McDonald's Stops Using 'Pink Slime'

Jamie Oliver's gastric juices must be bubbling with joy. The food activist and celebrity chef has fought for months against so-called "pink slime," and lo and behold, McDonald's announced last week it has stopped using the controversial beef, CBS News reports. The chain was "taking a product that would be sold in its cheaper form for dogs" and gave "it to humans," Oliver said; he's "thrilled" by McD's decision.

What is "pink slime"? Used in 70% of ground beef, it's beef trimmings from strange parts of a cow that are treated with ammonium hydroxide to make them relatively safe and edible, Huffington Post reports. The USDA approved "pink slime" in 2007, but the New York Times and the documentary Food Inc. have raised doubts about its safety. Food Safety News says the public backlash was unfair, but the Times linked "pink slime" to dozens of cases of E. coli and salmonella. (Read about a deadly bacteria found in supermarket meats.)