Know Your Ground Beef

Watch this video where Jack’s Pak-It was called on to give our professional views on a news story aired on local television station KFDM in April of 2012!

BEAUMONT – by Lindsey KovacevichMost of us eat ground beef without giving it a second thought. Now, because of two words-pink slime-many of us are thinking twice. Even though the Food and Drug Administration says the meat filler isn’t dangerous to your health, some retailers like Jack’s Pack-It are choosing to avoid it.

Meat turned into ground beef. Do you really know what’s in it?
“Some of the retailers use pre-ground meat and it comes in a tube,” said John Blanda, co-owner of Jack’s Pak-It. “It’s USDA approved. They grind the meats. You can put fillers in there. It may be something like beef hearts.”

“It’s sold in the industry in little tubes, pink tubes,” said Mary Ellen Vivrett, Clinical Nutrition Manager for Baptist hospitals. That’s where the name pink slime comes from.

It’s gaining a lot of attention.”You have the retailers that use the tubed ground meat,” said Blanda. “They do it as a time saver.” Blanda says Jack’s Pack-It doesn’t use pink slime in its meats. He says there’s a problem when butchers use fillers. “The beef hearts, they won’t last as long as the chuck,” said Blanda. “The separation occurs when the temperature varies and if it’s in the case a little longer.”

Jack’s Pak-It uses what the owner calls a shoulder clod and no fillers.”Price-wise, I don’t see why anyone does it anymore. What you save in price you have to pay labor for someone to grind it. Might as well grind one single piece of meat.”

Quick fixes. Scares like pink slime. They’ll always come and go.Experts say the focus should remain on incorporating healthier foods in your diet. A meat processing plant in California has filed for bankruptcy because of nationwide criticism over pink slime. If you want meat without pink slime, Jack’s Pak-It is an option. Or ask your local store if it uses tubed ground beef.  That’s the kind that has pink slime.


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