There was considerable outrage online when news came out that suggested that McDonalds used “mechanically Separated Meat” in its chicken nuggets.  I don’t know about you but the “pink slime” looks less then appetizing.

This caused a lot of negative media for McDonalds as “mechanically Separated Meat” is not made out of the most appetizing parts of animals.  As Fooducate writes:

“Someone figured out in the 1960s that meat processors can eke out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result”.

Michael Kindt continues:

“There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia… Then, because it tastes gross, it will be re-flavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. But, hey, at least it tastes good, right?”

McDonalds recently attempted to combat this negative publicity during their McDonald’s Canada “Our Food, Your Questions” program.   McDonalds combated the negative online comments (Earned Media) it was recieving by creating a website through which McDonalds representatives answered consumer’s questions about the company (Owned Media).

While no one has been able to prove definitely whether the image shows mechanically separated poultry or pork, a McDonald’s spokesperson insists, “We [McDonalds] do not use mechanically separated meat.”

Do you think the picture of “mechanically Separated Meat” is less then appetizing?  Are you going to keep eating McDonald chicken McNuggets?  Post your answer below!