Check Your Meat

So, we were at the grocery store last night and we examined some packs of beef on the shelf.  It was easy to spot the ones that were "glued" together and the ones that weren't.  And it was also evident that there are some meats you might think were glued, but weren't.  I'm not pointing this out to say that the "glue" is bad for you (unless you breathe in the powder), but rather that you need to know when you're using that kind of meat, so you don't food poison yourself!  Cooking it pink or rare could be dangerous. A solid, uncut slice of beef is safe to eat that way but previously exposed re-joined surfaces, simply put, are NOT.

It's not just beef.  "Beef, pork, chicken and lamb are routinely processed in this way, introducing dangerous bacteria into the meat you eat."
http://ransackednation.blogspot.com/2011/05/has-your-meat-been-glued-together.html

If you look at a piece of meat and it's easy to see the natural marbling throughout, it's a regular piece of meat. If you see a gap joined with fat and the gap is pretty loose, it's not re-joined.  If you see a clear line between two parts of the meat and it's really tight together, that's probably it right there.  Natural gaps occur in the meat so don't be concerned unless it has that look!  (I need to add some photos to show you the ones I've seen but the enclosed here are screenshots from the Exclusive.)  Most commonly you'll find it in the small and/or round steaks.

Also keep in mind that this mostly happens with restaurant meat.  But you're still going to find some in the stores.  And after the meat is cooked, you can't tell the difference, only when it's raw.

"England banned use of Thrombin coagulant last year. They found it misled consumers into thinking they were getting a prime cut for their money, and also the original glue was made from cow and pig blood, something they didn’t think was wise in restaurant meats."
http://paulinemom.blog.co.uk/2011/04/17/do-you-know-what-you-re-eating-11017758/

"By now most people probably realize that ground beef contains the meat from hundreds of animals from different parts of the world, but few would ever suspect that the same can be true for prime cut steaks!"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/04/has-your-meat-been-glued-together--why-you-need-to-know-and-avoid-this-dangerous-process.aspx

I'm just saying', it's just nice to know what you're shoving into your gut.  It's misleading and the potential for microbial bacteria is significantly, drastically higher due to all of the "edges" that are now on the inside, where you can't cook them the same to make them safe as you normally would.  I'm not even getting into some of the qualities of meat that have been found to be re-glued