November 28, 2003

US Beef Company Excel Corp Recall 26,600 lbs Incorrectly Labelled Beef
 

Excel Corp., the second largest beef company in the United States, voluntarily recalled 26,600 pounds of fresh ground beef that was incorrectly labelled as irradiated food, the USDA said on Wednesday.

USDA added that the recalled products were produced between September 2 and November 20 and distributed to retail stores in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Excel, a unit of privately held Cargill Inc., discovered the problem.

So far, USDA said no reports of illnesses associated with the product was identified. Irradiation exposes food to ionizing radiation that kills insects, molds and deadly bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.