Business & Tech

Avoid 'Pink Slime' by Purchasing Ground Beef from Statham Farm

Lazy B Farm sells ground beef — minus any "pink slime" or additives — for $6 per pound.

The ABC News blog headline “70 Percent of Ground Beef at Supermarkets Contains ‘Pink Slime’” might have Barrow County residents reconsidering ground beef purchases.

Pink slime consists of scraps and bits of meat and muscle recovered from slaughterhouse floors and treated with a pink chemical to kill dangerous pathogens.

According to the ABC News blog, the beef trimmings were once only used in dog food and cooking oil but now are sprayed with ammonia so they are safe to eat — and the trimmings are added to most ground beef as a cheaper filler.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"Pink slime is an answer to the public's demand to have more meat at a cheaper price," said Cyndi Ball, who oversees the 7-acre . "You get what you pay for unfortunately."

The pink slime does not have to appear on the packaging label, the ABC News blog post says, because USDA officials with links to the beef industry labeled it meat, despite objections from its own scientists.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The pink substance is regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department and is classified as “generally recognized as safe”. The recent concern over the use of pink slime was instigated by the USDA’s plan to ship 7 million pounds of this meat to schools across the nation — approximately 6.5 percent of this meat will have ammonium-hydroxide added.

But Barrow residents who are concerned about the possibility of consuming pink slime in ground beef from local supermarkets can avoid the substance — Lazy B Farm sells ground beef that is slime free.

"Happy Valley, where I have our meat processed, is a privately owned operation and I know the butcher personally," Ball said. "We discuss all the facets of our labeled beef — from hauling cattle to his place, to the cuts, to his methods of processing and packaging. He and his wife have personally been out to see my farm and he really cares about the product that he puts out for his customers.  

"There are no additives to Lazy B Farm ground beef," she added. "It’s all beef!"

Customers can order meats and arrange a pick-up time by calling 770-289-2301 or by e-mailing cyndi@thelazybfarm.com. Click the PDF to the right of this text to view the farm's offerings.

If an office, school or group would like to place an order, the products can be delivered for a minimum $200 order.

"Lazy B is not some unknown entity way over on the other side of the U.S. passing out supposed beef," Ball said. "We are in the same community as our customers and what matters to them, matters to us. I’m certainly not going to sell a sub-quality product to friends and their family — I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night!"

Lazy B Farm will also sell beef and pork at the every Saturday from June 2 through Aug. 25.

"Know your farmer, know your food," Ball said. "It’s really quite simple. For Lazy B Farm customers, there is a trusted knowledge of community between them and the farmer and the farmer and the butcher."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Barrow