 " Pink slime " ( a dysphemism for lean finely textured beef or LFTB , finely textured beef , and boneless lean beef trimmings or BLBT ) is a meat @-@ based product used as a food additive to ground beef and beef @-@ based processed meats , as a filler or to reduce the overall fat content of ground beef . In the production process , heat and centrifuges remove fat from the meat in beef trimmings . The resulting product is exposed to ammonia gas or citric acid to kill bacteria . In 2001 , the United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) approved the product for limited human consumption . 
