Texas authorities were forced to close part of the Houston Ship Channel Tuesday after 250,000 gallons of beef fat spewed out of a shore-based storage tank. That's right — what you see isn't ice — it's gelatinized beef fat.


Approximately 15,000 pounds (or 250,000 gallons) of the animal fat spilled into the Houston Ship Channel this week out of a tank owned by agricultural company Jacob Sterns and Sons. Representatives of the company say the rupture was the result of an employee error.

The Coast Guard and the Texas General Land Office sent workers into the gulf to capture the beef tallow, which thickens in the cold water, by picking up the foot-long thickened bits. These bits aren't the edible portions but rather the bits leftover and used for cosmetics and soap.


They're calling them "patties," which is pretty gross.

You know what's even more gross? A body of water coated with said "patties." Authorities claim the spill will take four days to clean up and require a chunk of the channel to be shut down for that entire period.

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Here's one more image — just in case you had any thoughts of eating any food for the rest of the day.


Photo Credit: AP/Coast Guard