Company Recalls 19 Million Pounds of Beef  

JESSE J HOLLAND / AP 20jul02

17 in Colorado sick from E. coli

Cattle in holding pens outside ConAgra Beef Co. in 
Greeley, Colo., in 2000. The company has 
recalled 19 million pounds of beef. 
(AP File Photo)

WASHINGTON - In the second largest meat recall in US history, a Colorado company asked Americans nationwide yesterday to check their refrigerators, stores, and backyard grills and destroy 19 million pounds of hamburger meat because of E. coli concerns.

Seventeen people in Colorado already have become sick after eating beef provided by ConAgra Beef Co. of Greeley, Colo. At least six other cases of E. coli-caused illnesses have been reported in California, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming, but none of those cases have been linked yet to the ConAgra beef.

mindfully.org note: the cattle industry, as well as the rest of the US food industry has been pushing for irradiation as the solution to E. coli. It would be much more efficient and safer if they would stop focusing on symptoms (E. coli) and concentrate on the problems, which are overcrowded and inhuman conditions for both animals and workers, as well as nonunion labor that isn't trained properly in order to save expenses. Notice the gross overcrowding in this photo above. It is an excellent breeding ground for disease. More information on Irradiation

Company officials and the US Department of Agriculture warned hamburger-loving Americans to be on the lookout for the affected meat, which has been on the market since April and could have been sold under several brand names.

Late last month, ConAgra recalled 354,000 pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef products because of E. coli concerns, and insisted only that batch had been linked definitely to the bacterium.

But ConAgra spokesman Jim Herlihy said yesterday that the company wanted to err on the side of caution.

''We want to be absolutely certain there's no opportunity that this product could be affected,'' Herlihy said. ''We have no specific reason to believe it is; we're just taking extra precaution, so consumers don't have any concerns about the product they buy.''

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman added, ''This action is being taken as a cautionary measure to ensure the protection of public health.''

Herlihy said ConAgra could not say exactly what brand names the meat has been sold under. ''So many of our customers are wholesalers who distribute to customers of their own,'' he said. ''We don't control that customer list.''

Americans ate 69.5 pounds of beef per person in 2000, reflecting steady but modest increases since 1993, when consumption fell to 65.1 pounds, officials said.

The Agriculture Department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that 16 people have been diagnosed with E. coli from the tainted meat in Colorado. The Colorado Health Department said a 17th person also became ill from ConAgra meat.

When asked if the department will cite the company for violations, Veneman said a government investigation at the plant is continuing.

No E. coli has been found at the Greeley plant since July 11, said Elsa Murano, the undersecretary for food safety.

ConAgra's recall is of beef trim, which is used to make ground beef, as well as fresh and frozen ground beef products that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, a form of the widely found bacteria that can lead to digestive illnesses and potentially death in humans.

Consumers should cook their ground beef to 160 degrees in the center to kill the pathogen, health officials say.

Several groups blamed the Agriculture Department's testing program for the massive recall.

''The current testing program isn't adequate to prevent these major problems,'' said Josee Baoust, spokeswoman for the American Meat Institute. ''This recall really shows a systematic breakdown where neither USDA or the plant recognized a problem for three months.''

ConAgra Expands Its Recall Of Beef to 18 Million Pounds

AP 19jul02

WASHINGTON -- ConAgra Foods Inc. will recall more than 18 million pounds of beef in 21 states after hamburger meat was linked to E. coli bacteria illnesses among 19 people, health regulators said Friday.

ConAgra Beef, based in Greeley, Colo., first issued a recall last month of only 354,200 pounds of ground beef. That recall came nearly a month after a positive E. coli test at a Denver packing house raised signs of trouble.

On Friday, the recall was expanded massively after E. coli bacteria associated with the beef sickened at least 19 people in Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming, the Agriculture Department said. Officials at the company said ConAgra is cooperating with the health regulators.

E. coli 0157:H7 is found in the intestinal tracts and feces of livestock. If the bacteria contaminates meat, it can lead to digestive illnesses and potentially death in humans. Health officials have been urging consumers to cook their ground beef to 160 degrees in the center to completely kill the pathogen.

In 1997, Hudson Foods, now part of Tyson Foods Inc., issued the biggest recall ever, for an estimated 25 million pounds of meat, after an outbreak of the deadly bacteria was traced to hamburger produced in Nebraska.

Agriculture officials Friday said there have been at least 17 confirmed cases of illness in Colorado, one in Wyoming and one in South Dakota. No one is currently hospitalized, although some people have been admitted and released, they said. Testing is under way in other states as public health officials try to establish the scope of the outbreak.

The voluntary recall is of beef trim that is used to make ground beef, as well as fresh and frozen ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, health officials said.

The ConAgra beef recall last month involved cases shipped to Colorado, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, New Mexico, Kansas, Michigan, Texas, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, New York, California, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, New Jersey, Minnesota, Arizona and Idaho. The Agriculture Department hasn't released a list of states involved in the updated recall.