Videotaped deposition testimony continued in Elk Point, South Dakota Thursday in the ongoing $1.9 billion dollar defamation lawsuit filed by Beef Products Incorporated against ABC Broadcasting.
For the second consecutive day, jurors heard taped testimony from Kevin Butler, the Vice President of Ground Beef Sales for American Foods Group.
That company sold ground beef containing BPI’s lean finely textured beef to several major grocery chains.
Butler testified to BPI’s attorney that major food chains like Kroger’s and Wal-Mart started dropping the product after ABC News ran their reports referring to LFTB as “pink slime”.
He says that led to several million dollars in losses for American Foods Group in the following months and years:
OC……..20 plus million dollars. :17
Butler testified that he was surprised by the tone of ABC’s news reports on LFTB:
OC……..should be as such. ;25
Butler went on to say he believes the grocery stores would still be carrying LFTB if it wasn’t for the negative media coverage of the product.
The trial is in its third week in Union County District Court.
