Ground beef

Ground beef, beef mince, minced beef, minced meat is a ground meat made of beef that has been finely chopped with a large knife or a meat grinder. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and spaghetti bolognese. In some parts of the world, meat grinders are called mincers.

In many countries, food laws define specific categories of ground beef and what they can contain. For example, in the United States, beef fat may be added to hamburger but not to ground beef if the meat is ground and packaged at a USDA-inspected plant. In the U.S., a maximum of 30% fat by weight is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef. The allowable amount in France is 5 to 20% (15% being used by most food chains). In Germany, regular ground beef may contain up to 15% fat while the special "Tatar" for steak tartare may contain less than 5% fat. Both hamburger and ground beef can have added seasoning, phosphate, extenders, or binders added; but no additional water is permitted. Ground beef is often marketed in a range of different fat contents to match the preferences of customers.

Ground beef is generally made from the less tender and less popular cuts of beef. Trimmings from tender cuts may also be used.

In a study in the U.S. in 2008, eight brands of fast food hamburgers were evaluated for recognizable tissue types using morphological techniques that are commonly used in the evaluation of tissue's histological condition. The study of the eight laboratory specimens found the content of the hamburgers included:

Ground beef may contain a meat-based product used as a food additive produced using technology known as advanced meat recovery systems. Meat processing methods used by companies such as Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) and Cargill Meat Solutions produce lean, finely textured beef product, otherwise known as "pink slime", from fatty beef trimmings. This meat-based product has to be treated with an antimicrobial agent to remove salmonella and other pathogens, and is included in a wide variety of ground beef products in the U.S. From 2001 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the product for limited human consumption. In a 2009 article by The New York Times, the safety of the beef processing method used by BPI was questioned. After the USDA's approval, this product became a component in ground beef used by McDonald's, Burger King and many other fast-food chains as well as grocery chains in the U.S. In government and industry records in testing for the school lunch program, pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella were found dozens of times in meat from BPI, which raises questions about safety of the meat product and the effectiveness of the antimicrobial method used in meat recovery system of the company. Between 2005 and 2009, E. coli was found three times and salmonella 48 times. BPI had a rate of 36 positives for salmonella per 1,000 tests, compared to a rate of nine positives per 1,000 tests for other suppliers for the program. However, the program continued to source from BPI because its price was substantially lower than ordinary meat trimmings, saving about $1m a year for the program.Cargill, among the largest hamburger makers in the U.S., is a big buyer of the meat-based product from BPI for its patties, according to the Times. It suspended buying meat from two plants owned by BPI for several months in 2006 after excessive levels of salmonella were found.

...
Wikipedia