Processed food with ground meat in it

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So my parents tell me to avoid any processed food with ground meat in it. Aside from the fact that it’s probably not a good idea to eat processed food to begin with, they think that ground meat is basically the way that manufacturers use to hide the poor quality of the meat, which could very well be pink slime. I also read an article somewhere that says eating processed meat reduces sperm quality. What are your thoughts? I love hotdogs, sausages, bologna, burgers, etc., but now I’m afraid to eat them.
 
I saw the funniest thing a few years back. It was (I think) a college coach, walking some new recruits around the grocery store and giving them a talk about nutrition. He stopped in front of the hotdog section and said earnestly, “Hotdogs are not an animal. Don’t eat 'em.”

Your parents’ rule of thumb is not a bad one, but a hotdog here or there is not going to kill you. Also, there is a lot of fake chicken being served in restaurants. It looks like and has the consistency of a soy product.
 
Alot the meats in the state have a slimy texture yes but you could go to a meat market where they process their own hamburger and sausages if your concerned or switch to turkey burgers they are tasty is you season them right and so are turkey dogs and turkey sausages
 
Best to buy meat from an identifiable source, if at all possible. Some of the supermarket processed meat can potentially come from hundreds of different animals in one serving :eek: That’s why gound beef is more often associated with ecoli outbreaks than, say, a steak.
 
This article might help you regarding “pink slime” and some of the major American national grocery chains. I remember our local papers had articles about this, too, so you might want to check the online archives of a local paper to see if they had any coverage on this issue.

You can also buy directly from farmers, if you have the freezer space (or split an order with someone). That’s a great way to get minimally processed meat. Local butchers also will sell sausages, etc. made in shop (I find they taste better than the nationally branded stuff anyway). We eat hot dogs occasionally, but we’re very selective about the brands. For the odd reunion or get together, we don’t bother to worry about it because that’s a rare occasion.

If you do it right, buying less processed food can end up being cheaper and better for you in the long run. But it’s not something to endlessly obsess over, IMO (special dietary needs excepted).
 
I strongly recommend avoiding processed meats. There are plenty of chemicals and other additives added for taste, color, and preservation purposes that are not good for your body. If you’re going to eat meat, I recommend buying unprocessed meats.
 
I don’t think ground meat is in and of itself bad. But I agree with everyone else: the quality, the additives, etc,. are what kills ya. Figuratively speaking, I hope. 😉

But if you have a local farmer who raises organic grass feed beef, processes it himself, then you owe it to yourself to try it.

We have a local farmer who makes his own hotdogs. They have around 6 ingredients, and all are pronounceable, recognizable foods. They’re fabulous, and taste nothing at all like a corporate hotdog.

There are two drawbacks: convenience, and $$.
 
Fun fact: In Canada it is illegal to produce meat with pink slime for human consumption or to import meat with pink slime to sell for human consumption. 🙂
 
I am a big fan of Costco meat’s flavor and price… does anyone know if their meat is of questionable quality?
 
If you check the article above that I linked, Costco’s ground beef has never had pink slime in it. That was in line with what I have found through my other research locally about their ground beef and other meats. I buy almost all of non-farmer-direct meat at Costco.
 
pensmama87 said:
If you check the article above that I linked, Costco’s ground beef has never had pink slime in it. That was in line with what I have found through my other research locally about their ground beef and other meats. I buy almost all of non-farmer-direct meat at Costco.
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Ah, thanks! I should have read that first. 😊
 
Catya said:
Best to buy meat from an identifiable source, if at all possible.
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Agreed. We get all of our beef and pork from a local farmer. It tastes SO much better than supermarket meat. Best of all, we know where it came from.
 
AllSeasons said:
So my parents tell me to avoid any processed food with ground meat in it. Aside from the fact that it’s probably not a good idea to eat processed food to begin with, they think that ground meat is basically the way that manufacturers use to hide the poor quality of the meat, which could very well be pink slime. ** I also read an article somewhere that says eating processed meat reduces sperm quality. What are your thoughts? I love hotdogs, sausages, bologna, burgers, etc**., but now I’m afraid to eat them.
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This kind of tickled my funny bone. 🙂 My husband LOVES bologna and hot dogs, etc. I think he had a bologna sandwich every day growing up… I do not think it impacted his sperm quality! 😛 We’re expecting our eleventh child. 😃

Sausage and hot dogs have always been known as a way to use up the odd cuts of meats, so yes, it may be the cheaper cuts of meat. It’s a great way of not wasting the meat from an animal. As far as processed foods, is always healthier to eat non-processed foods with less additives, but I don’ think we need to be alarmists about it.
 
I would avoid eating processed food as much as possible, regardless of whether or not it’s animal or plant based.

If you do that to the best of your ability, then it isn’t a huge deal to eat a hotdog, sausage link, canned pasta sauce, Kraft mac 'n cheese, etc every now and then when you don’t have other options.
 
I’ve worked in a factory making sausages/hotdogs/etc. I’ve also worked on the kill floor and pretty much everywhere- I and comfortable eating meats.

Hotdogs are fine to eat. No eyeballs or hooves :rolleyes:

When you have a steak, it’s essentially a sliced roast. Sometimes the ends are not big enough to be sold as a steak, or the middle is TOO big, or there is a bruise on part of it that needs to be cut out, or abscess from an injection, etc so the steak can’t be sold as a steak (wrong shape/size once the bad part is cut off)- the misshapen good part of the meat that is left goes into the hotdog. Cuts that, for some reason, can’t be sold as a roast or steak are used. IIRC, organ meat cannot be used, either. “Generic” hamburger is also made this way (ie those not labeled ground chuck or whatever).

Now, I would look into nitrites/nitrates. For that reason, I limit my families consumption of processed meats to 1-2x a month. This would be deli meats, salami, balognise hot dog, sausages, ham, bacon. Notice that the “healthy” ones say “no nitrites added.” The process of curing the meat still gives cause for the development of some, but generally MORE are added to this to help with shelf life- even if none are added, they are still present to a degree.

Pink slime aka finely texured beef (or chicken) doesn’t bother me any. I make it myself when I crock-pot a roast, and pick out all the non-meat pieces. :rolleyes: I just can’t do it as thoroughly as I could if I ground it up, then used a machine to separate the fat and meat. You grind it, heat it up (to melt the fat), and use a machine to separate the fat and meat. You then use ammonium (was most common when I did this- other things can be used) to make sure any potential bacteria in it is killed, and ammonium is considered GRAS.
 
Also worth pointing out that most of the “No Nitrites” meats use celery salt as a replacement which is a natural source of … wait for it … nitrites. Nitrites are important as they bond much easier with hemoglobin in the blood and displace oxygen. Meaning if you ingest high amounts of nitrites your blood will not carry as much oxygen as the nitrites bind to the same sites that oxygen does. For small children high nitrites and nitrates can be much more serious.

Key point is buy from the local butcher. Our local butcher now puts the farm name on each cut of meat. You know exactly which farm produced the animal even when you do not buy a 1/4, 1/2 or whole animal. You can then be sort of selective if you like a certain breed or feeding style. Grass fed beef tastes different than grain fed. Grass finished tastes different than grain finished. Angus tastes different than herford, etc.
 
Do you have a local farm that you purchase beef from? We try to purchase only local grass fed beef which is no more expensive than grocery store beef.
 
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