Ammonia used in many foods, not just “pink slime”
Surprise rippled across America last month as a new wave of consumers discovered that hamburgers often contained ammonia-treated beef, or what critics dub “pink slime”.
What they may not have known is that ammonia - often associated with cleaning products - was cleared by U.S. health officials nearly 40 years ago and is used in making many foods, including cheese. Related compounds have a role in baked goods and chocolate products.
Using small amounts of ammonia to make food is not unusual to those expert in high-tech food production. Now that little known world is coming under increasing pressure from concerned consumers who want to know more about what they are eating.
“I think we’re seeing a sea change today in consumers’ concerns about the presence of ingredients in foods, and this is just one example,” said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety.
Ammonia, known for its noxious odor, became a hot topic last month with the uproar over what the meat industry calls “finely textured beef” and what a former U.S. government scientist first called “pink slime”.
Used as a filler for ground beef, it is made from fatty trimmings that are more susceptible to contamination than other cuts of beef, and are therefore sprayed with ammonium hydroxide - ammonia mixed with water - to remove pathogens such as salmonella and E.coli.
Ammonia is a chemical compound that consists of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms tightly bonded, which gives it the chemical symbol NH3. It can take the form of a strong-smelling liquid or gas. Many consumer and commercial products contain this alkaline substance, including many products that are used to clean grime or fertilize crops. This chemical is hazardous, and even in low concentrations, inhaling it or getting the solution on the skin can cause burning, fainting or possible death. Caution should always be used when one is handling this chemical.
Production
A tiny amount of ammonia forms when organic matter decomposes, so the gas can be found naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of the ammonia that is used is produced through artificial means, however, by bonding the nitrogen and hydrogen atoms together by force. Then the gas can be pressurized to form a liquid for easy distribution to manufacturing plants.
Advantages
As a gas, this substance is lighter than air, so it won’t pool indoors like other dangerous gases, such as propane. Although ammonia has a pungent, distinctive odor, it is clear and difficult to ignite unless it is highly concentrated. This makes it safer than other chemicals for household use, because most people will recognize the smell and avoid touching the chemical or inhaling its fumes.
After critics highlighted the product on social media websites and showed unappetizing photos on television, calling it “pink slime,” the nation’s leading fast-food chains and supermarkets spurned the product, even though U.S. public health officials deem it safe to eat. Hundreds of U.S. school districts also demanded it be removed from school lunch programs.
One producer, Beef Products Inc, has since idled three factories. Another, AFA Foods, filed for bankruptcy protection.
What are the Effects of High Concentrations of Ammonia?
High Concentrations of Ammonia - Harmful to the Environment & Toxic to Aquatic Life
High concentrations of ammonia can indicate contamination from waste treatment facilities, industrial effluents or fertilizer (ammonia - nitrogen) run off.
A high concentration of ammonia has been found toxic to aquatic life.
How is Ammonia Utilized in the Beef Process
The ammonia process used in meat processing is intended to combat microbial pathogens like E. coli and salmonella as mentioned in the article. I imagine they also thought it would handle dangerous staph bacteria such as MRSA.
The process uses “low-grade beef trimmings” to fill in the 100% all beef!
Untreated beef contains ammonia at a scale of about 6 of pH level, which is near the pH of rain water and milk. The study that won the U.S.D.A. approval was at a ph level of 10. Concern was given for products to still be palatable at a pH level of 9.5.
The outrage, which many experts say has been fueled by the term “pink slime,” seems more about the unsavoriness of the product rather than its safety.
“This is not a health issue,” said Bill Marler, a prominent food safety lawyer. “This is an ‘I’m grossed out by this’ issue.”
Still, critics of so-called “Big Food” point out that while “pink slime” and the ammonia in it may not be harmful, consumer shock over their presence points to a wider issue.
“The food supply is full of all sorts of chemical additives that people don’t know about,” said Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and president of industry watchdog consulting firm Eat Drink Politics.