Pink Slime, also called lean finely textured beef (LFTB) or boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT), has been around for a long time before the public heard about it.

The term was coined in 2002 by Gerald Zirnstein, a former USDA scientist, in an internal email. In 2009, when the New York Times published an article about the fast food industry, and later in an article in the newspaper, the name was released and the controversy started. Consumers are asking questions about how food is being made, what they are eating, and what exactly is on the food labels.

The key debate is the use of ammonia in processing foods. LFTB is made from the leftover meat trimmings that would otherwise be discarded, separated from the fat with a centrifuge and sprayed with ammonium hydroxide to kill bacteria. Because this is a part of the process, not part of the final product, the use of ammonia hydroxide does not need to be printed on the labels.

In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined in 1974 that ammonia in foods was not harmful. It is on their list of foods “Generally Recognized as Safe,” defined as not problematic for human consumption in the amounts they are currently used in. Most consumers associate ammonia with the cleaning product.

Beef Products, Inc. has received so much criticism for ammonium hydroxide that three out of four of their processing plants closed. The lesser demand shows that consumers are worried about their food, but big business does not agree. The company received the Black Pearl Award in 2007 for, among other things, advancing food safety.

In 2004, the company was honored the Food Quality Award, which recognizes product safety in relation to a positive impact on business results. Beef Products, Inc also published a list of foods that contain ammonia on their website. The compound turns up naturally in some dairy products, such as milk. It is used in cheeses to take away some acidity, found in baked goods, gelatins, chocolate, caramels, and puddings.

Other companies are being called forward as well, such as the Hershey chocolate company, Kellogg, and ConAgra, producer of Wonder Bread and Chef Boyardee. Kraft Foods admits to using ammonia compounds in some of their products, though the company will not say which ones.

Pink slime has some benefits. The beef industry employs thousands of workers. LFTB may actually be safer than regular ground beef because of the way it is treated, which removes bacteria, as opposed to untreated beef, which has caused outbreaks of mad cow disease, e. coli and salmonella. Pink slime makes beef cheaper, available to all families struggling with income, and leaner, containing less fat.

Many experts agree that without the name “pink slime,” the scare would not be so huge. Yet, the fact is, worse practices are being conducted in the beef and poultry industries that consumers don’t know about. The pink slime debate is just the tip of the iceberg.

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Safeway and Kraft Foods have announced the culmination of the Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive, a national program helping fight hunger in communities across the country.

With the help of generous Safeway customers, nearly 362,000 bags of groceries were secured for food banks and other hunger relief centers throughout the U.S.  In addition to helping provide products for the food drive, Kraft Foods donated the monetary equivalent of 3 million meals* –$420,000– to local food banks in Safeway’s U.S. operating divisions.

Part of Kraft Foods’ donation helps support the efforts of 100 Safeway stores that sold the most food drive bags for local food banks.  These “Top 100 Food Banks” will receive a monetary grant as part of Kraft Foods’ three million meal donation.

The Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive was central to Safeway’s end-of-year giving initiative.  High-quality pantry staples were pre-selected and bagged, allowing customers to purchase the bag for a discounted price and place it in a donation barrel that went directly to a local food bank.

“Hunger is a very serious issue in our country that often goes overlooked,” said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President and Chair of the Safeway Foundation. “Sadly, more than 50 million Americans, or one in six of our neighbors, struggles to put food on their tables.

That’s why we joined with Kraft Foods and encouraged our customers to help us tackle this problem.  The Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive and Kraft Foods’ meal donation meant that nearly 362,000 families in need had nutritious food.”

Safeway is a longtime hunger relief advocate and an industry leader in environmental sustainability, ethical business practices and effective community outreach.

Safeway upholds an operating philosophy that is rooted in corporate social responsibility and focused on four key fundamentals: People, Products, Community, and the Planet. These fundamentals are “The Heart of Safeway,” bringing together our passion for food and serving our customers with the rapidly developing needs of our communities and our planet.

Kraft Foods has a long-standing commitment to fighting hunger.  The three million meal donation for Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) is part of Kraft Foods’ “Huddle to Fight Hunger,” a program that has raised more than 25 million meals for Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/KraftFightHunger

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Kraft Foods recently shared results of a pioneering survey that measured its impact on climate change, land and water use. The multi-year footprinting project — in partnership with Quantis and reviewed and analyzed by World Wildlife Fund and notable academics at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment – goes far beyond the company’s walls.

“Having the ‘big picture’ of our total footprint — from farm to fork — validates the focus of our sustainability efforts, particularly advancing sustainable agriculture,” said Roger Zellner, Sustainability Director for Research, Development & Quality. “Experts say climate change, land and water use may be among the biggest challenges in feeding a world of 9 billion people in 2050. As we continue our sustainability journey, we now have more insight into where we can make the greatest difference.”

“This study shows that in order to make meaningful change and conserve nature’s valuable resources, companies need to work with their suppliers to reduce the impact of producing raw materials,” said Dave McLaughlin, VP of Agriculture at World Wildlife Fund. “This means forging long term partnerships based on shared objectives, creating a transformational supply chain, a key strategy of WWF’s market transformation initiative.”

The bulk of Kraft Foods’ environmental footprint originates on the farms that grow ingredients for the company’s products. While the company does not own farms, the survey supports the work of its sustainable agriculture efforts on key commodities to improve crop yields, reduce environmental impacts and improve the lives of many of the farm workers and their families. In addition, Kraft Foods continues to build upon previous success around energy, carbon dioxide, water, waste and packaging reductions.

Expanded Sustainability Goals

This May, Kraft Foods announced expanded sustainability goals and highlighted progress against its six sustainability focus areas. The company’s new goals now include the Cadbury and LU businesses acquired since 2007. And Kraft Foods has added transportation and agricultural commodities to what it will be measuring.

From a 2010 base, by the end of 2015 Kraft Foods plans to:

• Increase sustainable sourcing of agricultural commodities by 25 percent
• Reduce energy use in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce energy-related CO2 emissions in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce water consumption in manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Reduce waste at manufacturing plants by 15 percent
• Eliminate 50,000 metric tons (100 million lbs.) of packaging material
• Reduce 80 million km (50 million miles) from its transportation network

Progress Against 2005-2010 Goals

Kraft Foods has made significant progress reducing energy, CO2 emissions, water, waste, packaging and transportation across its global operations. From 2005 through 2010:

• Energy use is down 16 percent
• CO2 emissions are down 18 percent
• Incoming water is down 30 percent
• Net waste is down 42 percent
• Packaging is down 100,000 metric tons (200 million lbs)
• 96 million km (60 million road miles) have been removed from its transportation/distribution network

Footprinting Insights

Interesting insights from Kraft Foods’ footprinting work include:

• More than 90 percent of the carbon footprint is outside its plants and offices, and nearly 60 percent is from farm commodities.
• About 12 percent of the carbon footprint is from transportation and distribution of products from stores to consumers’ homes.
• About 5 percent of the carbon footprint is from consumers, mostly in food preparation.
• More than 80 percent of the land impact is from agriculture.  In comparison, the impact from manufacturing facilities and offices is negligible.
• About 70 percent of the water footprint is from growing raw materials (including agricultural commodities used to make food products), while only 10 percent comes from manufacturing facilities/offices.
• Another 10 percent comes from consumer use, mostly from food preparation.

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