No More Pink Slime at Kroger

The grocery chain Kroger will no longer sell the type of ground beef containing what's recently been called “pink slime.”

It's a filler made up of fatty bits of meat that are left over from other cuts. In the industry, it's called “lean, finely textured beef.” It's treated with ammonia and meets food safety standards, but has recently been cited as an unappetizing example of over-industrialized food production.

Kroger previously announced plans to sell beef with and without the filler, but today (Thursday), the company announced all of its products will be free of “pink slime.” Stop & Shop, Safeway, Supervalu and Food Lion have taken similar steps.

Last week, the Agriculture Department said that starting next fall, schools involved in the national school lunch program will have the option of avoiding the product as well.