Bill Text: FL S1706 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Pink Slime in Meat Products
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Agriculture [S1706 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1706-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SM 1706
By Senator Bullard
39-01103-13 20131706__
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
3 urging Congress and the United States Food and Drug
4 Administration to ban the use of pink slime in meat
5 products or require labels on meat products containing
6 pink slime.
7
8 WHEREAS, the meat industry is adding low-grade beef
9 trimmings, known in the industry as “lean, finely textured beef”
10 and now widely known as “pink slime,” to most ground beef as an
11 inexpensive filler, and
12 WHEREAS, the low-grade beef trimmings come from the parts
13 of the cow most likely to harbor pathogens, which are often
14 close to the hide and highly exposed to fecal matter, and
15 WHEREAS, low-grade beef trimmings were once only used in
16 dog food and cooking oil, and
17 WHEREAS, low-grade beef trimmings are made by gathering
18 waste trimmings, such as fatty beef byproducts and connective
19 tissue, simmering them at low heat so the fat separates easily
20 from the muscles, and spinning the trimmings using a centrifuge
21 to complete the separation, and
22 WHEREAS, the beef trimmings mixture is then sent through
23 pipes where it is sprayed with ammonia gas to kill bacteria, and
24 WHEREAS, the process is completed by packaging the filler
25 into bricks, freezing the filler, and shipping it to grocery
26 stores and meat packers, where it is added to most ground beef,
27 and
28 WHEREAS, several United States food manufacturers,
29 including ConAgra Foods, Inc., Sara Lee Corporation, and Kraft
30 Foods, Inc., publicly stated in 2012 that they do not use “pink
31 slime” in their meat products, and
32 WHEREAS, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Publix, Whole Foods
33 Market, and H-E-B also announced in 2012 that they do not sell
34 meat products containing the low-grade-ammonia-treated filler,
35 and
36 WHEREAS, Safeway, SUPERVALU, Kroger, and Food Lion
37 announced that they will no longer carry meat products
38 containing “pink slime” due to customer concerns, and
39 WHEREAS, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Burger King announced
40 that their meat products will no longer contain “pink slime,”
41 and
42 WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture
43 announced in March 2012 that, beginning in fall 2012, the United
44 States National School Lunch Program will allow participating
45 school districts to decide whether to purchase ground beef
46 containing “pink slime,” and
47 WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture
48 announced in April 2012 that it agreed to allow voluntary
49 labeling of meat products containing low-grade beef trimmings,
50 and
51 WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture has
52 never required, and currently does not require, the labeling of
53 meat products containing low-grade beef trimmings or “pink
54 slime,” NOW, THEREFORE,
55
56 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
57
58 That the Congress of the United States, the United States
59 Department of Agriculture, and the United States Food and Drug
60 Administration are urged to ban the use of low-grade beef
61 trimmings, also known as “pink slime,” in meat products or
62 require labels on meat products that clearly indicate that the
63 product contains the ammonia-treated filler.
64 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
65 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
66 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
67 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
68 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
