DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota beef company says it

plans to close processing plants in three states because of the

controversy surrounding a product that critics have dubbed "pink

slime."

Beef Products Inc. spokesman Rich Jochum said Monday that 650

jobs will be lost when it closes its plants in Amarillo, Texas;

Garden City, Kansas; and Waterloo Iowa. The closures will be

effective May 25.

A plant in South Sioux City, Neb., will remain open.

The company blames what it calls unfounded attacks over a

product that it calls "lean, finely textured beef." In the

process, bits of beef are heated and treated with a small amount of

ammonia.

Beef Products is based in Dakota Dunes, S.D.