LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
For those a little leery about the use of meat filler that's become known as "pink slime," there's a chance to trade in beef for an all-natural choice from a Las Vegas-area grocer.
Fresh & Easy is offering the chance to swap out your meat products for one day only on Wednesday, if you are worried about the beef filler.
Fresh & Easy says they have never used the ammonia-treated filler in its ground beef and that's why they're offering the swap.
The beef industry says the term "pink slime" was made up to be used as a scare tactic to get them to stop using the filler. And it appears to have at least partially worked, as the USDA has already banned the use of the filler in school lunches. The beef industry says the practice is completely safe and been used for years.
They say the ammonia-treated ingredient occurs in beef naturally, and the ingredient is added slightly to make the meat safer from bacteria.
Beef Products Inc. is the company that is under fire and they say because of the negative attention on this issue they've been forced to close, at least temporarily, three of their processing plants. The plants affected are in Texas, Kansas and Iowa.
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