DES MOINES ? Gov. Terry Branstad says he wants a congressional inquiry into what prompted complaints about a meat product that some call “pink slime” and the industry refers to as lean, finely textured beef.

A public uproar about the product prompted the company Beef Products Inc. to suspend operations at plants in Waterloo, Amarillo, Texas, and Garden City, Kan.

Speaking Monday at his weekly news conference, Branstad says he’s suggested an inquiry to U.S. Reps. Steve King and Leonard Boswell, and has raised the issue with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

A federal microbiologist apparently was the first to use the term “pink slime” several years ago. It wasn’t until recently that the issue gain prominence after mainstream media picked up on an issue that has been long discussed in social media outlets.