Pink Slime might be considered safe for school cafeteria’s according to the USDA but at least three national grocers are boycotting products carrying the product. The boycott was announced just weeks after the US Goverment purchased 7 million pounds of the product for use in school lunches.
Known in the industry as “lean, finely textured beef” the product meets food safety standards but critics claims the product is unsafe and unappetizing.
The first grocer taking part in the boycott is Supervalu which operates Acme, Albertsons, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher’s, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Shaw’s/Star Market, Shop `n Save, and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy. Executives at Supervalue says their decision to avoid pink slime came after customers raised concerns about stores carrying a “filler” product.
Food Lion has also announced that the Food Lion, Bloom, Harvey’s and Reid’s chains will not carry fresh ground beef with either of two similar fillers. A Food Lion executives has promised customers that their claim of “80% lean ground beef” is still true to its statement.
The other known grocer to boycott pink slime is Safeway which operates under the Safeway, Genuardi’s and Dominicks name. Safeway executives have promised to avoid pink slime products for both fresh and frozen ground beef.
Whether consumers are worried about the safety of pink slime , the taste it creates or the fact that they were being lied to when they were told the products they were buying were “80% beef” the truth remains that consumers are not willing to allow beef and other food fillers to dominate their dinner menu’s any longer.
Do you think the grocers involved in this boycott are acting in a responsible manner?
