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?

Your Hamburger Washed with Ammonia:Time to Boycott

Kudos to The New York Times and reporter Michael Moss for an investigative report that laid bare the disgusting process of making frozen hamburger patties.

The article told the story of Stephanie Smith, a children's dance instructor, who ended up paralyzed from eating a hamburger contaminated with a particularly vicious form of E. coli bacteria.

This eye-opening story revealed that giant Cargill uses four different sources for the meat that it grinds into burgers including beef trimmings that are half fat, half meat and trimmings that come from "any small pieces of fat derived from the normal breakdown of the beef carcass" which are heated and put in a centrifuge. The "remaining product" gets treated "with ammonia to kill E. coli." Yummy!

Despite pressure from government officials, Cargill refuses to test each separate supply of "meat" before it grinds them all together; the only testing is of the final product. So when Smith became ill, it was impossible to track the bacteria back to its source.

Obviously, testing of each source of supply should be required.

But the hamburgers that come out of Cargill's grinders are essentially made of the wastes from the slaughtering process--trash that most of us wouldn't even feed to our dogs. Yet this garbage, some of which costs Cargill as little as 60 cents a pound, according to the article, is sold in supermarkets for, at minimum, $3 a pound.

Spread the word. Everyone should boycott frozen hamburger patties. (Perhaps with one exception: Costco. Costco tests each supply of meat for contamination before it grinds them together.)

If you want a safer hamburger, buy a package of ground beef and spend 5 minutes seasoning it and forming it into patties. Add some breadcrumbs, if you like--that's what Cargill does--for better texture. You'll be less likely to get sick and you won't be giving your business to a company that obviously puts profits ahead of the integrity of its products.