BPI is alleging that the network misled consumers to believe its lean finely textured beef was unhealthy and unsafe.

The job cuts are directly attributable to the backlash the company has received as a result of food activists protesting its lean finely textured beef, which they characterized as “pink slime.”

About 200 meat-plant workers were fired without being given the 60 days’ notice required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The company had suspended operations at those plants in the wake of the “pink slime” controversy that targeted its lean finely textured beef product.

A total of 37.7 million pounds of ground beef was sold in March, which is the smallest amount sold in March in 10 years, reports Bloomberg.

Although the separation process hasn’t changed much in decades, its notoriety with consumers certainly has.

Recent history has shown that whenever the meat industry gets into the headlines, little good can come from it. The most recent example has been the “pink slime” nonsense that has turned a perfectly usable and good product into a taboo item.

An ABC News feature questioning the use of boneless lean beef trimmings – or “pink slime,” as the report dubbed it – has led the meat industry to defend its use in ground beef.