Does RCI Serve Pink Meat?

[Fatguineapig]

This points to a fundamental problem with the cruise pricing model... we pay in advance for a cruise -including food - and Royal Caribbean's job is then to spend as little of that money as possible delivering a minimally acceptable product.

 

I assume that Royal Caribbean uses low-cost chemically stabilized food products like pink slime as a way to deliver shareholder value. I would love to hear from the company that I'm wrong! Their product is a direct response to what we will buy, and what we will accept without complaint, so you are very right to ask this question!

 

Honestly, Royal Caribbean's low-quality food is the one thing I do not look forward to on my upcoming cruise. Only extra cost options offer a step up from this low bar.

[ryano]

Honestly, Royal Caribbean's low-quality food is the one thing I do not look forward to on my upcoming cruise. Only extra cost options offer a step up from this low bar.

 

If this is your first RCI cruise, dont buy the "food is terrible" "food is disgusting" reviews you have read as that just is not true to many many people. If you are a very picky eater and are expecting 5 star dining, you might be disappointed but you will STILL find many things to satisfy you.

 

I personally think its on par with many chain restaurants and some things even a step above but I know food is subjective.

 

If this is NOT your first RCI cruise then you know what to expect :) and if you think the food is that bad, I personally would have chosen another cruise line.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[TEXASMUNK]

I am a member of PETA...People Eating Tasty Animals.

 

Been doing it for 60+ years, guess it will eventually kill me...darn....I was gonna live forever.

[ryano]

I am a member of PETA...People Eating Tasty Animals.

 

.

 

ha! hello fellow PETA member! :D

[phoenix1181]

This points to a fundamental problem with the cruise pricing model... we pay in advance for a cruise -including food - and Royal Caribbean's job is then to spend as little of that money as possible delivering a minimally acceptable product.

 

I assume that Royal Caribbean uses low-cost chemically stabilized food products like pink slime as a way to deliver shareholder value. I would love to hear from the company that I'm wrong! Their product is a direct response to what we will buy, and what we will accept without complaint, so you are very right to ask this question!

 

Honestly, Royal Caribbean's low-quality food is the one thing I do not look forward to on my upcoming cruise. Only extra cost options offer a step up from this low bar.

 

That's a hell of an assumption when you consider this information only came to light recently. They may choose to revisit their suppliers & change them if they deem it to be appropriate but it's ridiculous to accuse them of deliberately buying products containing pink slime. That information was unknown to all of us who trusted our government & grocers to keep our food products safe & properly labeled.

 

We've all been allowed to purchase ground beef with this stuff in it and most of us wouldn't have had we known what it contained! I don't know what you eat or where you shop but, based on news reports, I've been buying & eating this stuff for years & had absolutely no idea & I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

Going forward, I'll only buy from those stores that verify they do not use this junk & I doubt I'll be eating anything containing ground beef anywhere but home. I suspect many others will be doing the same...........

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I'm a supporter of the real PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.) I am vegan and find that is the easiest way to avoid chemical and hormone laden pink slime and other questionable additives in meat, poultry and fish.

 

As for Royal Caribbean, I don't think what they offer for meat eaters is any worse than what is offered at land-based restaurants, schools, hospitals and other institutions. I don't expect a mass market cruise line to be better than any other mass market food provider. Actually they do pretty darned well when one considers how many meals they serve every single day over the entire cruise line.

[mafig]

It was on our local news a few weeks ago.

 

From the research I've done it seems it hasn't been in our meat for the last forty years or so. It used to be used primarily for dog food. Only in the last few years has it been used in our ground beef (to stretch the meat).

 

Because of the publicity, McD. and Burger King say they no longer use it. I shop at Publix and they say they don't either. :)

[Fatguineapig]

That's a hell of an assumption when you consider this information only came to light recently. They may choose to revisit their suppliers & change them if they deem it to be appropriate but it's ridiculous to accuse them of deliberately buying products containing pink slime............

 

Didn't mean to upset you...

I'd be very happy for an RCL rep to post here and let us know my assumption is wrong! Anyone without direct knowledge of the meat used - please don't bother responding to my assumption. It's MY assumption.

[Fatguineapig]

In a statement to the Cincinnati Business Journal, Kroger explains which products contain "lean finely textured beef":

 

“Kroger carries ground beef both with and without lean finely textured beef.

For customers who choose to avoid it

, we offer a variety of options including Kroger's Private Selection Angus Ground Chuck, Round and Sirloin; Private Selection All Natural Ground Beef and Private Selection Organic Ground Beef solid in 1 lb. packages, labeled 80% lean and above; Laura's Lean Ground Beef; and ground beef prepared in store. All ground beef you find at your local Kroger is USDA-regulated, inspected and approved for food safety and quality. That includes beef products made with lean finely textured beef.”

[phoenix1181]

Didn't mean to upset you...

I'd be very happy for an RCL rep to post here and let us know my assumption is wrong! Anyone without direct knowledge of the meat used - please don't bother responding to my assumption. It's MY assumption.

 

 

Good Luck with that!

[mafig]

Pink Slime is also treated with Amonia.:eek:

[macruisefan]

I'm a supporter of the real PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.)

 

 

One of the most offensive borderline terrorist organizations ever to make a name for itself in this country. Most should be ashamed of the misguided principles this "organization" promotes.

[Sequim88]

I've seen reports that "pink slime" is in 70% of ground beef sold in US supermarkets.

