(AP) - New Jersey schools won't be serving beef with so-called "pink slime" in the next academic year.

The state Agriculture Department has notified school districts it will only buy beef without the ammonia-treated filler.

Federal regulators say the product, which has been used for years and is known in the industry as "lean, finely textured beef," meets food safety standards. But critics call the product an unappetizing example of industrialized food production.

State agriculture spokeswoman Lynne Richmond tells The Record newspaper the decision to stop using it followed a federal recommendation.

Schools can cancel beef ordered for the remainder of the year. However, they will not receive subsides attached to those orders.