The maker of lean finely textured beef  says it’s laying off 86 employees from its South Dakota corporate office and company officials point the finger at the campaign of misinformation against the product.

Beef Products Inc. food-quality director Craig Letch said Monday that the company initiated this second
round of layoffs in response to intense negative publicity about its lean, finely textured beef.

The company and outside food-safety experts insist that the product is safe, and BPI has won public support from governors in four states where its plants operate.  Still, the negative publicity led by the media coined term “pink slime” has forced the layoffs.

The company announced earlier this month it was closing its three plants in Kansas, Texas and Iowa, resulting in 650 lost jobs.

A plant in Nebraska will remain open but at reduced capacity.