If you liked 'pink slime,' then you'll love 'meat glue'

Source: KGO-TV

If you were disturbed to hear about pink slime in your hamburger, then you'll want to know about this. The ABC7 News I-Team has uncovered another meat industry practice that will have you looking twice at the steak that you eat.

It has a long scientific name, but it's known as "meat glue." It binds bits and pieces of meat together into what looks like a prime cut. But while pink slime may be unappetizing, glued meat that's not handled properly could make you sick.

... Meat glue is a powder officially known as transglutaminase. Originally, the natural enzyme was harvested from animal blood. Now it's primarily produced through the fermentation of bacteria. Added to meat, it forms a nearly invisible and permanent bond to any other meat you stick it to.

... The FDA lists transglutaminase as "generally recognized as safe." It's OK to eat cooked meat that's been glued. But here's the problem, the outside of a piece of meat comes in contact with a lot of bacteria making its way from slaughterhouse to table. Usually cooking a steak on the outside will kill all that off. The center of a single cut of steak is sterile, that's why you can eat it rare. But glue pieces of meat together and now bacteria like E. coli could be on the inside.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=8638238