Lean Cuisine Salisbury Steak

Beef. It’s what’s for dinner?

The front of Lean Cuisine’s frozen Salisbury steak dinner may lead you to believe that the patty contains beef and no other meat.

A TINA.org reader – who explained she’s Jewish and does not eat pork – had full confidence that was the case.

It wasn’t until she glanced at the ingredients on the back of the package as she was heating up the dinner that she discovered that the patty contained another – non-Kosher – meat: pork.

She was shocked.

“I never gave it a thought that the Salisbury steak would have pork in it,” she wrote. “I shudder to think how many of these I have eaten unbeknownst to me about the presence of pork.”

Lean Cuisine did not respond to a request for comment.

As it turns out, it’s not unusual for the patty in a frozen Salisbury steak dinner – considered by some as the king of TV dinners – to contain pork or for the presence of pork not to be disclosed on the front of packaging.

In fact, out of a sampling of seven Salisbury steak dinners available in the frozen food aisle, only two – Banquet’s and On-Cor’s – noted on the front that the product is “made with chicken, pork and beef.”

What does the law have to say about this? It might surprise you.

According to the USDA’s Food Standards and Labeling Policy, Salisbury steak must contain at least 65% meat and a quarter of the meat can be pork if the remaining portion is beef.

The bottom line? If the contents of your meal are important to you, always be sure to closely read the ingredients on the back of the package. Think of a food product’s packaging as an opposite mullet where the party (or marketing) is on the front and the business (or actual ingredients) is on the back.

Find more of our coverage on meat.