What's All This Talk About "Pink Slime"?

Media platforms (TV, radio, twitter, search engines, etc) across the country have been teeming with talk about "pink slime". As explained by Edward Mills, associate professor of dairy and animal science at Penn State, "pink slime" (also known as lean, finely textured beef or LFTB) is the lean meat that remains on fat trimmings removed from beef carcasses and that cannot be reclaimed with a knife cost effectively. This remaining meat is separated from fat in a mechanical process that involves heating minced trimmings only to about body temperature (100 degrees) then centrifuging to separate lean from fat. Because the trimmings may harbor dangerous pathogens that can cause foodborne illness, they are decontaminated with either ammonia gas or citric acid.

(Photo from http://live.psu.edu/story/58528#nw4)

The reason LFTB has turned into such a hot topic in recent weeks is that the U.S. government plans to buy LFTB beef and use it in the national school lunch program. The words "ammonia" and "school lunch" together are creating a huge debate on the safety of the use of LFTB. According to Professor Mills, "This issue really has been elevated in social media. Claims made that this product is not safe are blatantly untrue. From a microbial-pathogen point of view, the product has a better reputation than straight ground beef."

To read more about LFTB, please read the article "Expert: 'Pink slime' may be unappetizing, but it's safe, genuine beef".

Whether people are basing their views of the use of LFTB on facts or emotions, either way, I'm guessing this will remain a hot topic (and affect sales) in the beef industry for awhile.

If you are a beef producer, has this controversy affected your sales? Do you use LFTB? Would you voluntarily label your products as to if they do/do not contain LFTB? What do you think is the best way to educate consumers on LFTB?

As a consumer, how do you feel about the use of LFTB? Do you think products should be labeled as to if they do/do not contain LFTB?

Heinz is leading the way in combining social media and sales

As we've discussed many, many times in this blog, social media is here to stay, so why not use it to your advantage? As a business owner, connect with your customers and get more involved in that bond. Market your products, your business, and yourself via Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.

Earlier this year, Heinz set some new Facebook records in the UK. To launch their new balsamic ketchup, Heinz decided to use Facebook (with 45,000 UK fans) as their exclusive launch pad. This was the first time a food product has been exclusively launched via Facebook and the first time branded food products have been sold via Facebook.


Heinz will be doing the same thing here in the USA, but only to a much larger crowd (Heinz's USA Facebook page has over 852,000 fans). Starting November 14th, Heinz will launch it's balsamic ketchup via it's Facebook page. This will be the only place to buy it until it reaches stores in late December.

To read more about balsamic ketchup, please visit the Supermarket Guru.

As an ag business owner, what are your thoughts on launching a product exclusively through Facebook (or any other social media)? Would you try it? As a consumer, do you feel a certain "exclusivity" by only being able to buy this ketchup via Facebook? Do you think Heinz's marketing is innovative?

Fast food vs "food fast": What is the difference?

Upon hearing the terms "fast food" and "food fast", most people think they are the same thing. According to an article posted on FoodBusinessNews.net, the two can be different. FoodBusinessNews.net describes fast food as quick-service, drive thru restaurants and convenience stores while "food fast" is food served quickly with a greater focus on ambiance. In the FoodBusinessNews.net article, "food fast" is described as an emerging trend. Consumers are looking for the convenience of a fast food restaurant with the menu options of a casual restaurant.

Technomic, a food industry research firm, explored this emerging trend in their "Status and Future of Fast Foods: Consumer Trend Report". Some of the things consumers are looking for include:
-the "upscaling" of limited-service restaurant formats
-the introduction of price-driven value elements into fast-casual restaurant menus
-the broadening of full-service restaurants' service formats to include convenience-oriented platforms like call-ahead and text/online ordering, home delivery, and curbside pickup.







An example of the of the "food fast" trend is the recent addition of "curbside pickup" at many big name casual restaurants. TGI Friday's, Applebee's, and Chili's all offer a program where diners can call ahead with their order and when they get to the restaurant, a server will bring the food to the diner's car. This service gives the quickness and ease of a traditional drive-thru restaurant, while still offering the menu selection of a sit-down restaurant.

As an ag entrepreneur, have you thought about adding any of the "food fast" elements to your establishment? Have your customers been asking for "food fast" options? If you already offer "food fast" options, how successful have these options been? Can you post some local examples of "food fast"?