No Pink Slime At Publix
March 16, 2012
I have received a ton of emails about pink slime from readers over the past week or so.
I have to tell you guys I had never heard of it before I started clicking some of the links that you guys sent to me. Now, I wish I had never found out as it makes me just nauseous to think about!
Warning…if you are squeamish – skip past this paragraph! Pink slime is a meat byproduct where otherwise unusable cuts are mixed with ammonium hydroxide in a centrifuge to produce food for humans. According to an article from abc news, this cheap meat filler, is in 70 percent of the ground beef sold at supermarkets and up to 25 percent of each American hamburger patty, by some estimates.
I have good news for all of us who shop at Publix. Publix does NOT use pink slime in their ground beef. Yet another reason why I Heart Publix 
good news !
Sometimes getting slimed in NOT good.
How did you find out what grocery stores use it and not? Just curious since we don’t have Publix up north, I need to figure out which ones don’t use it here
Steph- I emailed directly to Publix and they sent me their policy (on NOT doing it!) I woudl do the same to the grocery chains you use
My hubby is a meat cutter for publix and he told me everyone has asked them about this lol .. Publix uses only fresh meats & never adds anything artificial to thier meats. If you have ever tasted Publix meat you will notice this… we compared Publix meat with walmart “meat” and boy oh boy were we shocked! EWWWW Walmart packages their meats in a different location than the store & they use gases to help preserve the meat for longer. The taste of it was just yukky lol Publix has the best meats & poultry and this is another reason why I HEART PUBLIX too =-)
Thanks Whitney
I buy most of my meats from Publix, especially ground turkey. I feel so much better now knowing they do not add anything artificial to their meats. This is a peace of mind for me. Thanks again!
Thank you SO MUCH!!
That’s such great news! I started grinding my own beef after watching Jamie Oliver do a bit on pink slime a few years ago. So glad I can go back to purchasing pre-ground!!
What about Zaycon Foods or Sams Club? Anyone know anything about their meats?
i get my lean meat from zaycon. according to what ive read, it’s all fresh meat.
Don’t even ask about Sams Club (Walmart part 2) but Zaycon is looking into the slime – because one of their processors uses the stuff but not for all their distributors (Zaycon being one of them) – so Zaycon said they would email as soon as they know – and I will post as soon as I get info.
also let me add, i absolutely wont buy wal mart ground beef because it is nasty, and have bought the ground beef from sams. i was hesitant at first for obvious reasons, but i saw from the meat dept behind the glass the butchers back there breaking all the meat down themselves and packing it, so i thought i would give it a try. its def different than that sold at wal mart. it didnt stink while cooking, it didnt foam up while cooking and it didnt have that weird color as it was cooking either. ive always wondered why wal mart meat was so different and disgusting. the slime has to be it.
ick!
Sam and Walmart are essentualy the same company, and Walmart admits they do sell pink slime. I can only/will assume Sams does as well.
How can you tell if a store sells this – is it on the label somewhere? I buy from several stores not just Publix. Would like to know how to tell.
Ask them.
I talked to the butcher at Sweetbay as well. If the meat tray is black, they ground it. That means No Pink Slime if the ground meat is on a BLACK tray. if it is white, you should assume it may have it. I think it is an important question no matter where you purchase meat. Thank you for the info about Publix. Another reason to trust their store.
Does anybody know if Winn Dixie uses the pink slime on their meat product?
Yes, for their prepackaged products. No for store ground meat.
I found this article that lists some stores that don’t use “pink slime”. Guess which store is on the list? Publix! My favorite
http://www.momables.com/does-my-grocery-sell-meat-with-pink-slime/
And this article which has even more stores listed:
http://couponsdealsandmore.com/library/does-your-stores-ground-beef-contain-pink-slime/
Just wondering where you found this out. Obviously everyone that sells meat is going to want you to think that theirs doesnt contain the fillers. Ive even read that McDonalds says their meat doesnt contain it. I sure “LOL”d when I heard that one.
it is not considered a filler technically- that is why (yuck) I email publix directly to get their policy specifically on pink slime- posted it on iheartpublix a few days ago on fb (they do nto use it per the email the sent me)
I read an article that said that Costco and Whole Foods, as well as Publix, do not have “pink slime” in their meat.
I started contacting some of my favorite chain restaurants to ask as well. So far, I’ve only heard back from one…Five Guys Burgers. They do not use meat that contains “pink slime” either. YAY Five Guys!
Five Guys—YUM!!!
thank GOd on the five guys I wonder about steak and shake
It’s really time to start having my kid pack her lunch – I read last week the government has agreed to purchase millions worth of this stuff for the school lunch program.
gross are u seriuos
I saw that too! My son will not be eating school lunch when he goes to school.
Great news, thank you!
So far pink slime hasn’t hurt anyone…just sayin’! I don’t really want it in my meat either, but if anyone eats hotdogs or bologna, they shouldn’t be too worried about pink slime.
