Food Business News - September 25, 2012 - 22

Beef Products, Inc. strikes back
Continued from Page 1 have coined the term “pink slime”; Carl Custer, also a former U.S.D.A. employee; and Kit Foshee, a former BPI employee. ABC News, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., denied the claims. “The lawsuit is without merit,” said Jeffrey W. Schneider, ABC News senior vicepresident. “We will contest it vigorously.” BPI is seeking more than $1 billion in compensatory and statutory damages, plus unspeciﬁed punitive damages. “The campaign directed at my client The company said 650 people lost their jobs as a result of the plant closings, while the company shed an additional 85 jobs at the its headquarters in North Sioux City, S.D. “This is not tied to a food safety outbreak,” Mr. Letch said. “This is not tied to a public health risk. This is not tied to a quality issue. This is tied to a misinformation campaign that was waged against our company.” Mr. Webb said ABC News’ coverage of L.F.T.B. and BPI was a “disinformation

The maker of lean ﬁnely textured beef ﬁles $1.2 billion defamation suit against ABC News
ABC that they believe the false statements made by ABC,” Mr. Webb said. “Consumers are convinced that my client is manufacturing a product that is some kind of ‘pink slime’ product, that it’s not beef, and that it’s unsafe for human consumption — all of that is false.” He added that consumers believed the product was “somehow hidden, and concealed in ground beef, and consumers don’t know anything about it, and therefore it’s some kind of economic fraud that’s been perpetrated on the consuming public,” because of ABC’s reporting. In addition to defamation and product disparagement, BPI is alleging that ABC committed tortious interference by “blacklisting” companies that sold ground beef containing L.F.T.B. “First, ABC targets consumers with a mass of false statements and created a grassroots movement to reduce demand for our product,” Mr. Webb said. “They started to publish a blacklist of chain grocery stores that sell ground beef that contains our L.F.T.B. product. They literally force our customers to stop selling ground beef with our product.” Tied to BPI’s request for substantial punitive damages is the allegation that ABC News ignored factual information supplied to the news organization by BPI and others, including the U.S.D.A., the Food and Drug Administration, food safety organizations and other food industry experts. “At the time ABC was attacking our product, ABC Craig Letch, director of product safety for Beef Products, Inc. was provided a large volume of factual information began on March 7, 2012,” said Dan Webb, campaign” unparby my client and by third chief counsel and chairman of Winston & alleled in duration parties that clearly estabStrawn LLP, Chicago. “It lasted for about and scope. His lelished that this product was 30 days, and it was a sustained attack on gal team’s research not what ABC was stating it my client and the lean beef product that it found 11 live broadwas; that ABC was making manufactures. casts, 14 on-line renumerous false statements “We have set forth in the lawsuit 200 false ports and a number about the product; and and misleading defamatory statements that of social media platABC completely ignored were directed at my client and its lean beef forms that contained all of that information,” Mr. — Craig Letch, director of food product.” false and/or misleadWebb said. “That’s why we safety and quality assurance, Craig Letch, director of food safety ing statements about are claiming not only $1.2 and quality assurance at BPI, said the BPI and L.F.T.B. He billion in actual damages, Beef Products, Inc. company lost 80% of its sales within said ABC News rebut we’re asking for punithat 30-day period. In May, BPI perma- ferred to L.F.T.B. tive damages, because ABC ” example was awar that they were running false nently closed three manufacturing fa- falsely as “pink slime,” for example. aware cilities in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Mr. Webb said responses posted to ABC statements. They were aware of it beKas.; and Waterloo, Iowa, citing de- News’ web site are proof of how the news cause of the mass of information they creased demand for its products. The organization’s alleged reporting of false in- were provided. This is not an example company kept its facility in South Sioux formation impacted public opinion. of some news organization making a City, Neb., open but at reduced capacity. “Consumers by the hundreds notiﬁed mistake — that didn’t happen here.” FBN

This is not T tied tied to a food safety outbreak. ... This is tied to a misinformation campaign that was waged against our company.

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September 25, 2012

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