Does Your Store's Ground Beef Contain 'Pink Slime'?

A lot has been written about 'Pink Slime' in the past & I'm sure everyone would be interested to know if your local store is carrying ground beef that contains 'pink slime' or not.

What Is Pink Slime?

“Pink slime” results from grinding together connective tissue and beef scraps normally used to make dog food or for rendering (that would be fat to make lard). The grindings are then treated with ammonia hydroxide, which kills pathogens such as E coli and salmonella. The term 'pink slime' was first coined by microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein in 2002. It is estimated that up to 70% of the nation’s grocery stores’ ground beef contains pink slime.

Thanks to Coupons, Deals and More, here is a list of responses from major grocery stores as to whether or not their ground beef contains 'pink slime'.

• A&P (Pathmark, Superfresh, Waldbaums, The Food Emporium, Food Basics, USA)
• Does NOT use pink slime 

• Ahold (Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin’s, Peapod) 
• Does NOT use pink slime 

• Albertsons
• Supervalu stores “will no longer purchase fresh ground beef products that contain finely textured beef. ” 

• Aldi’s – 
• “Over the last week, customers have been telling us that they do not want ground beef made with lean finely textured beef. That’s why ALDI has decided that we no longer will purchase ground beef made with this ingredient.”

• Bi-Lo LLC and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc  
• Will discontinue pink slime use  

• BJ’s – 
• Discontinued pink slime use as of 4/7/12 for fresh products & and 4/20/12 for frozen products. 

• Buehler’s Fresh Foods- 
• Issued a statement that its Certified Angus Beef contains NO pink slime. 

• Commissaries –  
• DO use pink slime.  

• Costco –
• Does NOT use pink slime 

• Crest Foods –
• Does NOT use pink slime

• Food Lion -
• Does NOT add lean finely textured beef (LFTB) to the ground beef they produce in stores. 

• Fred Meyer -
• Does NOT use pink slime 

• Giant Eagle – 
• Will no longer use pink slime: “After careful review of feedback from our customers, Giant Eagle has decided that effective immediately, the company will no longer source fresh ground beef” that contains the filler also known as boneless lean beef trim." 

• Hannaford –
• Will discontinue pink slime use 

• Harris Teeter –
• Does NOT use pink slime 
• "Thank you for your email. Our suppliers do not use pink slime in any of our Harris Teeter brands of ground beef. This includes our Harris Teeter Naturals, Rancher and Angus ground beef.  Sincerely, Melisa at Harris Teeter Customer Relation" 

• H-E-B – 
• All our ground beef sold at H-E-B is 100% pure with NO additives. 

• Hen House -
• Does NOT carry pink slime. 

• Hy-Vee –  
• Yes & No:  (as of 3/28/12) If you wish to purchase Hy-Vee ground beef that is not blended with LFTB, they would suggest their 85 Percent Lean Amana Chuck Trim

• Ingles -
• Does NOT use pink slime 

•  Kroger (Ralph’s, Fry’s, King Scoopers, Smith’s, QFC, Gerbes, Baker’s, City Market, Dillons) 
• Will no longer sell pink slime meat!

• Meijer – 
• Will NO longer be carrying pink slime. 

• Price Chopper – 
• Does NOT  buy, use or sell any fresh ground beef that has been ammoniated; nor do we employ FLTB or BLBT as fillers for our fresh ground beef.  

• Publix –  
• "We have NEVER allowed the use of LFTB (pink slime) in our meat. It’s 100 percent ground beef with no LFTB." 

• Safeway (Carrs, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Pak ‘n’ Save, Randall’s, Tom Thumb, Vons, Pavilions)-
• Will NO longer use pink slime  

• Save Mart – 
• Does use pink slime.

• Sam’s Club –  
• Does use pink slime. 

• Superfresh - 
• Does NOT use pink slime

• SuperValu (Acme, Alberstons, Cub, Jewel-Osco, Shaw/Star Market, Shop ‘n Save and Shoppers) 
• "Will no longer purchase fresh ground beef products that contain finely textured beef.” 

• Target –
• Its ground beef vendors Do NOT use the ammonia treatment during production.
• "Target places great emphasis on sourcing food and products from industry leaders for safety and quality. Our ground beef vendors do not use an ammonium hydroxide treatment in their production processes. Any additional questions can be directed to vendors." 

• Tops Markets –
• Does NOT use pink slime. 

• WalMart –
• On 3/22/12, Wal-Mart said that it will have the new, slime free products in stores asap, and to ask the butcher for help in locating them 

• Waldbaums –
• Does NOT use pink slime 

• Wegmans-
• No longer uses pink slime  

• Weis Supermarket – 
• No longer uses pink slime

•  Whole Foods –
• Does NOT use pink slime

• Winco – 
• According to the Winco Facebook page , the Winco brand Does NOT have pink slime. However, they have other brands they carry and they do not know if they contain pink slime.  

• Zaycon Foods – 
• DOES use pink slime. 

If you are unsure of your local store, contact their corporate headquarters, or ask on their facebook page. And if all else fails, you could always have the butcher grind a roast for you instead of buying  pre-packaged ground beef.
Enjoy!

Thanks, Coupons, Deals and More

FAQ- What To Do With Your Expired Coupons

 

Did you know that military families stationed overseas can use coupons on base for up to 6 months past the expiration date?  This is something easy & tangible you and your family can do to support our troops & their families.

It takes a little time & work,  because they like the coupons to be clipped and sorted into 2 categories (food and nonfood), but in my opinion, it's well worth it.

It will cost you the postage to send them. However, even though you are sending them overseas, the postage is the same as if you were mailing them here in the US.

You can check out this site to participate in the program. Remember, you are mailing internationally, so it could take a few weeks for them to arrive.

FAQ: How To Get Multiple Coupon Inserts

 

This is a question frequently asked to couponers: “How do people get multiple sets of coupon inserts?".  

Well, here are a few ways you can get multiple sets of coupons each week:

• Purchase multiple newspapers: 
• Easy, but not cheap. Usually, the Sunday paper costs around $1.50-$2. To reduce your out of pocket cost, you can check your local discount store to see if they carry Sunday newspapers at a lower price.
• Some stores discount any remaining Sunday papers come Monday. Check  your stores to see if they do so.
• Purchase multiple inserts: 
• There are multiple sites where you purchase only coupon inserts, rather than purchasing the entire newspaper. For example, sites such as “Coupons and Things by Dede” & "The Coupon Beat" offer this service. But please make sure it is financially "worth it" before you decide to use any coupon clipping service.
• Ask friends, family and neighbors for their coupons: 
• Chances are, many of your friends and family are throwing away their coupon inserts. Don’t be afraid to ask them for their copies.
• Befriend the paper delivery person: 
• Some newspaper delivery people have many remaining newspapers at the end of their Sunday delivery. You can let them know that you would like to get multiple coupon inserts and ask if that would be possible (of course, offer to pay).
• Search out recycling bins: 
• "Dumpster diving" is perhaps the cheapest (but dirtiest) way to get multiple coupon inserts. First, make sure you find out if it is legal to dumpster dive in your state. Then, all you need to do is find a recycling bin, someone to go with and then dive in.  I'll be honest: I am NOT willing to go that far.

Enjoy!!