So true! How about chicken nuggets? Anyone see that picture a few months ago of PINK stuff being piped out to make chicken nuggets? Looked like soft serve! Gross!!
salami and peperoni too!
But ammonia is a Class A carcinogen. (I don’t eat hotdogs or bologna, except I sometimes do eat grass-fed beef hotdogs with no nitrites.)
Joy, I know that some people think that so far pink slime hasn’t hurt anybody, but how do they know that? There are many people with cancer and other health problems everywhere. How do we know that pink slime has not caused or contributed to some people’s health problems? Since when was ammonia supposed to be eaten? Ammonia is a Class A carcinogen.
Not True. Ammonia is not classified as carcinogenic, it is USDA recognized as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe)
http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1194947398510
excellent explanation
http://gmagoldie.hubpages.com/hub/Ammonia-in-United-States-Beef
As long as it becomes properly labeled, I think it’s a good product for the poor, and those on welfare. Maybe put in generic labeled burger meats, and in all cheap hot dogs at the supermarker sale priced 2 for a buck. And maybe in the dollar menu burger items at fast food places. lol
There ought to be “choice” in the consumption of pink slime.
I can’t imagine the ingredients of Slim Jims, and other reconstituted dried beef products to be any more wholesome, but there’s no clamour to end their consumption.
The truth is since no one knew (besides the meat department) that this crud was in our food supply we have no way of knowing what harm has been done. We have been eating pet food, seriously you might as well eat a can of Alpo if these byproducts are in your hamburger.
WOW I will defiantly start buying my mean at Publix. I buy everything there. But meat I was still doing Sam’s club shopping. Thanks for the article
I thought the Kroger reply was interesting and perhaps a twist of words as they didn’t mention about their “frozen” or “prepackaged” ground beef.
I think all of the prepkgd and chub ground beef have the slime so beware!
Yet another reason why i am so glad we get buy a cow and well you all know the rest of the story on how that goes lol……
I think I read somewhere that it needs to say “mechanically separated meat” if it has that pink slime. Not sure if this is the law or something they are working towards.
see http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/msm.asp
MSM “mechanically separated meat”
is different from pink slime or
BLBT “boneless lean beef trimmings”
better off not to eat any “processed” meat anyway
just fresh cut from your butcher (at Publix)
Oh thats just nasty! My mom and I always knew there was something wierd about Walmart meat, but we never knew what it was YUCH! I think we will have fish for dinner! ROFL. Thanks for the info!
I am with you on the fish lol! With all that these companies do now behind our backs, how are we to know it’s safe unless we do it all ourselves? And who has the time for that anymore?!?!
Eww don’t buy fresh produce and meats @ Walmart it’s the most processed, fertilized, foood ever. I remember watching a documentary about it in highschool.
fresh produce is not processed. duh !
the pink slime is in processed food primarily in the fast food industry. also in the pre packaged products delivered to school districts.
in both these cases the burgers are pre-formed, pre made, frozen and ready to be cooked.
they are not from fresh packaged ground beef, but in already formed burgers that you can find in any supermarket in a frozen box.
I think Hanny D. Meant that fresh produce is over fertilized…..not processed.
Didn’t see the ABC report, but a giant THANK YOU to the whistleblower or whoever brought this to the attention of media! ! Thanks to you and others like you these practices are exposed. But makes me wonder: what ELSE?
From now on if I go to a restaurant or party I have to wonder about the ground beef? This should NOT be allowed in our food supply period.
FDA, you blew it on this one.
This has been around for years, but only recently became a hot issue again due to it being sold to the school systems. A while back Taco Bell, Mcdonalds, and Burger King were all in hot water for using it and since have stopped buying meats that contain it.
If you have children I would contact your school system and find out if they are buying this!
The FDA blows it all the time. I consider them worthless and damaging more than helpful. They do not really care. It’s all a money game. That’s what I think!
There’s been many reports regarding pink slim in ground beef online for years. Jamie Oliver did a report on pink slime a year ago you can watch it on youtube. It’s not just ground beef that are being altered & contaminated it’s our whole food supply. Read up on how most meat factories processes their meat. These findings are the reasons why I recently became a vegetarian. I am not shocked that Publix’s ground beef doesn’t contain any pink slim. I am a firm believer that you do pay for what you get!!! That’s why I heart Publix!!!!
One way to ensure you are NOT receiving pink slime is to have the butcher ground up a roast. I like to wait until ground chuck roasts or sirloin tip roasts are on sale then I have a few ground into hamburger meat.
I’ll have to check Winn-Dixie. Publix is too much $$$$ for fresh meat.
Not much difference in price compared to quality. I’ll stick with Publix…
publix is the only place i trust to buy meat from. i do not care if it costs more than walmart or winn dixie etc. you get what you pay for!!
I only buy Greenwise meat from Publix because all others contain antibiotics and hormones !! I rather eat a smaller piece without all these nasty products than a bigger piece for the same price.
