School District: No 'Pink Slime' in Cafeteria Food

Manchester's school district does not serve foods made with lean finely textured beef, more commonly known as "pink slime," said Superintendent David Trethaway.

The federal government says that the beef additive — which is treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill bacteria — is safe for consumption and has been in use for years. Despite that assurance, public concern has led some supermarket chains, restaurants and schools to shun the treated beef.

Sodexo, the food service provider for all of Manchester's schools, does not use the additive, Trethaway said at the township regular March meeting. 

"Sodexo does not buy any of those products, to make you feel a little more secure," Trethaway said. "Our food service does not have that product."

Trethaway noted that the additive has been in the news recently and wanted to allay the concerns of any parents concerned that it is served to their children. 

"Just rest assured that we don't have that," Trethaway said. 

"Pink slime" caught the nation's attention following an episode of the ABC series "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" over a year ago and has been a controversial topic since, according to The Huffington Post. 

Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA undersecretary for Food Safety and Inspection Service, said in a recent blog post that adding lean finely textured beef to foods is "safe."

"Adding LFTB to ground beef does not make that ground beef any less safe to consume," she writes. "I certainly understand that there are processes and methods in food production that may be troublesome to some, regardless of their impacts on food safety."