Ammoniated Fat Now Standard Ingredient in McDonald's, Burger King

I've been recovering from shoulder surgery for the past few weeks, so I couldn't react immediately to the latest revelation about the trash that now gets added to hamburgers without any notice to the public.

The New York Times reported a few days ago that fat trimmings from the outer surfaces of beef carcasses are now getting mixed into McDonald's and Burger King burgers as well as the frozen prepared patties sold in supermarkets, and, best of all, to our children as part of the school lunch program. These trimming used to be considered unfit for human consumption because they are so contaminated with bacteria. They used to go only into dog food and cooking oil.

But by treating this garbage with ammonia, an enterprising company was able to kill the bacteria and then got approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to sell it to burger makers who are permitted to mix it into the patties--without any labeling! The incentive, of course, was money. The huge agribusinesses that produce pre-made patties save 3 cents a pound by mixing it in.

The news stories that followed the Times's expose focused only on whether the ammonia process is really effective in killing the bacteria. Apparently, the process doesn't work as well as initially expected because the lovely taste of ammonia was detectable. So the manufacturer seems to have cut back on the ammonia.

But this begs the more important question: is junk like this fit for human consumption? When do we decide that the magic of food processing has gone too far? Shouldn't use of such trash at least have to be revealed on the label?

When are we going to stop letting agribusinesses put whatever they want in our food supply so they can increase their profits and put producers of wholesome food at a disadvantage?