Is 'Tuna Scrape' the Next Pink Slime?

First came "pink slime," the processed beef too dubious even for McDonald's. Now "tuna scrape" might be poised to become the seafood equivalent. With a recent salmonella outbreak being linked to tuna scrape—ground backmeat scraped from the bones of the fish—people are asking whether this fish product is fit for human consumption, reports NPR. Raw meat, after all, is generally riskier than cooked, and ground products are at greater risk for contamination.

"I don't think enough research has been done on these products," one food safety expert says. But others say the comparison is unfair. While tuna scrape comes from the leftovers bones of fish, much the way pink slime comes from meat left over on a cow's carcass, the similarities end there, says Food Safety News. Tuna scrape is removed with a spoon-like device and no further processing occurs, unlike pink slime, which is cooked, sent through a centrifuge, and sprayed with ammonia. "I don't think it's a fair comparison at all," said one seafood expert. (More tuna stories.)