 

Overheard meat manager at local grocery (part of a pretty large chain based in Minnesota with a really short name but used to be called Consumers United Buying) and he was sying that to avoid "enhanced" ground beef (aka "processed meat product") to avoid the stuff sold in plastic chubs (tubes). Since this is often the lowest cost per pound and for families big on Hamburger Helper and other hamburger based dishes it is the most often purchased - hence the 70% sold. He said the stuff they grind right there in the store and put in the white trays with plastic wrap is the real deal but a little higher cost.

 

From what I've seen of the meat products recovery process (cutting connective tissue and grissle from bones and breaking it down under pressure with ammonia) it does not seem like a big deal. NH3 (ammonia) is a chemical cousin to protein (amino acids) and connective tissue. Once it breaks down the tissues into slime it is no longer ammonia. And the "meat" product is about the same thing your teeth would do with the help of enzymes - only a lot faster. My bigger concern is how they count the stuff - lean or fat. If I buy a 85/15 chub is the slime counted inthe 85 lean or the 15 fat? Or do we need to see 70/15/10 for 10% slime? If I'm going to buy pink slime I think I want it irradiated too. :rolleyes:

 

No telling what the WJ hamburgers are made from but likely not brought onboard as chubs because too much labor involved making patties (and the patties are obviously machine made). Like schools and other users of food service products they are probably in huge boxes of pre-made patties.

[Big_G]

I'm a supporter of the real PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.) I am vegan and find that is the easiest way to avoid chemical and hormone laden pink slime and other questionable additives in meat, poultry and fish.

 

As for Royal Caribbean, I don't think what they offer for meat eaters is any worse than what is offered at land-based restaurants, schools, hospitals and other institutions. I don't expect a mass market cruise line to be better than any other mass market food provider. Actually they do pretty darned well when one considers how many meals they serve every single day over the entire cruise line.

 

Do you grow your own or are you buying genetically altered and chemically treated vegetables that are sold in every grocery store?

[ryano]

One of the most offensive borderline terrorist organizations ever to make a name for itself in this country. Most should be ashamed of the misguided principles this "organization" promotes.

 

I wasnt gonna say it but since you did. LOL!

 

I agree 100 percent. Now get ready for a whole other argument now ! :eek:

[mafig]

 

No telling what the WJ hamburgers are made from but likely not brought onboard as chubs because too much labor involved making patties (and the patties are obviously machine made). Like schools and other users of food service products they are probably in huge boxes of pre-made patties.

 

 

When I was googling Pink Slime, I recall reading something like "Pink Slime OK for school kids, but not for McDonalds." I do believe those pre-made patties also contain the product.

[ryano]

.

 

No telling what the WJ hamburgers are made from

 

Mystery meat! :eek::D:cool:

[Big_G]

Food police!! Food police!!

I love a good burger on a ship or on dry land. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! :p

 

A good burger on a ship is an oxymoron but I'll give JR the benefit of the doubt.

[Sequim88]

Mystery meat! :eek::D:cool:

 

Soylent Pink? FOLLOW THAT TRUCK!

[Big_G]

Didn't mean to upset you...

I'd be very happy for an RCL rep to post here and let us know my assumption is wrong! Anyone without direct knowledge of the meat used - please don't bother responding to my assumption. It's MY assumption.

 

Guilty until proven innocent. Aren't you genius. If the food is that 'low quality' then why are you cruising with RCI? Don't you need to eat? :rolleyes:

[Jumbiecruiser]

Didn't mean to upset you...

I'd be very happy for an RCL rep to post here and let us know my assumption is wrong! Anyone without direct knowledge of the meat used - please don't bother responding to my assumption. It's MY assumption.

 

If most people were able to see what goes on in many of the restaurants around the world, they would never eat out again. Unless you're in the kitchen when the food is being prepared you have no idea of what goes with your food.

 

Ever been to a slaughter house? Ever eaten a hot dog or sausage? Everything goes in with the exception of the oink or moo.

 

And if you're waiting for Royal Caribbean to respond to your comments here, then you will be waiting for a long time. Royal Caribbean does not respond to comments on this board.

[Jumbiecruiser]

In a statement to the Cincinnati Business Journal, Kroger explains which products contain "lean finely textured beef":

“Kroger carries ground beef both with and without lean finely textured beef.

For customers who choose to avoid it

, we offer a variety of options including Kroger's Private Selection Angus Ground Chuck, Round and Sirloin; Private Selection All Natural Ground Beef and Private Selection Organic Ground Beef solid in 1 lb. packages, labeled 80% lean and above; Laura's Lean Ground Beef; and ground beef prepared in store. All ground beef you find at your local Kroger is USDA-regulated, inspected and approved for food safety and quality. That includes beef products made with lean finely textured beef.”

 

Hmmm....... Did not know that Kroger supplied Royal Caribbean's meat.

[orville99]

i think you mean snopes dot com :)

 

Tapatalk autocorrect glitches.

 

You can always go directly to pinkslimeisamyth.com instead of buying yet another media hype job.

[knittinggirl]

Our princess cruise sent out our meat very rare, and I sent it back. On RCI ships, beef entrees can be ordered Medium Rare or Medium Well.

[wreckem2013]

It was on our local news a few weeks ago.

 

From the research I've done it seems it hasn't been in our meat for the last forty years or so. It used to be used primarily for dog food. Only in the last few years has it been used in our ground beef (to stretch the meat).

 

Because of the publicity, McD. and Burger King say they no longer use it. I shop at Publix and they say they don't either. :)

 

Its been in use for human consumption since 1993.