'Pink slime' lawsuit for Jamie Oliver, ABC and blogger.
Boneless lean beef trimmings produced by Beef Products Inc The 'pink slime' issue sparked a debate over food production processes
A worker laid off by a US beef processing company has sued celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, a food blogger and ABC News, saying their use of the term "pink slime" helped him lose his job.
Bruce Smith, 58, was one of about 750 people fired by Beef Products Inc, maker of lean, finely textured beef.
He is seeking $70,000 (£43,000) in damages, saying the company and workers were "maligned" by the "unfair" phrase.
The firm closed three plants and fired workers at its South Dakota office.
A social media campaign against use of the beef led to heightened public concerns over its health and safety.
Federal regulators said the beef ingredient met food safety standards, but critics argued the food was unappetising and possibly unsafe.
The US Department of Agriculture eventually chose to allow schools to stop serving the product.
Lean finely textured beef is made from beef heated and spun in a centrifuge to separate the meat from the fat, before the final product is treated with a puff of ammonium hydroxide gas to kill any bacteria.
Pink Slime Sues.
Pink Slime Sues.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”