Discussion Case Study: 'Pink Sliming' The Processed Beef Industry" at the end of Chapter 19.
Pink slime is the common name for a controversial beef product. The name used in the meat industry is lean finely textured beef (LFTB) and boneless lean beef trimmings (BLBT). The United States approved the product for limited human consumption and it was used as a food additive to ground beef and beef-based processed meats as a filler. ABC News ran a series of news reports about the product, including claims that approximately 70 percent of ground beef sold in U.S. supermarkets contained the additive at that time. The reports generated significant controversy and led to increased consumer concerns that consumers are currently unable to make informed purchasing decisions due to this lack of product labeling. Due to the controversy some companies and organizations discontinued the provision of ground beef with the additive.
The U.S. manufacturer Beef Products Inc. (BPI) has argued that the claims made in the reports were false and launched a lawsuit against ABC. McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King announced they were going to discontinue using the product in their food. BPI announced it would begin to suspend operations at several of its plants. AFA filed for bankruptcy stating that it was due to the pink slime controversy. Cargill significantly cut production of the product. The USDA finds the product safe and that schools enrolled in the national school lunch program will have the choice not to use the byproduct. The argument that pink slime is being treated unfairly may have a grain of truth to it. Pink slime is probably no more unsafe than the tens of thousands of other highly processed food-like products.
Respond to Discussion Questions:
1- After reading this case, should “pink slime” be banned as a hazardous food product or are the claims unfounded?
2- Besides a press conference, what other tools might BPT or other firms use to improve the public's opinion of the products? Add at least one of the Saint Leo University Core Values that apply to the case.