Woolworths has denied “gluing” its meat after a shopper claimed he’d purchased two eye fillet steaks that were separate cuts of meat stuck together.
In a video titled “WTF Woolworths” that has amassed millions of views, the Woolies shopper could be seen preparing his expensive beef cuts, while pointing out something thin and clear between parts of the tissue.
But while the man alleged it was “meat glue”, Woolworths has explained the shopper’s mistake to news.com.au, reassuring customers its steak is sold “whole”.
“We pride ourselves on providing high quality meat to our customers and we can confirm our steaks are whole muscle,” the spokesperson said.
“Eye fillet steak is a very lean cut of meat with minimal connective tissue which is what makes it so tender.
“This is why it is easy to pull apart when pressure is applied.”
The cut of beef, also known as tenderloin steak or filet mignon, comes from the loin section of the animal.
It is one of the “most prized cuts” of steak due to its tenderness, mild flavour, and relative lack of fat marbling, according to the Farmer to Fridge website, a marketplace which connects customers with producers.
Transglutaminase, better known as meat glue, is a food additive used to improve the texture and appearance of processed meats, Healthline states.
The ingredient has been approved for use in food manufacturing in Australia, but it has been linked to higher increased risk of bacterial contamination and may also worsen coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity symptoms.
Many viewers of the TikTok video were also quick to point out the “glue” was actually the lean meat’s small amount of fat.
“OMFG that is not glue,” one viewer responded.
“I’ve been a butcher for 45 years that is not meat glue,” another agreed.
Another claimed: “I worked in the meat industry for a long time and never even heard of ‘meat glue’ let alone seen anyone do it.”
Others stated that while meat glue exists, it wouldn’t come apart in the way shown in the video, which has been viewed 2.5 million times to date.
“I use meat glue all the time and it doesn’t form strands like that,” one commented.
“In my 25 years of butchering that’s how eye fillet looks,” shared another.
“Looks like normal meat to me, just looks like the muscle fibres,” mused someone else.
It’s not the first time the supermarket has been accused of “gluing” meat pieces together, with one shopper falsely slamming Woolies for using the tactic in 2021.
The woman claimed on Facebook she “ripped off” by the supermarket after buying a pack of grass fed beef from the Kogarah Woolworths, sharing photos of what she said was several separate cuts that had been packaged together.
“We decided to cook a nice piece of steak but this is what we got,” she wrote.
“Meat glue is where they glue all offcuts of meat to make it look like a piece of steak when it’s actually not, it’s offcuts.”
Woolworths denied the claims at the time, but a recent Reddit thread shows the topic is still a hotly debated one.