Public Backlash Forces ‘Pink Slime’ Plants to Close

DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. (AP) _ A South Dakota beef company says it plans to close processing plants in three states because of the controversy surrounding a product that critics have dubbed “pink slime.”

Beef Products Inc. spokesman Rich Jochum said Monday that 650 jobs will be lost when it closes its plants in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kansas; and Waterloo Iowa. The closures will be effective May 25.

A plant in South Sioux City, Neb., will remain open.

The company blames what it calls unfounded attacks over a product that it calls “lean, finely textured beef.” In the process, bits of beef are heated and treated with a small amount of ammonium hydroxide.

Beef Products is based in Dakota Dunes, S.D.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Short URL: http://wtaw.com/?p=42097

Posted by Chace Murphy on May 8 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry