USDA Defends Ammoniated Beef In School Lunch Program

The Christian Science Monitor (3/12, 48K) reports, "The US Department of Agriculture is defending the use of ammonium-treated beef, dubbed 'pink slime' by detractors, in meals destined for US schoolchildren as part of the national school lunch program." Although "McDonald's stopped putting the USDA-approved ammonium-treated meat into its hamburgers" last August, "the USDA, schools and school districts plan to buy the treated meat, categorized as 'lean fine textured beef,' from South Dakota's Beef Products Inc for the national school lunch program." A USDA statement said that the agency "has strengthened ground beef food safety standards in recent years and only allows products into commerce that we have confidence are safe."