No More Slime in McDonalds Burgers

McDonald's MCD has announced that it is rethinking its burger recipe and will no longer be using “pink slime” as a filler ingredient. The fast food giant has had the change of heart following immense pressure from British TV chef Jamie Oliver. The pink slime that Oliver describes is, rather delightfully, beef parts (it is not clear which parts, but it is doubtful that MCD have been particularly picky) washed in ammonium hydroxide to kill bacteria. To be fair, it is important to point out that it is not only McDonald's that uses the product and process, which is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Many fast food chains use this slime for their burgers, chicken nuggets, tacos and other equally nutrition-free products. Ammonium hydroxide, for its part, is simply ammonia and water, and it has been approved for use in food processing by the FDA since 1974 after extensive food safety testing. It is used as a direct food additive in many foods, including baked goods, cheeses, chocolates and puddings. The problem, therefore, does not seem to be one of public safety. The pink slime is not considered any more harmful than any other high-calorie food. The problem for Oliver and hopefully any other consumers is that the product is being advertised, or at least perceived, as beef. So MCD seems to be caving into Oliver's assertions that “fatty trimmings would typically be used for dog food but instead are being recycled for humans.” There is so much that is troubling about that statement, not least the word “recycled”. That is a word that should never be associated with food, and certainly not food that is to be consumed by humans. Plastic should be recycled. Paper and glass. Certainly not food. McDonald's claims that the decision to phase out the slime is “not related to one particular event”, although it should be noted that both Burger King and Taco Bell have also stopped using the product. MCD has not said how long it intends to take over that phase-out, but one would hope that, having taken the all-important first step, consumers can go back to chowing down on Big Macs and only concerning themselves with the fat content rather than the slime level. It's also notable that in Oliver's native country of the UK, McDonald's has never used pink slime in its burgers The celebrity chef only made the discovery whilst trying to break the American television market. According to the Daily Mail in Britain, U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist Geral Zirnstein echoed Oliver's calls for ammonium hydroxide to be banned in beef. “I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef,” he said. “I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling.” The perhaps appropriately named Todd Bacon, MCD's Senior Director of U.S. Quality Systems and Supply Chain, reiterated that Oliver's campaign had nothing to do with the company's decision, adding, “Furthermore, we have our own food safety measures and standards in place throughout the entire supply chain to ensure that we serve safe, high quality food to every customer, every time they visit our restaurants.” The debate raises the bigger question of what exactly is considered beef nowadays? Can a company claim that a burger is 100 percent beef, if they use any part of the cow, including eyes, lungs and testicles? It would appear that all cow-meat is beef, so the lesson here is to trust nothing and ask lots of questions. But at least that pink slime is disappearing from the menus. The news does not seem to have impacted the market too much though, with Piper Jaffray maintaining its Overweight rating (no pun required) and $108 price target on Tuesday. Piper said that, "We are incrementally more confident on MCD shares following our recent visit with management. While we recognize that the company is trading near all time highs and is therefore facing heightened investor expectations of continuing to deliver consistent and strong positive results we believe the company is well-positioned to do so." MCD closed on Wednesday evening at $98.40. Pre-market trading on Thursday had shares down 0.41 percent at $98.