 A December 2009 investigative piece published by The New York Times questioned the safety of the meat treated by this process , pointing to occasions in which process adjustments were not effective . This article included the first public use of the term " pink slime " as a pejorative . In January 2010 , The New York Times published an editorial reiterating the concerns posed in the news article while noting that no meat produced by BPI had been linked to any illnesses or outbreaks . 
