Michael Moss, “E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection,” The New York Times, October 4, 2009
One hundred three years after Upton Sinclair published his meatpacking industry exposé, The New York Times has published an article explaining how current food safety standards may be responsible for the 16 E. coli-tainted beef outbreaks that have occurred over the past three years. Revealing how failure to test all the scraps and trimmings and “mash-like product” in hamburger patties in 2007 purportedly led to a 22-year-old dance instructor’s illness and subsequent paralysis, the article “shows why eating ground beef is still a gamble.” Apparently, no federal rules require grinders to test their ingredients for the pathogen, and processors sample assembled products rather than individual shipments from slaughterhouses, making it difficult to trace the source of contamination.
Parts of the article were reportedly read on the floor of House, and its revelations prompted a response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the company that made the beef patties the dance instructor consumed. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement calling the story “unacceptable and tragic.” Vilsack said the agency has (i) launched “stepped-up meat facility inspections involving greater use of sampling,” (ii) “[i]ssued draft guidelines for industry to further reduce the risk” of contamination, and (iii) “[s]tarted testing additional components of ground beef, including bench trim.” Vilsack also said the agency is “looking at ways to enhance traceback methods and will initiate a rulemaking in the near future to require all grinders, including establishments and retail stores, to keep accurate records of the sources of each lot of ground beef.” He has reportedly called for mandatory food recall authority.
Meanwhile, a 2007 tainted-beef recall involving Topps Meat Co. has reportedly led to litigation filed September 24, 2009, in a District of Columbia federal court. The putative class claimants have limited their damages claims to the extent of available insurance proceeds, but they seek to recover what they paid for the product, $75,000 for each plaintiff for pain and suffering, attorney’s fees, and costs. The Topps Meat outbreak resulted in the recall of 21 million pounds of frozen ground beef products and purportedly sickened 29 people.
In a related development, giant retailer Costco, said to be one of the few meat processors that tests ingredients for E. coli when they arrive at its facility, has reportedly entered an agreement with a major beef producer that allows Costco, before mixing, to test the trimmings that the producer supplies. According to a news source, the supplier had previously refused to sell to Costco, citing its ingredient testing program. See USDA Statement, October 5, 2009; Mealey’s Food Liability, October 6, 2009; and The New York Times, October 8, 2009.