Amen! I actually started READING the labels on the products I give my children….. 75% of EVERYTHING has MSG OR “hydrolyzed” (just another form of MSG) PLEASE google effects of MSG on children’s brain development etc. I ONLY wish I would’ve done 5 minutes of “research” years ago! I was “ONE” of those people who said “everything is bad” without taking 5 minutes to actually research what I was feeding my innocent children.
did you know that an apple has more msg in it than a snadwich with prepackaed lunchmeats, or even ahamburger from mcdonalds?? betcha didnt know that , huh.
@wendy TYSON produces walmarts beef. (atleast in my store TN) tyson is known for a lot of things, and good meat is not one of them, in my opinion.
Publix has the second best meat and usually I buy it from there anyway, but this is a bonus. I already started packing my kids lunches in fear of this. If fast food doesn’t use it anymore, the schools shouldn’t!
Just a little side note, if you have a local butcher shop most the time they grind all their meats! We usually order around 150 pounds of meats (3 families and it lasts us about 3-4 months) of both beef and pork. It saves us A TON of money and it’s the best meat we’ve had. When we moved to Florida my boyfriend would drive all the way up here to buy our meat! Publix is second best, only because I can’t order our massive amounts from them and my Publix doesn’t offer all the variety that my old one does.
Thank you for sharing this. I was wondering.
I am so glad I am vegetarian! I am surprised no one else has posted this. The cows often live in filthy, crowded feedlots, are castrated without pain killers…and some are still awake while their insides are removed during slaughter.. I could go on..so I lost my appetite for meat years ago. My cholesterol dropped immediately.
Anyone know if ground turkey contains any slime? I don’t eat red meat so this doesn’t affect me much. I normally substitute ground turkey to recipes that calls for ground beef.
Ihad heard that Publix meat was better quality than that of many of their competitors. Now I know at least one of the reasons. Yeah, Publix!
Michelle, thank you so much for giving us this info.
Trust is a huge issue when it comes to doing business. Publix is a store I can trust.
BEWARE: slime isn’t our only worry! Have you heard of ‘meat glue’?? See our link: http://rojerthat.com/2011/05/11/the-meat-you-should-never-ever-eat/
Not to mention one pound of burger can contain meat from LITERALLY hundreds of cows! This skyrockets your chances of getting tainted meat.
PLEASE consider buying your meat “by the cow” from a farmer in your area by checking Craigslist/others. You can buy partial animals or split the animal with other families you know. We bought 1/4 of a cow (organic!) and after butcher fees only paid about $4 per lb – sirloins etc, included! It fed our family of 6 for 6 months. We bought a 700lb pig and split it with a friend and paid only $1.40 per lb all told, including smoked hams, bacon, etc.!! All organic! Also, meat from the farmer is SIMPLY DELICIOUS! Beyond compare tasty to Publix, etc.
I did this until I bought a foul tasting 150+ Lb. of meat and was stuck with it. Farmer had fed some sort of fish meal that left a bad smell and taste. I’ll get mine a couple of Lb. at a time form someone that will make it good from now on.
A couple of questions…..
I only purchase my meat at Publix anyhow but a friend of mine shops @ Bilo. Anyone know if they use pink slime?
Secondly, does anyone know about restaurants that do or don’t use it in their meat? I know about the fast food places that have been mentioned (and Five Guys, thankfully!) but am wondering about sit down restaurants.
Thanks!!
Bi-Lo does use pink slime in some of their meat. According to their spokesperson if you want meat free from it then buy their Goldstar Certified Angus ground beef.
WOW! After reading all this I am overwhelmed with thoughts! Note to self: buy grass fed cow, pig. Make a chicken coop, buy some chickens. No more eating out, unless its Five Guys (thank you Five Guys) and read more labels!! Thank God I have land to be able to do all this, as we just moved!! Thanks to everyone for your time and info, this has truly been info I will use!! I am so happy to have found this site, you all are great! Thanks
Just another reason to become a Vegetarian!
An article in todays Palm Beach Post that says a steady diet of red meat will shorten your life span. Why would anyone want to eat it??
Beacause there are more bad articles (uninformed, misinformation, disinformation & just plain wrong) in the paper than good. An article I read said eating red meat will double your life span … (and if you believe that …). Vegetarian … no way … it will shorten your life span. The way food is grown today – the veggies have no where near the vitamins, minerals, or nutrients of 20 years ago. Besides the pesticides and ??? on them now. My answer to your question … cuz it’s tasty, good for me, and natural for an omnivore…
They may not use the BPI product but they use beef trimmings, see the middle of the first page of http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html
Once again our Federal government has been paid off t9o look the other way. How many more examples of tainted food are out there?
Where does Publix buy their meat? I heard that Wal-Mart among other stores buy their meat from IBP, which was bought out by Tyson and they sell Halal meat! Can you tell me which stores sell Halal meat and if Publix does? As a Christian I cannot eat or will not eat Halal meat knowingly!