Pink slime controversy forces Beef Products to close three US plants

Beef Products, a US producer of ammonia-treated beef, will have to close three of its four plants after mass outrage against a beef product, dubbed ‘pink slime’ by critics, has led to a drastic drop in sales.

The company will close its plants in Amarillo, Texas, in Garden City, Kansas, and Waterloo, Iowa, on 25 May 2012, resulting in a loss of more than 650 jobs. Its plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska, will continue to run at reduced capacity.

Beef Products spokesman Rich Jochum said the company hoped to recover from the outrage, but realised later that it was out of scope in the immediate future.

"We will continue communicating the benefits of BPI’s lean beef, but that process is much more difficult than (countering) the campaign to spread misinformation that brought us to this point," Jochum added.

In March, a public outcry erupted after a social media campaign was initiated against the use of ammonia-treated beef product, which is used as a filler for ground beef.

The product is made from leftover cuts of meat that are heated and spun in a centrifuge to separate the meat from the fat, and then treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill bacteria.

Although federal regulators said that it meets food safety standards, critics said that the food is unappetising and possibly poses a safety risk due to treatment with ammonia, which led to loss of consumer confidence and drop in sales.

Following this, Beef Products has halted production at three plants for 60 days, and warned that the closure could become a permanent suspension.

In response to consumer concern, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided to permit schools to choose alternative beef supplies under the National School Lunch Program.

Some school districts have chosen to stop using the product, while a few retail chains, including two of the leading supermarket operators Safeway and Supervalu, said that they will withdraw the ammonia-treated beef from their shelves.

In April, AFA Foods, a US-based processor of ground beef, filed for bankruptcy protection in April blaming the widespread media coverage of the controversial ammonia-treated beef filler.

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Image: ‘Pink slime’ is used as a filler for ground beef. Photo: USDA