Congressman Adrian Smith regrets a negative label seems to have stuck to a beef product, crippling sales and forcing the closing of three plants.

BPI has been unable to shake the tag “pink slime” from the product it calls “lean, finely textured beef” that has been produced under federal approval since 1974. The company, located in South Dakota, has announced it will close factories in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kansas; and Waterloo, Iowa. A plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska will remain open at reduced capacity. The move will leave 650 people without jobs.

Smith says the loss of those jobs could have been avoided with accurate information about the product.

“So there was a deliberate effort, really, to describe an industry in a way that was inaccurate,” Smith tells Nebraska Radio Network. “That’s what’s unfortunate, especially when it takes health-care away from hard-working Americans.”

The uproar crippled BPI sales. Efforts to turn the tide have proven ineffective.

The company blames the loss in sales which led to the decision to close plants on unfounded attacks on a product that has been used as a filler for years. BPI produces the product by heating bits of beef and treating them with small amounts of ammonia to kill bacteria. It meets federal food safety standards.

Critics used social media to spread concern about the product, calling it “pink slime”. The label became a byword among agricultural groups which worked hard to overcome the tag and assure the public the product was safe. Nothing seemed to work. An online petition seeking to end its use in schools attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters.

Smith isn’t as critical of how the USDA reacted to the controversy as some, though he says he would have liked to have seen a more aggressive response by the Department of Agriculture.

Smith says it has yet to be seen what effect, ultimately, the controversy will have on BPI.

“It could very well cause some permanent damage. I mean, time will tell,” Smith says. “I do have hope, though, that consumers will say, hey, we want the affordable, safe alternatives that technologically are available. Let’s continue to engage in the marketplace and create a demand that will bring back some of these plants.”

BPI plans to close the plants on May 25th.

AUDIO: Brent Martin interviews Congressman Adrian Smith on BPI plant closings. [3:33]

Cong. Adrian Smith

The House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill will look much different, according to Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith.

During a recent public meeting near Crofton, Smith says farmers told him the Senate version would cover shallow losses under crop insurance, but they want the House to include catastrophic coverage.

Smith says that will only happen with the current budget problems if farmers pay higher premiums.

“I hear from producers across the 3rd District of Nebraska who want to go more toward that deep, deep loss,” Smith says. “That’s a principal of risk management in general where you really buy insurance for the more catastrophic events rather than some of the other dips that can take place.”

Farmers told Smith they support the Senate eliminating direct payments and target prices, however that was heavily criticized by House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas. Smith says those programs will be tough to defend.

“I don’t think he will succeed in restoring direct payments,” Smith says. “Practically every meeting I’ve had, which is several across rural Nebraska in the 3rd District, they tell me that direct payments are unnecessary, in fact sometimes are even counterproductive. I don’t see that part of farm policy coming back.”

Smith says while both chambers would like to pass a Farm Bill by fall, a short-term extension is possible until after the November election.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton