Video - Beef Products Inc, the makers of the controversial "pink slime" suspending operations at three of its four plants.

When celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched his crusade against so-called "pink slime," a processed beef product added to burger patties in the U.S., the world watched in horror. The media was buzzing with stories about how beef off-cuts were being processed with ammonium hydroxide, then mixed with hamburger meat. McDonald's in the U.S. stopped using the stuff this January, and the media was quick to condemn the US Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program for buying the product. All the attention has been bad for business. This week, Beef Products Inc, the makers of the controversial "pink slime" — or, as the company refers to it, "lean finely textured beef" — announced it was suspending operations at three of its four plants. It also took to the web to defend its unappetizing creation.