Tim Carman

Of all the media outlets that have taken shots at Beef Products and its "lean, finely textured beef," the South Dakota-based company apparently feels slimed by only one: ABC and its ABC News division.

The largest U.S. producer of "pink slime" - once widely found in fast-food burgers, supermarkets and the federal school lunch program - filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against the network, claiming it went on a campaign that cost Beef Products $400 million. Anchor Diane Sawyer and reporters Jim Avila and David Kerley are also named as defendants.