There’s A Chance Our Ground Beef Always Contained Cow Hearts
We’ve always known that ground beef is cheaper than most beef cuts because its made with cheap cuts of beef. Often, it’s made with the trimmings from butchering meat, which is still wholesome quality and awesome beef.
However, according to some clarifications in language from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), one of the more unsavory cuts of meat has always been allowed in ground beef – hearts.
In the Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book, FSIS stated in a memo from the 1980s that heart meat was not an acceptable ingredient in chopped/ground beef or hamburger meat, making us feel safer about the quality and appeal of the cuts being used to make our ground beef. However, in an interview with Food Safety News, FSIS’s Aaron Lavallee said beef hearts ARE permitted in the usage and regulations of ground beef.
“There is no change to FSIS regulations. Ground beef that consumers purchase every day is made up of various cuts of meat, as allowed under federal regulations. The addition of heart and tongue meat to ground beef does not make it any less safe or wholesome to consume,” Lavallee said.
This interview followed an FSIS response in July that went viral, saying heart could be used in “unlimited amounts” in ground beef, and fit into the definition of meat acceptable for ground beef.
An official statement and modification from FSIS on the post also says the original policy memo is “not consistent with FSIS regulations and may be removed or rescinded as necessary.” That means ground beef’s definition will be clarified to include beef heart as an acceptable ingredient.
I’ve tried grilled beef hearts before, and don’t get me wrong, they are delicious. However, putting them into ground beef, which people may view that as more unsavory and not okay, may not be the best idea.
Fortunately, because of the original policy memo from the 1980s, the beef industry hasn’t been using hearts in their ground beef as of now. It’s still to be seen if that will change in the future, however.
