I’ve been constantly seeing the new Friendly’s Restaurant’s TV commercial touting their “fresh, never frozen” burgers.
Fresh vs frozen tells me nothing about the quality of the burger!
Personally, I’d rather a promotion stating that they grind their beef fresh on premises, and that they use only anti-biotic/hormone-free beef. And even further, how about grass-fed beef? Now THAT would be a marketing campaign I could get behind.
What Does Fresh Mean Anyway?
The marketing phrase “fresh, not frozen” is very misleading, especially when you look at how the USDA regulates the term “frozen”.
Did you know that a beef patty can be labeled as “fresh, not frozen” as long as the product’s internal temperature never dips below 26° – so in reality, Friendly’s fresh burgers could be hovering on the legal brink of frozen.
Hmm, that’s a pesky fact that’s left out of their commercial.
Pink Slime?
I haven’t seen any Friendly press releases stating that their burgers do not contain “pink slime” (Finely Textured Lean Beef processed with amonia).
Considering how cheap they’re selling their burgers, starting at $5.99, I am assuming (and I am JUST assuming, not knowing for fact) that they use cheap beef, which probably contains some portion of pink slime.
But hey, at least it’s not “frozen” right?