Hormel, Pilgrim’s Pride and Beef Products Inc. were three companies providing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service with a personal update during February. A delegation from each company met with acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Carmen Rottenberg and acting FSIS Administrator Paul Kiecker.
The
Continue Reading Hormel, Pilgrim’s Pride, BPI provide reports to USDA’s brass
The confidential settlement reached on June 28 between Beef Products Inc., and Disney-owned ABC News is not entirely a secret anymore.
The Walt Disney Company’s quarterly financial filing with the Securities and Executive Commission (SEC) shows a charge of $177 million “net of committed insurance recoveries,” incurred in connection with
Continue Reading Looks like BPI got ABC’s insurance money plus $177 million
ELK POINT, SD — It would probably not be accurate to say Professor Mindy Brashears speaks with a Texas twang or that ABC’s attorney Dane Butswinkas
Continue Reading ABC strikes back by churning up BPI’s earlier history
ELK POINT, SD — A 12-member jury and four alternates, including 11 women and five men, are ready to hear opening arguments today in a $1.9 billion defamation trial scheduled to last eight weeks here at the Union County Court House.
Union County Courthouse in Elk
Continue Reading Jury trial begins today in BPI v. ABC on the saga of ‘pink slime’
Lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) is back, and the lawsuit one of its producers has going against ABC News is not going away. It hasn’t been for lack of trying. ABC tried to get the “disparagement of agriculture” lawsuit dismissed, and, when that failed, transferred it to U.S. District
Continue Reading ‘Pink Slime’ Lawsuit Gets Green Light for Trial As Product Demand Returns
Lawyers representing ABC News and two former USDA inspectors squared off Tuesday in a South Dakota courtroom against attorneys for Beef Products Inc. (BPI) in a defamation lawsuit stemming from the television network’s coverage of the company’s product, “lean finely textured beef,” commonly referred to as “pink slime,” in a
Continue Reading Judge Hears Arguments in ABC's 'Pink Slime' Defamation Case
My only child, Alex, died from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by eating E. coli O157:H7-contaminated ground beef back in 1993 when he was only 6 years old. It was the most horrendous experience possible.
His first symptoms were severe abdominal cramping and bowel movements that consisted strictly of blood
Continue Reading In Defense of Food Safety Leadership
It’s high in protein.
It’s low in fat.
It’s been treated to kill Salmonella and E. coli.
It’s lab-tested before it is shipped.
So what’s all the fuss about?
Gerald Zirnstein, a former microbiologist with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, calls the product “pink slime” and doesn’t “consider the
Continue Reading What’s Wrong With Pink Slime?
As Beef Products Inc. was being “slimed” this week — from the blogosphere to network television — David M. Theno was feeling unusually helpless watching from Tampa where he was keynoting the 2012 Annual Beef Industry Safety Summit, along with Food Safety News publisher Bill Marler.
Theno, the guru
Continue Reading BPI Ground Beef Gets Support From Food Safety Leaders
The very recent attacks on Beef Products Inc. by groups of well-intentioned but seriously misguided foodies is more proof that good science is too often trumped by manipulated public opinion. For those of you who don’t know the company, BPI produces a boneless lean beef product from trim that is
Continue Reading Manipulated Public Opinion Trumps Real Science – Again
