a bag, box, can or jar is so full of chemicals that destroy the body and organs. People wonder why they are sick. Read the label and look up those chemicals and you will know why! Eat at home and save your money for better health. Grass-fed meats and organic vegies, and most important, JUICE. Watch fat, sick, and nearly dead on Netflix. The guy from Australia has helped so many people turn their health around and lose weight. Peace
ReplyDeleteBut its sooooo good, I don't care what its made of, its good. Stop being so picky.
ReplyDeleteobviously you dont have a brain in your head to understand what ammonium hydroxide does to you. That chemical is used in semiconductor companies to etch off certain gas applications in there products.
DeleteHm, so what does it do to you in the levels that are in the hamburger described? Please, elucidate with citations, genius.
DeleteI'm on your side, but this high and mighty know it all attitude when you really know absolutely nothing is exactly what keeps your from getting people to believe what you believe. In other words, people make emotional choices and not being part of a group of detestable people is one of those emotional choices, for better or worse
You're part of the problem.
Great video.
ReplyDeleteIt is very powerful to use visualizations and show the process step by step. Seeing the ammonia poured into the food is perhaps the most troubling part of the process to me.
I have known for a long time that the agencies could not care less about the people they are supposedly "protecting" so this was not a shock to me.
I personally know a farmer in the UK who sells his meat to McDonalds. They buy the best cuts of beef from him. I was amazed and so was he but I'm not making this up and I don't work for McDonalds either.
ReplyDeleteUrban Myth!
DeleteYou'd be shocked at the chemical names of all the preservatives and additives that end up in all processed foods, not just McD's. The words Ammonia and Slime scare people as if there's Windex and Tub Foam in there but it's just another in a multitude of agents used in food preparation. I'm sure Diet Coke could remove rust from chrome easier than ammonium hydroxide.
ReplyDeleteLet's go there for a moment. My husband is a mechanic... and he worked on cars back when the engines were made of real metal, not aluminum. He REGULARLY used Coca-cola for everything from cleaning certain parts to actually freeing up seized motors. Pour a case of Coke down the engine block and it'll free up the constrictions, allowing the car to start again. And we drink this stuff. So yes, Diet Coke would probably be a really good cleaner.
DeleteI just puked in my mouth.
ReplyDeletelol m2. please don't ever use cola to fix a car anyone.
ReplyDeleteIt would be awesome if everyone here, including the author of this blog, took a high school chemistry class.
ReplyDeleteI will not eat at mcdonalds agin an I hope you won't either until they prove whats in there meats
ReplyDeleteFunny how they just opened up a brand new McDonald's at our corner to our neighborhood. Grand Opening was Thursday!! Ironic! I also worked there as a teenager back in the late '70s. I can tell you stories about how the employees and managers acted and some of the things they did. Wasn't anything to be proud of...
Deletenot even if they supersize it for you?
DeleteMcDonald's is tasty, who gives a crap what's in it. PS- The author has enough free time to wage a " long fought battle", with the fast food industry? Guess nobody likes his burgers...
ReplyDeletePerhaps you will give a crap when the disease causing chemicals and filler that is unfit for human consumption has its affect on you !
DeleteWhat effect (e, not a - different homonyms)? One thing that I wish people who go on about this stuff would do is have some kind of knowledge to present about what the effects are that they're claiming, because, you know when you're condemning industrial processes and trying to fight a system like this, you should probably have something better than droning "Ew, yuk!" in your best valley girl voice.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm glad to know there is a wash of meats (just as there are for greens and other food products) before they hit our tables, especially knowing that the washing agents used to do it in the quantities used have been deemed as safe by the U.S. government. And as far as the cuts of meat, I never expected any fast food chain to use filet mignon cuts to make their hamburgers. As this video shows, much of the fat is separated from the rest of the meat before it's served to the public. The term "pink slime" was apparently coined by this presenter. No where in the video did I see anything resembling what I would consider to be slime.
ReplyDeleteJudging from the looks of some of the people in the "audience", this presentation seems to be one based on shock and makes me wonder what the real motivation is of the presenters.
i would like to see him expose the use of propylene glycol in fast food & other fresh over the counter foods now.
ReplyDeletemc dees reeks.!
ReplyDeleteMeat is not good for human consumption
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college 45 years ago, one of the things I still remember having learned from one of my professors at the time was that McDonalds was the biggest buyer of beef lungs in the country.
ReplyDeleteNow that so many people are starting to learn how bad standard dog food is for their pets, and are moving toward the more healthy (albeit expensive) upscale brands, the meat byproducts industry must be frantic to know what to do with their garbage cuts.
Why not disguise them with a little bit of real "hamburger" and add artificial flavoring, soy fillers and coloring! Anyone ever try to find out who the biggest buyer(s) of beef entrails might be in this day and age? Would be interesting to find that out!
My daughter, a high school student, was working this summer at a meat slaughtering plant, mainly horse. She filled tall plastic bags with cryovached (ammonia-dipped) horse renderings (fat, gristle, muscle, big clots), this was called "tube meat". Horse meat main buyers of finest cuts are Europe, Asia, and tube meat is mainly pet food. She came home upset that while she covered a shift on labelling/shipping, she was told to pack and
ReplyDeletelabel a box destined for local McDonalds, rush order. She asked for clarification, yes horse tube meat, yes definitely McDonalds, will be picked up right away.
of horse tube meat, with shipping label: local
McDonalds. She asked for clarification and was told yes definitely, and its a rush order needed ASAP.
Since consumption of horse meat is illegal in USA, I would hope your daughter reported this to the Feds.
DeleteThats a good point.horse plant story guys full o shit. Dont eat loads on a reg basis and ul b ok.jus like too much of nearly anythin is bad for u
DeleteMother Nature provides all we need, fruits vegetables water, sun and rain. All fast food premises should be restricted to one per town or pro rata. I blame the government local and higher for allowing so many to be built,
ReplyDeleteInstead of just going after McDonald's about how they prepare their food, why not go after the FDA that allows it? Or the big food company's that not only make the food for McDonald's but the same food that is made the same way, that sits on our grocery shelves? Wait, that would be a conflict of interest not to mention the fact it would allow the real truth to come out.
ReplyDeleteLearn what your food is made of and where it is made. I worked for several fast food chains in my youth and saw behind the counter and saw many changes in a 10 year span. Everything is prepackaged and/or frozen.
ReplyDeleteEmm Jon Schinke,your comments were very succinct and I agree with you wholeheartedly.Although I might make a slight observation about Jamie Oliver.He is not Australian,he is English.He comes from the London area although he loves visiting our beautiful country.Just thought I'd set you right mate!:)
ReplyDeleteI would be moire impressed if he did the same and caused change in the ENTIRE food industry and not just go after McDonald's. The same company's that make that food also make everyday food and the same regulations that allowed the production of it also are followed by the industry's when they produce our everyday food as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the chemicals they use but It sure does make the food deeelicious! I'm gonna jump in my gas guzzling SUV a go get some organ nuggets right now.
ReplyDeleteMcDonalds imports chicken from China and uses dead and sick chicken. Moreover, they use expired sandwich and cheese all the time. In addition, their manager likes to fire an employee unfairly even when the manager has technical evidences. They like to tell lies. They fired an employee unfairly and still keep a wrong person at work.
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