June 30, 2009
USDA raises JBS Swift beef recall after illnesses suspected
What was a 41,280-pound beef recall last week by packing giant JBS Swift & Co. has turned into a much larger effort by the company to get back 421,280 after E. coli bacteria illnesses in several states have been "associated" with the meat, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The USDA, working with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, is investigating "24 illnesses in multiple states, of which at least 18 appear to be associated," the USDA said in a statement released Sunday.
"This investigation prompted (JBS Swift & Co.) to re-examine the effectiveness of their food safety system for the April 21 production of beef...and they are conducting this recall out of an abundance of caution as the safety of the products produced on a portion of that day could not be assured," the USDA said.
The suspect beef was shipped from the company's Greeley, Colo., plant to domestic and foreign destinations, the USDA said.
"E. coli O157:H7 H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure," according to the USDA.
