 An 11 @-@ segment series of reports in March 2012 from ABC News brought widespread public attention to and raised consumer concerns about the product . The product was described as " essentially scrap meat pieces compressed together and treated with an antibacterial agent " . Lean finely textured beef ( LFTB ) was referred to as " an unappetizing example of industrialized food production " . The product has been characterized as " unappetizing , but perhaps not more so than other things that are routinely part of hamburger " by Sarah Klein , an attorney for the food safety program at the Center for Science in the Public Interest . Nutritionist Andy <unk> has referred to the product as " one of many symptoms of a broken food system " . Food policy writer Tom <unk> noted that ammonium hydroxide is only one of several chemicals routinely added to industrially produced meat in the United States . 
