Pink Slime: Largest Defamation Case in US History

Pink slime. It made headlines in 2012 and now it’s back—the centerpiece of a $5.7-billion defamation lawsuit pitting ABC News against the beef industry.

The formal name used by the industry for pink slime is “lean, finely textured beef,” but as ABC News reported in 2012, the substance that’s found in about 70% of US beef was actually comprised of “beef trimmings that were once used only in dog food and cooking oil, now sprayed with ammonia to make them safe to eat, and then added to most beef as a cheaper filler.” The reports were based on two whistleblowers who had served as US Department of Agriculture meat inspectors.

In a trial that begins today (June 5) in Elk Point, South Dakota, Beef Products Inc. will make the case that reporting errors and omissions in a series of reports by ABC News on so-called ‘pink slime’ created a panic that resulted in the company having to close three of its four processing plants, and sparked a revenue drop of more than 80%. . .

Source: Abc-news-and-the-beef-industry-are-fighting-in-court-over-pink-slime-in-food/