SIOUX CITY, S.D., March 27 (UPI) -- The maker of a beef product slimed by critics said it is suspending operations at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa.
Beef Products Inc. said it will keep its Sioux City, S.D., headquarters open and continue to pay workers at all four plants for 60 days, ABC News reported Tuesday.
During that time, the company said it will launch a public relations program designed to restore confidence in its "lean, finely textured beef" product that has been dubbed "pink slime" by critics.
The company blames social media and news organizations for what it called a gross misinterpretation of its product and process, ABC News said.
Regina Roth, executive vice president of Beef Products Inc., said the company's product is "100 percent beef." The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently defended the safety of the product, describing it as "a meat product derived from a process which separates fatty pieces from beef trimmings to reduce the overall fat content."
Two former USDA scientists, however, told ABC the product is not the same as ground beef and advised against using it.
"It's not fresh ground beef. It's a cheap substitute being added in," said microbiologist Gerald Zirstein.
Rick Jochum, corporate administrator for BPI, said employees will lose their jobs if the company isn't able to resume operations.
