In the waning days of 2011, fast-food giants McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell announced they will no longer use a controversial beef product produced by food behemoth Beef Products Inc. (BPI).
At one time, the ammoniated beef product – beef trimmings known in the industry as 'pink slime' – could be found in approximately 80 percent of the hamburgers consumed in the United States, including those served at fast-food restaurants and through the national school lunch program.
While some media outlets raised public awareness regarding potential dangers associated with the product, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) also recognizes the role of the BPI whistleblower who reported the company's practices.
Kit Foshee is a former Corporate Quality Assurance Manager at BPI, the nation's leading producer of "lean boneless beef." He says he was terminated for refusing to participate in his company's alleged knowing misrepresentation of microbial data to the USDA and alleged false claims made to customers about the product's safety.
Stated Foshee, "I'm pleased that these companies have taken steps to discontinue the use of this product. However, I believe that more can and should be done to provide better oversight and regulation in the industry, especially in the use of ammonia and the claims such as those made by BPI regarding the safety of this product."
After Foshee contacted GAP, Food Integrity Campaign (FIC) Director Amanda Hitt authored a widely publicized op-ed criticizing BPI's inflated claims that its process of "ammoniating" beef effectively removed all dangerous pathogens from hamburgers. Hitt's article also explained the failings of the still-current USDA/FDA labeling guidelines.
After Hitt's op-ed appeared in several newspapers, major media outlets contacted Foshee – including The New York Times, which published two front-page articles based in part on Foshee's firsthand disclosures. Since 2007, GAP has continued to support Foshee. He appeared in GAP's 2010 live special Anyone Can Whistle, as well as the 2011 FIC symposium, and he will speak at an upcoming stop on our American Whistleblower Tour.
Stated Hitt on the recent development: "There are numerous potentially dangerous substances in food that the industry hides. Food whistleblowers need to be afforded the right to tell the truth without fear of reprisal."
Background
Over the course of his ten years of employment with BPI, Foshee alleges that the corporation misrepresented microbial data to USDA, and made false claims to its processor customers. At the time, BPI asserted that mixing a small amount of its treated beef into the retailer's own ground beef product would effectively eliminate deadly pathogens, such as E. coli O157:H7.
Foshee provided GAP with scientific documentation that, according to Foshee, established that BPI misrepresented the microbial reduction impact of its ammoniation process.
Foshee examined the scientific studies that BPI touted as supporting its claims for its ammoniation process. He concluded that blending the BPI product with other ground beef would not have any statistically significant microbial reduction effect. Consequently, he refused to tell BPI processor customers that it would. Foshee believes that this refusal to support BPI's claim was the reason for his termination in 2001.
Original article on Government Accountability Project website