Remember “pink slime?” This is the pejorative name given to “mechanically tenderized finely textured beef” an ingredient added to meat products. Its maker, Beef Products, Inc, sued ABC for defamation. Disney, which owns ABC, settled the case out of court in June—for $177 million according to Business Insider.
Disney paid Beef Products Inc.
(BPI) $177 million to settle the ‘pink slime’ lawsuit that claimed a story ABC ran in 2012 misled viewers and caused hundreds of layoffs. On Wednesday, Walt Disney Co’s quarterly earnings report revealed that the company spent $177 million “in connection with the settlement of litigation” last quarter.
Addition: Food Safety News says the $177 million is on top of the totality of ABC’s insurance.
I am hoping that I will never have to write about pink slime again. For the record, here is a summary of my posts on the topic, dating back to 2009.
- December 30, 2009 The latest recall: mechanically tenderized beef
- March 30, 2012 I’ve been lobbied! Intense efforts to save pink slime aimed at governors, USDA officials, and me
- April 1, 2012 The dilemma of pink slime: cost or culture?
- April 2 2012 “Pink Slime:” Some questions about what’s really at stake
- April 4, 2012 Oops. Apologies to Mike Osterholm
- April 11, 2012 The legacy of LFTB (a. k.a “pink slime”): power politics in action
- September 14, 2012 Maker of “pink slime” sues everyone who calls it that
- December 18, 2013 American Meat Institute defines Fine, Lightly Textured Beef (a.k.a. “pink slime”)
- June 13, 2017 Pink slime again: the lawsuit