More Nebraska Beef recalled despite assurances

More Nebraska Beef recalled despite assurances
By TIMBERLY ROSS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 9, 5:47 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. - Federal authorities last month assured consumers that a meat plant linked to nearly 50 illnesses caused by tainted ground beef had made enough changes after a recall to ensure that its products were safe. Less than a month later, the same processor has recalled 1.2 million pounds of other beef products that might have sickened more than 30 people.

The changes made after the first recall of meat processed by Nebraska Beef Ltd. affected only ground beef, Laura Reiser, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Saturday.

Nebraska Beef on Friday recalled 1.2 million pounds of primal cuts, subprimal cuts and boxed beef that were made on June 17, June 24 and July 8. The products have been linked to illnesses in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illlinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

As in the earlier recall, all the beef being recalled now was sold to retailers and other companies that planned to further process the meat. So product labels probably will not include the "EST 19336" code that identified Nebraska Beef.

A call to Nebraska Beef went unanswered Saturday.

Reiser said she wasn't sure at the time of the first recall whether the USDA investigation had spread beyond the area of the Omaha plant that produces ground beef, which has been linked to at least 49 cases of E. coli in seven states.

But she said information compiled in the weeks after the June 30 recall showed another strain of the potentially deadly E. coli bacterium in other beef products.

"We were focused on the products that were going out for grinding," she said Saturday. "We were focusing on the product that we tied to the (initial) illnesses."

Some of Nebraska Beef's products were sold by Whole Foods Market, which also announced a recall Friday. Whole Foods is recalling fresh ground beef sold June 2 to Aug. 6 because of worries about E. coli contamination.

A Whole Foods spokeswoman said it had received reports that seven people in Massachusetts and two people in Pennsylvania who shopped at Whole Foods became ill.

USDA spokeswoman Amanda Eamich said July 10 that federal officials were satisfied that Nebraska Beef had made enough changes to ensure product safety. Eamich said then that the plant would receive additional scrutiny in July, August and September to make sure the changes were made. She refused to discuss the details of the changes Nebraska Beef had made.

The company's July recall covered all beef trimmings and other products intended for use in ground beef that were produced between May 16 and June 26.

Several lawsuits have already been filed against privately held Nebraska Beef as a result of the earlier E. coli outbreak and recall. The company slaughters about 2,000 head of cattle a day and employs about 800 people in Omaha.

Cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees should kill E. coli bacteria, if they are present. The USDA recommends that people use a meat thermometer to verify they have cooked meat thoroughly.

The CDC estimates that the E. coli 0157:H7 variant sickens about 73,000 people and kills 61 each year in the United States. Most of those who die have weak immune systems, such as the elderly or very young.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include stomach cramps and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080809/...xY0xRyUfKs0NUE

Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed to this report.

On the Net:

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service: http://www.fsis.usda.gov

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://cdc.gov/ecoli

Boy,official assurances sure make me feel better.All mushy ang secure!
This is scary,scary stuff!:gaah

Nebraska Beef Ltd. recall expands to 1.4 MILLION pounds
By JOSH FUNK, AP Business Writer
Thu Aug 14, 2:54 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. - A review of Nebraska Beef Ltd.'s records prompted Thursday's recall expansion because USDA investigators determined the company's practices couldn't effectively control E. coli bacteria on June 24.

About 1.36 million pounds of beef is now included in the recall that began Aug. 8 after the company's meat was linked to an E. coli outbreak in 10 states and Canada.

The initial announcement recalled 1.2 million pounds of primal cuts, subprimal cuts and boxed beef that were made on June 17, June 24 and July 8.

Nebraska Beef's intact meat products have been linked to 27 illnesses in Canada, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Laura Reiser said investigators decided that 160,000 pounds of meat should be added to the recall after examining the June 24 records for the Omaha plant.

Most of the meat produced that day was included in the Aug. 8 recall announcement, but the company initially omitted some meat produced later in the day after it switched to a different product.

Reiser said the company did not thoroughly clean its equipment between products on June 24, so there was no way to ensure the meat produced later in the day was safe.

Reiser said that Nebraska Beef is still producing beef while the recall progresses. And USDA officials continue to investigate as part of an effort to determine the extent of the problems at the plant.

Nebraska Beef's spokesman did not immediately respond to a phone message left Thursday morning.

The large cuts of beef covered by this latest recall — primal cuts, subprimal cuts and boxed beef — are typically used for steaks and roasts, but at least some of those cuts from Nebraska Beef were used for ground beef.

Last month, Nebraska Beef recalled 5.3 million pounds of meat and federal officials said they were satisfied the company was operating safely. The meat involved in that first recall has been linked to at least 49 cases of E. coli, but that was a different strain of E. coli 0157:H7 than the one tied to the current recall.

The company's July recall covered all beef trimmings and other products intended for use in ground beef that were produced between May 16 and June 26.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a July statement that it concluded Nebraska Beef's production practices were insufficient to effectively control E. coli bacteria between May 16 and June 26.

Reiser said those July comments about the plants failure to control E. coli referred specifically to Nebraska Beef's ground beef production, not its production of intact cuts of meat.

Most of the recalled meat was sold to companies that planned to further process the meat, so it may be difficult for consumers to determine whether they have any of the recalled meat without checking with their retailers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week's recall notice should have said some of the meat was shipped in containers with Nebraska Beef's establishment number "EST. 19336" and the company name. Reiser said those packages of meat were included in the 1.2 million pounds Nebraska Beef recalled from its customers even though the agency omitted them from its news release.

Privately held Nebraska Beef already faced several lawsuits related to the earlier E. coli outbreak and recall. The company slaughters about 2,000 head of cattle a day and employs about 800 people in Omaha.

The USDA said in its release Thursday that it wanted to be sure consumers understand that this recall covers only products made by the company Nebraska Beef Ltd. and not all beef produced in the state of Nebraska.

Cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees should kill E. coli bacteria, if they are present. The USDA recommends that people use meat thermometers to verify they have cooked meat thoroughly.

The CDC estimates that the E. coli 0157:H7 variant sickens about 73,000 people and kills 61 each year in the United States. Most of those who die have weak immune systems, such as the elderly or very young.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include stomach cramps and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days.

On the Net:

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: http://www.fsis.usda.gov

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://cdc.gov/ecoli


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080814/...Sw0CHBjyJa24cA
[b]See also http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-inf...ef-recall.html July 2, 2008