I just made an order at the butcher and inquired about greed tripe. The gal asked and came back to the phone and said "yes we have it here" and I asked the price and she said they can't legally charge for it, that it is in a barrel and I'd need to come pick it up if I want it...what's up with that? Every thread I've read about the green tripe people are paying money...the other places I've gone for raw (meat markets, etc) don't carry green tripe, only the tripe (white chunks). So, now, I've found a source but am wondering about the "legal" issue and it being free??? Now I am suspicious, what's up with this???

I believe the green stuff can be a source of contaminant in a shop that prepares mostly human grade meat cuts - they don't want to handle it any more than they have to. Since you can't feed it to people, they won't vouch for it being safe to eat by anything and perhaps that's why they can't charge for it... Did they know you're planning to feed it to your dog?

~Natalya

Green tripe can't be mixed in the stream of foods for human consumption. That means the equipment -- saws, knives & whatnot, can't be used for processing tripe and then be used for processing meat without undergoing a sterilization process.

Think about it, with green tripe, you are basically dealing with first stage manure.

It's in a barrel because, it's destined for the rendering plant.

That said, I picked up a few stomachs from a local slaugherhouse. Each stomach weighed about 20#. Cow stomachs are big ... and tough. My older gal, almost 14 now, has her back teeth pretty rounded over. So I needed to grind it so she can join in the fun. I ran it through a hand-cranked grinder (Porkert #10). Even with a **very** sharp knife, it took some time to process. I made it through two. The third got a decent burial in the back yard.

On one hand, I paid about $6 for 40# of pretty decent dog food. The frozen stuff is about $3.50/#. I'm not certain if I will repeat the effort though. Perhaps when it's cooler and I don't draw flies in from a 3 county area.

The dogs really do like it.

I asked my butcher about green tripe and he tried to sell me that white chunky stuff - is that not green tripe? What is it, is it not something I should feed the dogs? I opted out only because I wanted to research it a little more before feeding, maybe that was a lucky decision!

The white tripe in the market is for human consumption. It has been cleaned, bleached, and has no nutritional value for your dog.

Be lucky they are not charging you for it, I think the companies that are charging for it , are saying (i'm sure) they charge for the packaging, handling etc..) it is really a product that should be giving away BUT some people have made a business out of it and are making a small fortune.Think about it when you pick it up, you'll wish it was packaged!
It is really nothing to be concerned about.I just wish Green tripe that is packaged was flippin CHEAPER!
Green tripe .com has gone up in price, I am not for it that's for sure.I pay $93 for 10 rolls!
Be happy it's free!

 Quote: Charlie Snyder

Perhaps when it's cooler and I don't draw flies in from a 3 county area.

Charlie you are so right about that.It's so hot here now that you can defrost in 5 minutes.Anyway I leave that stuff in the garage with the side door open and one day I came out after a few hours of derfrosting a (greeen tripe)roll and I had about 1,000 flies all around the roll, it was amazing how fast they arrived.I now use a plastic container to put a five roll bag to defrost and I spray on top of the container for flies....so much work for a 5 lb roll!!

 Quote: Angelique Cadogan

Be lucky they are not charging you for it, I think the companies that are charging for it , are saying (i'm sure) they charge for the packaging, handling etc..) it is really a product that should be giving away BUT some people have made a business out of it and are making a small fortune.

Heeeheeee...I had a typo in my op and typed GREED TRIPE....funny.
Yeah, I can see though why they'd charge, as processing that stomach I'm sure is no fun...I have a new wish list for Christmas and it includes a room in the shop with a big stainless steel table and drain and the likes of a butcher shop! I will look at the tripe in the barrel on Thursday and see if I can STOMACH it! Heh. I KNOW Cato will.

Oh, and remind me again (so it's easy for me)...the green tripe, organ or muscle???

ahahah......Greed is right! for what they charge

Just be cautious,e-coli is in those cow manure and in stomach linings..wear gloves and bring with you anti-bacteria soap for reassurance.
I know you are aware but I just want to throw a cautious reminder cause I know you have a child at home.

Thanks for the reminder, although I left that question out (about handling and clean up)...I'm a goon when it comes to this raw diet in my kitchen (prep)...so much so that Cato gets a pavlov response when I get the bleach solution bottle out of the cupboard! (I get it out first for some reason, so it's sitting there ready and I don't forget...