The nation's schools districts are turning up their noses at "pink slime," the beef product that caused a public uproar this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the majority of states participating in its National School Lunch Program have opted to order ground beef that doesn't contain the product known as lean finely textured beef.

Only three states -- Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota -- chose to order beef that may contain filler.

The product has been used for decades and federal regulators say it's safe. But it became the center of attention after the nickname "pink slime" was quoted in a New York Times article on the safety of meat processing. It's made of fatty bits of beef that are heated and treated with ammonia to kill bacteria.