When Jordan Colleary (@jordancolleary) sliced into his $30 filet mignon from Publix, he didn’t expect to find a pink, gummy substance that resembled chewing gum. The Florida man posted a video of the steak on TikTok on July 11, 2025, where it has racked up over 1.1 million views. The video inspired revulsion and accusations that the meat was lab-grown and sold illegally, while some commenters blamed the texture of Colleary’s steak on meat glue, or meat from a cow with a bacterial infection or abscess.
Featured VideoAs Colleary pulled the gooey meat apart with his fingers, he commented, “I don’t know what that is.” The TikTok user wrote, “Gum?” over a photo of the meat, and included a photo of a $50 receipt for two filet mignons and Brussels sprouts from Publix. A photo of the meat’s packaging showed that one steak cost $30.51.
“I just became a vegetarian as of 10 seconds ago.”
Advertisement@jordancolleary WHAT IS THIS!?? SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE! @Official Publix Of Flordia @Publix #fyp #fypシ #explore #viral #blowthisup #tampa ♬ original sound – Jordan Colleary
Commenters argued over the contents of Colleary’s mutant steak. TikTok users suggested the meat was lab-grown or full of meat glue. Others said not meat glue—possibily an infection. One comment suggested it may not even be meat.
Advertisement“If you take that steak to a lab to be examined for its contents and you find that there is in fact either gumming agents or artificially grown meat, you can sue them for refusing to list the honest ingredients of their sale. And a lot of people should because this is an FDA issue and it’s all over America.”
“There isn’t a grocery store in America that sells lab grown meat. Not one.”
Advertisement“Meat glue. Low-quality steak bits glued together.”
“That’s not meat glue. You got meat that was abscessed in the cow, big infection. Turns into a nasty texture – most good butchers will keep an eye out for it and fairly rare to get in the US.”
Advertisement“I don’t think we’re eating meat anymore. I try to give my dog some meat he wouldn’t even eat it.”
Testing labs don’t want to touch it
Colleary followed up in a July 16 video with 1.5 million views. He shared that he hasn’t been able to convince a testing facility to identify the contents of the meat.
Advertisement@jordancolleary ANY IDEAS?! #meat #tampa #fyp #supportlocal #blowthisup #filetmignon #explore ♬ original sound – Jordan Colleary
“I’ve now called three testing facilities aside from the two I called yesterday,” he said. “They listened to everything I have to say, and then the moment that I tell them what it is and where I got it, they say they want no part of it.”
Colleary said the facilities he contacted were reluctant to connect him with other resources.
It’s unlikely, however, that the meat is lab-grown. U.S. Grocers have yet to stock their shelves with lab-grown meat, and Florida banned lab-grown meat in 2024. Colleary’s gummy filet mignon could have been subpar or spoiled meat.
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“not interested”