Indiana Chef Questions Authenticity of $10 Per Pound Black Angus Beef
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A veteran Indiana chef with 30 years of experience says a package of Black Angus beef he purchased for $10 per pound didn’t look, smell, or cook like real meat. His viral TikTok describing the incident has fueled a wave of speculation about fake meat and declining food quality in America .
Chef Describes “Play-Doh” Texture
The chef, who posts as @the_journey76 on TikTok, said he was preparing burgers for Labor Day weekend when he noticed something unusual.
“The smell hit my nose. And I said, ‘This don’t smell right,’” he explained.
After grilling the patties, he pulled one apart and claimed the texture resembled Play-Doh rather than beef.
He pointed out that traditional ground beef usually contains visible strings from the extruder machines used in processing. In contrast, his purchase had a putty-like consistency, crumbled easily, and reminded him of institutional frozen patties rather than fresh ground meat .
“This Ain’t Beef”
In his TikTok, the chef grew more animated, squeezing a patty for the camera.
“It crumbles,” he said, before adding, “This ain’t beef. You can fool me all you want. This ain’t frickin’ beef. What’re we eating, folks? What the hell are we eating?”
The post sparked an outpouring of comments, with many users claiming they had noticed strange textures or odd smells in their own recent grocery purchases.
Rumors of Fake Meat
Talk of “fake beef” has circulated online for years, ranging from lab-grown experiments to plant-based substitutes. Some conspiracy theories even suggest a darker motive, from hidden chemicals to bizarre claims about microchips in food.
According to food labeling laws, stores cannot market non-beef products as beef. While terms like “mock tender roast” are allowed for cheaper cuts, it is illegal for grocers to label anything as beef unless it comes from cattle .
Notably, no U.S. grocery chain or restaurant currently sells lab-grown meat as of September 2025. Plant-based alternatives like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger remain on shelves, but they must be clearly labeled as such.
Public Reaction: “Everything Is Different”
The TikTok response shows the chef is not alone. Top comments included:
- “Profits over people.”
- “America is an experiment.”
- “Everything is contaminated or plastic.”
One viewer who identified as a chef for 25 years added, “Just in the last five years I’ve noticed everything is different — so many fake ingredients and chemicals.”
Others made references to dystopian scenarios, joking about Soylent Green, the 1973 sci-fi classic in which society unknowingly consumes human remains.
Ongoing Debate
The chef has not clarified whether he believes his purchase was deliberately mislabeled or simply low-quality beef. In his TikTok overlay text, he wrote:
“Something is wrong with our food. My ground beef is off.”
While his claims remain unverified, they highlight broader concerns over food quality, supply chain transparency, and whether consumers are truly getting what they pay for at the supermarket.
Do you think food quality in the U.S. has declined in recent years, or are incidents like this simply rare mishaps? Share your opinion with us at SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.
