Just another reason to avoid ALL animal 'foods'

Not that it bothers me as a vegan but, for millions of folks who adhere to a specific diet for religious reasons, a new and shocking practice has been unearthed in the UK. The Foods Standards Agency has discovered that food manufacturers have taken to increasng their profits by injecting beef and pork proteins into chicken meat. These 'hydrolysed animal proteins' allow the chicken flesh to retain extra water (which is also injected into it) which in turn adds extra weight thereby making it more profitable.

Food manufacturers behaving in a deceitful and scurrilous manner? Who'd have thought?!?!?!?


I came across the article - somewhat buried, I might add - in The Telegraph today and am cross posting it here. My comments are below.....

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Beef and pork proteins being injected into restaurant chicken meals
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Published: 7:00AM BST 05 Jun 2009


"The proteins have been used by food manufacturers as a method of bulking up chicken meat with water. The bovine and porcine protein powders allow the chicken to hold far more water, and gives unscrupulous manufacturers the opportunity to sell their meat at a higher price to wholesalers.

The practice was only detected by the FSA's new scientific techniques and restaurants and takeaway outlets would not have known that their meals contained traces of pork and beef.
The FSA report said: "Use of these proteins does not make chicken products unsafe, but it is important that people are given accurate information about their food."

Britain's two million Muslims, Jews and Hindus, who are forbidden from eating either pork or beef, could have unwittingly eaten the products.

Bharti Tailor, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain said: "The findings in this report are shocking and potentially very distressing for the Hindu community."

Manufacturers can legally add water to chicken, but must declare it as an ingredient if it goes above five per cent of the content. Water pumped into chicken above that level will usually leak out unless it is kept in with the help of so-called hydrolysed proteins.

The FSA has issued a new warning: "If you choose not to eat pork or beef you may wish to avoid chicken that contains hydrolysed proteins.

"If you are eating food from a restaurant or takeaway, you should ask if the chicken contains hydrolysed animal proteins.

"Restaurants and catering establishments will have this information available to them as it will be on the ingredients list of the products they buy."

The pork and beef proteins are only used in miniscule amounts and were discovered when the FSA tested a small sample of products using a new DNA technique.

It tested five protein powders from three companies. All five contained a material identified as bovine collagen and tests uncovered the presence of porcine material in two of the powders.

Tests also found traces of beef were found to be in one of three chicken breasts."

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The part I love most is this:

If you are eating food from a restaurant or takeaway, you should ask if the chicken contains hydrolysed animal proteins.

Yes, I can absolutely see customers asking the 17-year old server in McDonalds if the chicken sandwich contains pork!

Oh and....

"If you choose not to eat pork or beef you may wish to avoid chicken that contains hydrolysed proteins.

Or maybe it would just be so much easier to choose to avoid ALL dead animals at dinnertime??

Call me crazy.....

Stay vegan, friends!

Still Hungry for a Burger?

It's not unusual to read these kinds of stories.
But each one saddens and outrages me just the same...

Meet your Meat!

From Yahoo News:

'LOS ANGELES - An undercover video showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with
forklifts has led to the largest beef recall in the United States and a scramble to find out if any of the meat is still destined for school children's lunches.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation.

The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., the federal agency said. The company provided meat to various federal programs.

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said his department has evidence that Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle became non-ambulatory after passing inspection, violating health regulations.

"Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall," Schafer said in a statement.

A phone message left for Westland president Steve Mendell was not returned Sunday.

Agriculture officials said the massive recall surpasses a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats. No illnesses have been linked to the newly recalled meat, and officials said the health threat was likely small.

Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten.

"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.

Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover video from the Humane Society of the United States surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.

Two former employees were charged Friday. Five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanors were filed against a pen manager. Three misdemeanor counts — illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal — were filed against an employee who worked under that manager. Both were fired.

Authorities said the video showed workers kicking, shocking and otherwise abusing "downer" animals that were apparently too sick or injured to walk into the slaughterhouse. Some animals had water forced down their throats, San Bernardino County prosecutor Michael Ramos said.

No charges have been filed against Westland, but an investigation by federal authorities continues.

About 150 school districts around the nation have stopped using ground beef from Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which is associated with Westland. Two fast-food chains, Jack-In-the-Box and In-N-Out, said they would not use beef from Westland/Hallmark.

Most of the beef was sent to distribution centers in bulk packages. The USDA said it will work with distributors to determine how much meat remains.

Federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease since they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak.

Upon learning about the recall, some legislators criticized the USDA, saying the federal agency should conduct more thorough inspections to ensure tainted beef doesn't get to the public.

"Today marks the largest beef recall in U.S. history, and it involves the national school lunch program and other federal food and nutrition programs," said U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. "This begs the question: How much longer will we continue to test our luck with weak enforcement of federal food safety regulations?"

Advocacy groups also weighed in, noting the problems at Westland wouldn't have been revealed had it not been for animal right activists.

"On the one hand, I'm glad that the recall is taking place. On the other, it's somewhat disturbing, given that obviously much of this food has already been eaten," said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union. "It's really closing the barn door after the cows left."'

To see this story at Yahoo, click here.

Stay Vegan, Friends.