The American meat industry claims a series of controversial reports on ABC television news prompting the “pink slime” beef crisis were unfair and inaccurate. But ABC was not the first media outlet to question the safety of products made by Beef Products Inc. of North Dakota.
On Dec. 31, 2009, The New York Times reported on concerns about the safety of Lean Finely Textured Beef, and the now controversial ammonia treatment Beef Products said killed pathogens. The Times reported that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials were so confident of Beef Products’ process that it was exempted from routine testing imposed on other meat used in hamburger sold to the general public.