 The term " pink slime " , a reference to the product 's " distinctive look " , was coined in 2002 by Zirnstein in an internal FSIS e @-@ mail . Expressing concern that ammonia should be mentioned on the labels of packaged ground beef to which the treated trimmings are added , Zirnstein stated " I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef , and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling " . He later stated that his main concern was that connective tissue is not " meat " , and that ground beef to which the product had been added should not be called ground beef , since it is not nutritionally equivalent to regular ground beef . 
