The additive may be part of as many as 20 billion meals each year, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota-based Beef Products says on its Web site. The product represents about 3 percent of U.S. beef supply, according to BMO Capital Markets.
The debate surrounding LFTB isn't new. McDonald's Corp., the world's largest fast food chain, and Burger King Holdings Inc. stopped serving burgers with the additive in 2011. Critics such as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver say the lean meat is unappetizing because it's made of inferior cuts and is chemically treated.
Scrutiny intensified in the last month after an online petition was started to have the product banned from the federal school lunch program. A March 7 ABC News television report questioned its use. Beef Products temporarily closed three plants and ground-beef maker AFA Foods sought bankruptcy court protection, citing media coverage.
'Critical' Period
The USDA agreed last month to allow schools to choose the beef served in cafeterias following public pressure. The issue of LFTB reached "fever pitch," Cargill said March 15.
U.S. beef-processor margins are likely to stay negative at least through September because the industry's problems have been "magnified" by the decline in the use of the lean meat, said Glynn Tonsor, assistant professor in the department of agricultural economics at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
Lower LFTB use will increase costs as processors switch to more expensive cuts for ground beef, he said. U.S. beef supply is expected to drop 4.4 percent in 2012, the USDA said April 10.
Cargill is now hand-trimming meat that previously would have been mechanically processed to produce LFTB. Hand-trimming is less efficient because it captures less lean beef, Martin said.
July 4
The weeks after Easter Sunday are "critical" for Tyson and its competitors as the U.S. grilling season -- loosely defined as the period between Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September -- approaches, Stephens's Aslam said.