After three weeks of trial in a South Dakota courtroom, ABC and Beef Products Inc. reached a settlement in a defamation lawsuit over a series of news reports on the meat producer's use of lean, finely textured beef product -- sometimes referred to by its detractors as "pink slime."
"ABC has reached an amicable resolution of its dispute with the makers of 'lean finely textured beef,'" the network said in a statement.
The South Dakota-based BPI sued ABC for more than $1 billion over reports that originally aired in 2012, alleging that the coverage severely hurt its business. In the reports, ABC explained that the product was not unsafe to eat, but that BPI did not label when it was included in its beef...