Meat producers in the US are on high alert amid new consumer reluctance to gorge on ‘pink slime’, an additive put into beef made from sinew, connective tissue and ammonia gases. Yum!

For some reason shoppers are fussing about the additive, known in the trade as ‘lean finely textured beef’.

If the latter sounds more marketable, perhaps it’s because ‘pink slime’ reminds shoppers of horror classic The Blob, which in turn may remind them of their own ever-expanding waistlines.