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What Is Lean Finely Textured Beef?

Mar. 29, 2012 By Beefisbeef.org

Lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) is not a “filler.” It is nutritious lean beef used to facilitate making 90% and higher ground beef. The chemical makeup of LFTB is exactly the same as hand-deboned meat. It’s the same product, whether the lean is separated from the by using a knife or mechanically removing the lean from the fat. “It’s beef, Dude!”

This great resource from beefisbeef.com puts the ammonium hydroxide process used on lean, finely textured beef into perspective. In fact, ammonium hydroxide-based compounds can be found on every component of a typical bacon cheeseburger, not just the burger.

Find more information about lean, finely textured beef at this BEEF resource page and at beefisbeef.com.

Discuss this Article 22

Anonymous (not verified)
on Mar 30, 2012

If it's not a filler, why isn't it sold separately?

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

The reason it isn't sold seperately is because it is used as a lean meat source by grinders. It could be sold on its own, but it isn't because of the texture. For an analogy, when grinding operations put meat through a grinder, the final product is coarse, like rock salt. LFTB is finer, like fine table salt. It is not a quality issue whatsoever, it is just that American consumers prefer beef with the coarse texture, and so LFTB is ground in with other lean meat formulations.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Mar 30, 2012

It actually tastes pretty bad. I LOVE BEEF and only buy my meat from a local butcher. I can't believe that you would defend this obvious quality issue. At least label it so we have a choice.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

Actually, it tasts pretty good. If we are going to base facts off of opinions, then at least someone should tell the proof. Dude, it's beef. And it's delicious beef.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Nov 14, 2012

If you only buy from a local butcher, how do you know it taste like? Im sure you have ate it multiple times and couldn't even taste the difference!

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

You cannot label a product that is no different in the make-up of it than the product itself. The process is only used in order to get more meat, yes MEAT, from the bones of the beef animals. It is just a less time consuming process when compared to separating the products by hand. It is uneducated peoples like yourselves that even after reading this article are still ignorant and believe that the lean finely textured beef is some foreign product. It is not. It is beef.

James Saunders
on Apr 12, 2012

You are wrong. It should be labeled as beef by-product, just as you see on pet food cans. Not disclosing it was an attempt to get lean ground beef prices for beef by-product. It blew up in the producers faces and LFTB makers are now trying to blame the consumer.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Jun 13, 2012

You can't label LFTB a by-product because it isn't a by-product, so that would be a lie. There are "edible" and "inedible" beef by products. The "edible" include gelatin from bones, use for foods like : gelatin candies (Gummy Bears), marshmellows, jello, and the coating on gel capsules. Another beef by-product is fatty acid-base from fat: oleo or margerine and chewing gum. Another beef by-product is plasma protein from beef blood: cake mixes, deep-fry batters, pasta and imitation seafoods.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

If it's not filler, what's the name of the cut of beef? and like the other commentor asked, why can't we buy it seperately?

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 5, 2012

It is not a filler because a filler is (as defined by Webster), "a substance added to a product (as to increase bulk, weight, viscosity, opacity, or strength)", which means something that is added that is not the same as the base product (such as soy protein in fast food burgers). The base product in this case is ground beef, while LFTB is also beef and is used to create a leaner 100% ground beef mix end product. LFTB is not added to increase bulk, weight, viscosity, opacity, or strength, it is added to create the various ground beef to fat mixes that consumers want. The name of the cut of beef? Are you kidding? What is the name of the cut that ground beef/LFTB comes from? BEEF! Ground beef comes from all of the trimmings off the carcass after the primary or retail cuts have been removed. In many cases when the beef carcass cannot grade at a high enough quality to be sold in individual retail cuts (i.e. Standard) the whole carcass is used for ground beef (minus the bones). LFTB is beef without the fat. After the fat is removed the resulting product is a lean beef that happens to be called LFTB. Do you buy just "Ground Beef" at the store? No. You buy 80%, 86%, 90%, etc. referring to the meat to fat ratio. 80%, 86% and 90% Ground Beef is the NAME of the product you purchase in the grocery store, just as LFTB is the name of the product that is used in the ground beef industry by the ground beef industry to create the mixes. It isn't offered in the stores by itself because it is just plain beef that is used in the ground beef mix that you buy from the store. Why would you want to buy extremely lean ground beef in the store? You wouldn't! It would be too dry to make a decent hamburger because it doesn't have the fat. Would you want to buy just the fat in the store? Perhaps consumers should find more hobbies so that they stop having time to fixate on things to complain about. You wouldn't want to eat plain LFTB, or plain fat, or a 50:50 ground beef mix, but you do enjoy the mix of these three beef products. If you wouldn't actually want to buy the LFTB product by itself why are you complaining about it?

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

The companies that process it call it Lean Finely Textured Beef - they don't call it just beef.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

If it's just beef, they why do the companies that produce it call it Lean Finely Textured Beef, they just don't call it beef or ground beef. And again, why isn't it sold separately?

