McDonald's: No More Pink Slime in Burgers

Meals from McDonald's will no longer include "pink slime," an ammonium hydroxide solution used to kill bacteria.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast food chain said it would no longer use the controversial additive — which is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — in its hamburger recipe.

The company denied that its decision was influenced by a months-long campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to get ammonium-hydroxide-treated meats like chicken and beef out of the U.S. food supply. But it acknowledged this week that it had stopped using the unappetizing pink goo, made from treating otherwise inedible scrap meat with the chemical, several months ago, msnbc.com reported.

In fact, the company said the decision to get rid of the "slime" was made nearly a year ago.

"We are always reviewing and evolving our standards to ensure we continue to serve safe, high quality food to our customers," McDonald's said in a statement.

Taco Bell and Burger King have also done away with the "slime." 

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