No 'Pink Slime' in GCPS Meals

Parents of students attending Gwinnett County Public Schools can rest easy.

According to Jorge Quintana, GCPS director of media relations, the school system's beef suppliers do not use the ." Pink slime consists of scraps and bits of meat and muscle. The substance is treated with a chemical -- ammonium-hydroxide -- to kill dangerous pathogens.

The pink substance is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is described by the Drovers Cattle Network as "a safe, wholesome and nutritious form of beef." 

The school system's beef suppliers provide meat to GCPS' 128 schools. These schools served an average of more than 180,000 meals each day during the 2011 school year. 

"Pink slime" garnered national attention after the USDA announced plans to to ship 7 million pounds of meat containing pink slime to schools across the nation. More than 175,000 people have signed a petition asking the USDA not to use pink slime in school food.

The USDA has defended the decision despite the significant public outcry. 

“All USDA ground beef purchases must meet the highest standards for food safety. USDA has strengthened ground beef food safety standards in recent years and only allows products into commerce that we have confidence are safe,” USDA spokesman Aaron Lavallee told The Daily Caller.

Pink slime is believed to be very prevalent in the nation's beef supply. ABC News reports that by some estimates as much as 70 percent of supermarket ground beef contains pink slime, and as much as 25 percent of each ground beef patty is comprised of the substance.

According to ABC News, Costco, Publix, Whole Foods, and Kroger do not use pink slime. Also, ABC News reports that meat stamped USDA Organic contains no filler.