Two more grocery chains have joined the ranks of those companies that are refusing to stock so-called “pink slime.”
Strack & Van Til and WiseWay grocery chains are pledging to stop using the item, which is actually called lean finely textured beef, in response to numerous consumer concerns about the product. They will become part of a list of stores that have enacted similar measures, including Meijer, Kroger, Aldi, and Costco.
The Food and Drug Administration, as well as the United States Department of Agriculture, has vouched for the safety of the product. Its usage has been commonplace for years, but opponents think that its existence is a textbook example of unappetizing industrialization of food production.
The aforementioned chains Strack & Van Til and WiseWay have said that their decision wasn’t the result of a recall, but rather numerous customers coming into the store to complain or calling to voice their concerns. Spokespersons for those companies have stated that the remaining inventory of the lean finely textured beef will only last for a couple more days, at which point it will be phased out entirely. They have estimated that costs might initially be higher but that things will settle down over time.
As a personal injury lawyer in San Diego, I can understand a consumer’s concern with a product that has a moniker like “pink slime.” However, we’ve always prided ourselves on innocent until proven guilty in America, and as a Bakersfield personal injury attorney, I think more research will need to be done before rash conclusions are reached.