NEW YORK — Cargill Inc. says it will start labeling beef products that contain finely textured beef after the ingredient came under attack as “pink slime” last year.

The Minneapolis-based meat company says the new packages will appear before next year’s grilling season and is in response to consumer demand. It says packages will note when a product “Contains Finely Textured Beef.”

Finely textured beef is made by separating the bits of meat that are stuck on fatty trimmings. Those bits are treated to kill bacteria; the resulting product is mixed with ground beef. The filler had been used for decades in the United States but started to gain negative attention after a New York Times article in 2009, in which a federal microbiologist referred to it as “pink slime.”

Cargill, which supplies restaurants and packaged food companies, said its branded beef products sold in retail outlets such as supermarkets accounts for less than 10 percent of its ground beef business.

The company also supplies meat to supermarkets, which then package the meat themselves. In those cases, it would be up to the retailer to label whether the products contain finely textured beef. Cargill said it would encourage retailers to do so.

Federal regulators have said the ingredient meets standards for food safety.