February 16, 2010

US meat recall expands to 4.9 million pounds of beef and veal products

A ground beef recall first issued by a California meat company last month, has been expanded to include five times more meat at around 4.9 million pounds of beef and veal products.

This is after federal investigators determined that the recalled beef and veal products were produced in unsanitary conditions that could have caused E. coli contamination.

The expansion of the Huntington Meat Packing Inc. veal, beef products and ground beef recall was announced on February 12 by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The original recall was announced on January 18 for 864,000 pounds of beef products after FSIS inspectors determined that some of the meat was contaminated with the E. coli O157:H7 bacterial strain.

A criminal investigation has been opened by the Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of FSIS, into Huntington Meat Packing's practices after it was found that the company did not follow its own health and safety plans and failed to keep reliable records about its activities.

Although no cases of food poisoning have been reported in connection with the recall, the FSIS says that all of the company's meat should be considered suspect.

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the more common causes of food poisoning in the US. When left untreated, it can lead to dehydration and potentially life-threatening illness.