http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-recall_sep30,1,2885122.storyRecall of meat tops 21 million pounds
New York Times News Service
September 30, 2007
NEW YORK - A meat company on Saturday issued a nationwide recall for 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products after reports of up to 25 cases of illness caused by suspected E. coli bacteria in eight states, federal officials reported.
The recall, by the Topps Meat Co. of Elizabeth, N.J., covers a wide range of frozen hamburger patties and other products manufactured over the last year and bearing a "sell by" date or "best used by" date between last Tuesday and Sept. 25, 2008, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture designation EST 9748.
The voluntary recall, an expanded version of one issued Tuesday for nearly 332,000 pounds of Topps beef, was the first in the 67-year history of Topps, one of the nation's largest meat processing concerns.
According to food safety experts, food recalls related to ground beef and E. coli bacteria have reached levels not seen in several years, raising concerns that meat production standards have slipped.
E. coli is a food-borne bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. It usually clears up within a week in adults, but can be deadly in infants, older people and those with compromised immune systems.
Geoffrey Livermore, Topps' vice president of operations, said the recalled products were distributed to retail grocers and food service institutions throughout the United States over the past year. Based on consumption patterns, he said, the company believes most of the products have already been consumed, but he urged people to check their freezers and dispose of any meat covered by the recall.
Previously, notably large recalls of ground beef because of E. coli fears occurred in 1997 -- when Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds of beef -- and 2002, when ConAgra Foods had to recall 19 million pounds of ground beef.
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