Ammonia is not just “pink goo”?

For the experts in modern food, use small amounts ammonia is not unusual. But now this little-known substance is gaining interest from consumers wanting to know what they are eating. I think we see a wave of changes in buyers interested in tampering with food, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety.  Ammonia, known for its strong odor, has become a hot topic in recent months. First names “pink goo” used by a scientist from the previous US government. This “pink goo” used as a filler beef, is made of fatty additives that are more sensitive to contamination than other parts of beef. That is why they are sprayed ammonium hydroxide – ammonia mixed in water – to remove pathogens such as salmonella and E.coli. After intense criticism of the product from social online media and showing unappetizing pictures on TV and using the term “pink goo”, the nationalChain of fast-food and supermarkets expressed their contempt for the product, despite the US healthcare team believing it to be safe. Hundreds of schools demanded that the canteens be removed. One of the producers – Beef Products Inc – has three idle plants to date, while AFA Foods has filed for the collapse of the business. Food is full of all kinds of chemical additives that people don’t even know about, ”says Michele Simon, president of Eat Drink Politics. The meat industry is defending itself and trying to realize that other products also contain traces of ammonia. For example, ammonia compounds are used for baking cakes, added to cheese and sometimes chocolate.  Angela Wiggins, a spokesman for Kraft Foods Inc., which uses small amounts of ammonia in production, says it consists of nitrogen and hydrogen. It occurs naturally in plants, animals, water and air. He adds that the ammonia used in the production of cakes evaporates during baking and is no longer present in the final product. Chemicals such as ammonium hydroxide, ammonium phosphate and ammonium chloride in small amounts are considered safe. The Federal Food and Drug Administration awarded ammonia hydroxide GRAS status (generally acceptable and safe) in 1974. It has also been made an acceptable ingredient in a dozen dishes, soft drinks, soups and canned vegetables under the terms of “good industrial practice”.

Roger Clemens, president of the Institute of Nutrition Technology, says that ammonia hydroxide is not required to be labeled if it is less than 1%. He also claims that ammonia is being used less and less. General Mills and Campbell Soup Co. refuse to comment on the use of ammonia in the production process. source: ScienceNews.pl