The Most Bizarre Food Processing Practices

Published November 11, 2012
Updated May 3, 2016

Surimi

Surimi

Source: Blogspot

Surimi literally means “ground meat” in Japanese, though it mostly refers to fish. It is estimated that around 2% of the world’s catch goes into its production, and like processed orange juice, after the initial cleaning process, all the flavor has been removed and needs to be added back later.

Reclaimed Meat

Pink Slime

Pink Slime, or “Lean Finely Textured Beef” is a notorious filler product named for it’s distinctive hue and shapeless form that was initially only used for pet food. In 2001, the FDA approved pink slime for limited human consumption and since then, has been used widely as a filler for ground beef.

Meat filler doesn’t only come in pink though; there is also White Slime which is mechanically-recovered white meat used in popular foods like chicken nuggets and hot dogs.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.