Supervalu Inc., one of the nation's largest grocery chains, will no longer sell hamburger containing an ammonia-treated beef filler dubbed "pink slime" by some food critics and a growing chorus of consumers.
The Eden Prairie-based company, which owns local supermarket leader Cub Foods, on Wednesday joined several fast-food chains and other major grocery operators in removing the controversial beef filler from hamburger sold in its outlets.
"This decision was due to ongoing customer concerns about these products," said Mike Siemienas, a Supervalu spokesman.
While ammonia-treated hamburger filler has gotten most of the popular attention, Supervalu also said its ban on so-called "finely textured beef" includes meat treated with citric acid, which is made by Minnetonka-based Cargill Inc.
California-based Safeway Inc., another national grocery chain, also Wednesday said it nixed sales of both ammonia-treated and citric acid-treated ground beef fillers. Cargill spokesman Mike Martin acknowledged that some of its grocery industry customers have eliminated finely textured beef.
"There have been customers who have contacted us because they have been contacted by consumers who are interested and concerned," Martin said.
Both types of ground beef fillers have been used for several years, with ammonia or citric acid serving to kill pathogens. The fillers are the product of food technology that allows for tissue that would otherwise be wasted -- or made into pet food -- to be turned into grist for hamburger.
Food companies say the issue is not food safety. Indeed, finely textured beef has the safety imprimatur of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Consumers have been consuming this for 20 years without any concerns or consequences," said Cargill's Martin.
