Frozen McRib Picture Goes Viral, Many Recall 'Pink Slime' Fiasco
To usher in the annual release of McDonald's McRib, said to be a fan favorite, a picture of a frozen McRib patty was posted on the internet and has since gone viral.
A Reddit user posted a photo of "raw McRib meat" that was reportedly given to him by friend who is a McDonald's employee.
The image, which was reportedly taken from a Canadian McDonald's, shows a hand holding up a light-pink slab of frozen meat shaped like a rack of ribs.
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The meat patty contains around 70 ingredients and is served on a sesame seed bun slathered in tangy barbecue sauce and topped with onions and sliced pickles.
McDonald's has always been a target for food activists and recently had to discontinue using "pink slime" in their burgers to appease outraged consumers.
Lean, finely textured beef or "pink slime" takes meat byproducts such as excess fat and other trimmings and treats them with ammonia hydroxide.
The meat byproducts are given an ammonia hydroxide chemical bath that kills any pathogens such as E. coli or salmonella and is deemed by the United States Department of Agriculture to be safe.
The reason that ammonia hydroxide is not listed on the list of ingredients is that the government considers it to be used in the production process not as an ingredient.
McDonald's was one of the biggest fast food chains to use pink slime before they decided to discontinue using that product in their burgers last August, yet others- such as Burger King and Taco Bell- still do.
Some of the largest grocery chains in the nation have also opted to stop carrying beef that contains "lean finely textured beef," otherwise known as pink slime, in their stores.
Safeway, SUPERVALU and Food Lion announced that they will no longer sell any meat product that contains the questionable. The companies explained that the decision was made due to numerous customer concerns.
"While the USDA and food industry experts agree that lean, finely textured beef is safe and wholesome, recent news stories have caused considerable consumer concern about this product. Safeway will no longer purchase ground beef containing lean, finely textured beef," according to a company statement.
