Jury selection in ‘pink slime’ trial scheduled to start today
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Jury selection starts today in a more than $1 billion defamation case over ABC news reports on a South Dakota meat producer’s lean, finely textured beef product, which critics have dubbed “pink slime.” The trial in state court is scheduled to last until late July.
A look at the case:
WHAT’S THE CASE MADE OF?
Dakota Dunes-based Beef Products Inc. sued the television network in 2012, saying ABC’s coverage misled consumers into believing the product is unsafe and led to the closures of three plants and layoffs of roughly 700 workers. The reports emphasized that the product at the time was present in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in supermarkets, but wasn’t labeled. ABC’s attorneys have argued that in each of its broadcasts, the network stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed the product safe to eat.
WHAT IS LEAN, FINELY TEXTURED BEEF?
The product can be added to ground beef to reduce the overall fat content. It’s made from trimmings left after a cow is butchered. The meat is separated from the fat, and ammonia gas is applied to kill bacteria. Former USDA microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein named the product “pink slime” in a 2002 agency email. He is among several people who have been dismissed from the lawsuit, including ABC anchor Diane Sawyer, leaving just the network and correspondent Jim Avila as defendants.
WHAT HAPPENED?
After the reports aired, some grocery store chains said they would stop carrying ground beef that contained the product. BPI claims sales declined from about 5 million pounds per week to less than 2 million pounds per week. Steve Kay, editor and publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly, said the fatty trimmings that BPI used for its product lost more than half their value, but the market “recovered fairly quickly.”
LEGAL ISSUES
BPI must show that ABC and Avila made defamatory implications or statements, and that they either knew the statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The company also must prove that ABC hurt BPI.
“We look forward to the opportunity to present our case and establish for the jury that BPI has suffered significant financial harm because of the wrongful conduct by ABC,” BPI attorney Dan Webb said in a statement.
ABC stands by its reporting.