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March 21, 2012

Dennis M. Walcott Chancellor New York City Department of Education 52 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007 Dear Chancellor Walcott, I write to urge that the New York City Department of Educations Office of School Food discontinue serving lean textured ground beef, commonly known as pink slime, in its school meals. As I am sure you are aware, a recent decision by the United States Department of Agriculture offers school systems alternatives to purchasing this ammonia-laced meat product. I believe the DOE should move swiftly to take advantage of this new alternative, given the paramount importance of providing our city school children with the healthiest eating options available. We commend DOE for stating recently that it intends to phase-out the use of pink slime. But a vague commitment to phase-out the use of this product does not go far enough to address concerns about its suitability for school cafeterias. As it is, parents are left with no clear information about the prevalence of pink slime in their childrens meals, or the Departments plans for phasing it out. DOE must be more clear and transparent.

I take pride in the fact that DOE School Food has, on so many occasions, been a national leader in promoting better school food options. The offices work to highlight the use of healthier ingredients and eating habits, its support for increased nutritional standards, and its ban on trans fats and artificial flavors have all been models for the rest of the county. That is why the persistence of pink slime in DOE menus stands out as an unfortunate anomaly. While national fast food chains like McDonalds and Taco Bell publicly
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announced the discontinuation of lean textured ground beef in January of this year. School Foods continuing purchase of this product only serves to perpetuate the unhealthy eating it seeks to combat. I encourage you to look to other school systems and follow their example. Just this week the Boston School System pulled beef from its menus, marking all shipments Do Not Use until it can be definitively determined to be free of pink slime. Similarly, Floridas Miami Dade County committed to switch to a different, ammonia-free beef product when USDA makes it available this fall. In addition, the Los Angeles United School District and Memphis Tennessee District have already successfully phased out pink slime. As Memphis school district food coordinator Toni Geraci said when Memphis phased out pink slime in October 2011, pink slime is a horrible product not fit for human consumption. Any time you buy something that is chunked, chopped or formed, you run the risk of problems with product integrity, Geraci said. My preference would be for the DOE to immediately pull all beef products containing pink slime from its shelves, as Boston has chosen to do. However, if there are legitimate barriers to an immediate removal related to vendor contracts or other logistical concerns and DOE can clearly articulate those concerns then a more deliberate approach may be warranted. In any case, I urge DOE to make a strong commitment to switch to an ammonia-free alternative once it is made available by USDA and to make the following

information publicly available:

A list of all menu items currently served in the schools that contain pink slime; The names of vendors supplying products that contain pink slime; and A detailed timeline and plan for the phase out of pink slime from school meals.

I urge you to act swiftly and return to DOE School Food to its place as a national leader on school nutritional policy. As the nations largest school system, the DOE has an opportunity to lead on this important health issue and blaze a trail for the rest of the nation to follow.

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ct1 Manhattan Borough President