Pa. chain to stop selling beef with pink slime

[March 23, 2012]  CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) -- Grocery chain Giant Food Stores has joined the growing number of food merchants halting sales of fresh ground beef containing the filler known as pink slime.

Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant Food Stores LLC on Thursday cited questions and concerns raised by hundreds of customers as the impetus for the move, which will affect the 144 Giant stores in Pennsylvania and the 39 Martin's food stores it owns in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

Company spokesman Chris Brand says customers felt pink slime "was not something that they wanted to purchase."

The filler is known in the food industry as lean finely textured beef. It's made from bits of leftover meat.

The term pink slime was coined by a federal microbiologist grossed out by it.

[Associated Press]

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