(PCM) Beef Products Inc.(BPI), the major U.S. beef processing company, is suing ABC News over their coverage of “pink slime” – the disgusting additive that was found in nearly 70 percent of grocery ground beef (until it was uncovered).
BPI is suing for $1.2 billion, claiming that the network’s coverage of pink slime “duped” consumers into believing their beef is unhealthy and unsafe, which had an “enormous impact” on the company. According to AP, 3 of its 4 plants have shut down since the reports, resulting in 650 lost jobs (and a whole lot of money).
They say ABC News made somewhere around 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product, which “caused consumers to believe that our lean beef is not beef at all — that it’s an unhealthy pink slime, unsafe for public consumption, and that somehow it got hidden in the meat.”
A rep for ABC responded:
“The lawsuit is without merit. We will contest it vigorously.”
More:
‘Pink Slime’ Found in 70% of Supermarket Ground Beef, And Headed to School Lunches
Alex Gallardo / Reuters