I think the best idea would be to give the consumer a choice. Let the market decide.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 2, 2012

I have raised beef. I believe this LFTB was snicked in on the consumer. I am a consumer do not plan on eating any LFTB. You current beef producers should be ashamed of your actions to make a profit.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 3, 2012

I guess then Sir; You have a big idea of the PROFIT MADE after expenses. Trucking which has gone up, thanks to fuel prices, taxes, fuel on ranch, care of animals, cost of feed and grass. I could gone on about more expenses what it wouldn't soak into your brain wave.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 3, 2012

Have any of you ever seen how hot dogs are made "an American Classic"? Search it on Youtube and see if you still feel that LFTB is bad for you. They use he same trimmings in that product from Beef, Pork, and Chicken.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Apr 3, 2012

and aren't they always telling us how bad for us hot dogs are... link sausage is made the same way, except spices are also ground with the meat... I'm just saying, give the consumers an option to choose whether or not they want to eat LFTB, by labeling the food products that include this LFTB. I bet if given the choice, you would not choose to eat this beef instead of another quality cut of meat. Not eating LFTB will not hurt the cattle farms, because the one's making the profit from this product are the processors telling us it is ok to eat it. It should actually increase farm income, as more cattle will have to be raised and sold to make up for LFTB taken out of the ground beef we humans eat. This LFTB should go back to being used only for animal food. One more thing, you can charge more for a food product if it is used for human consumption than you can if it is labeled as food for animals...

Anonymous (not verified)
on May 21, 2012

Its interesting to see some of the comments about this issue. However, I have been researching this issue as a speech topic for an FFA speaking contest for those who don't know what FFA is its the biggest agriculture organization for students in America so we know what we are talking about when we research things such as "Pink Slime". I will be advancing to the Texas State competition so I know what im talking about when i tell you this information.
The major producer of LFTB (lean finely textured beef) Beef Products Inc. has been a beef industry leader for more than 30 years. In that period of time they won the International association for food safetys highest honor due to their commitment to food safety that commitment is why in the entire time they've been in buisness not one case of food born illness has been associated with their beef. So there should be no scare to whether or not its safe.
Even so one thing the people have a problem with is the use of ammonium hydroxide. Ammonium hydroxide is naturally occuring and can be found in many of the foods we eat. Even if it wasn't added to the beef it would still be present. The tiny amount that IS put in there is only killing bacteria that causes illnesses like salmonella. If it was not added to the beef bacteria would be left that could potentially get you sick but hey if your willing to waste vacation days because you worry about extra amounts of something that is ALREADY IN THE BEEF! Then hey don't let me stop you.
The other thing that people have a problem with is that it is mechanically seperated. This i believe like all the rest of this problem is. Is simply becasuse people aren't told the entire story. When mechanically seperated is heard I feel that people think there is some robot tearing a carcass appart. NO, workers such as the butchers people are going to to avoid LFTB do the same job as butchers. after they are done creating cuts they take the trimmings ( small peices of beef and fat ) and place it in a centrifuge heated to around 100 degrees farenheit and spun this seperates the beef from the fat so that it can be used. This beef is graded as 95% lean this beef is then added to ground beef after it is treated with ammonium hydroxide. This produces leaner and safer to eat beef (not to mention it also uses the trimmings which would usually be thrown away so its also using every last part of meat that can be used).
This information isn't to tell everyone who doesn't like LFTB they are wrong but to maybe let them know all the facts so they might change their mind because each person that decides to not buy LFTB when they dont really know the facts costs another hard working american their job because the LFTB plant they work at has had to close down. Its also to help those who dont know whether to keep buying LFTB or not to realize that they shouldn't change anything. If You have any questions comment on this post maybe i can explain alittle more. Thank You.

Anonymous (not verified)
on May 28, 2012

As a consumer I have never been concerned about the safety of LFTB. I eat ground beef and until this controversy arose I didn't think twice about it.

However if there is one thing I don't appreciate it's being told this LFTB is the same as the meat around it when it is not. Feeding me a disingenuous line leads me to be mistrustful of what I hear and read from producers.

Consider this snippet by university researchers that is readily available on the web from a Bing.com query on "What is in lean finely textured beef?".

"[...]LFTB contains more serum and connective tissue proteins and less myofibrillar proteins than muscle meat."

Ying, H. and Sebranek, J.G. (1997). Finely Textured Lean Beef as an Ingredient for Processed Meats. Retrieved from: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/ansci/beefreports/asl-1361.pdf

Exactly how is that the same as muscle meat with marble fat?

The bottom line is producers should give me a way to understand what it is I am eating. Otherwise I avoid the product altogether because at that point it is another mystery meat which I am not interested in.

Okay? Thanks.
Justin in California

Anonymous (not verified)
on Jun 15, 2012

I'm tired of hearing the defense that the consumers are stupid; the consumers are wrong; the consumers need new hobbies (really?). I'm a consumer and I'm pissed off that this industry treats me this way and so many people in this industry are showing such contempt for me. For that I say, without consumers you don't have an industry. So go feed that into your process map.

Anonymous (not verified)
on Jul 17, 2012

To the person above stating that they only get there meat from the local butcher: they use the same methods and its not guaranteed that its 100 percent your beef. The methods they use are completely harmless and we have been using these same methods for approximately 20 years, get your facts straight!!

DestefanoKathleen (not verified)
on Sep 4, 2012

It’s the same product, whether the lean is separated from the by using a knife or mechanically removing the lean from the fat. genericviagratab.com

Anonymous (not verified)
on Dec 2, 2012

Bring on the Pink Slime!

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