Expansion of Beef Recall Sparks Fears

Heightening concerns about the nation’s food supply, a recall of ground beef suspected of containing harmful E. coli bacteria was dramatically broadened Friday to more than 1.2 million pounds, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.

The agency said some of the possibly tainted product had been distributed nationwide to retail grocery and wholesale stores. Those included outlets in Safeway Inc.’s Denver division and Sam’s Club warehouse stores, including those in Southern California. The Sam’s Club meat was caught before it had been shipped from the chain’s central warehouse.

Hudson Foods Inc., a big beef and poultry company in Rogers, Ark., expanded the recall of its frozen beef patties for the second consecutive day and in the process raised concerns of top federal agriculture officials that the company had held back vital information about the scope of the problem.

On Thursday, the company had doubled the amount initially recalled, to 40,000 pounds, or about 160,000 burgers.

Coming atop a rash of reports of food contaminations, the recall, the largest of its kind in U.S. history for ground beef products, underscores the hazards that exist in even a modern food system. Food safety experts said the recall spotlights the fine line they must walk between creating alarm and raising awareness.

“From a public health perspective, I’m concerned that this particular recall gives a false sense of security,” said Michael Osterholm, state epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health and a noted authority in the field.

Much of the ground beef probably has already been eaten, officials said. The USDA is assuming that the hamburgers were distributed to all 50 states.

Hudson Foods spokesman John White did not return calls seeking comment.

The stepped-up recall followed the disclosure Thursday that alfalfa sprouts tainted with E. coli O157:H7, a virulent, potentially deadly strain of bacteria, had sickened at least 70 people in Michigan and Virginia. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said it was the first time alfalfa sprouts had been blamed for such an outbreak. In recent months, reports have surfaced of E. coli contamination in products from fresh unpasteurized apple juice to lettuce to basil.

E. coli causes severe, bloody diarrhea and stomach cramps. The infection usually lasts about a week, but it can be fatal, especially to children and the elderly. In a few cases, victims suffer serious, long-term kidney problems. Between 10,000 and 20,000 cases of E. coli infections are reported annually in the United States. The bacteria survive freezing but are killed by cooking at appropriately high temperatures.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said he is asking the office of the USDA’s inspector general to review the reporting procedures at Hudson’s Columbus, Neb., plant, where the suspect patties originated. Cathy Woteki, undersecretary for food safety, said the agency “will pursue the appropriate corrective action.”

Meat has long been implicated as a source of contamination because the E. coli bacteria live in the intestines of cattle. In January 1993, an outbreak of E. coli poisoning traced to undercooked burgers from Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants resulted in three deaths and hundreds of illnesses, mostly in Washington state.

“The message is . . . we want consumers to believe that every pound of ground beef has E. coli and treat it accordingly,” Osterholm said. Eating rare hamburgers, he said, “is like driving without a seat belt at 90 mph and going through red lights.”

Advocacy groups said the hamburger recall serves to remind consumers that food safety cannot be taken for granted.

“It demonstrates the need for the tightest controls over both domestic and imported foods,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy organization in Washington. “At long last, the government is beginning to require better safety rules at meat and poultry plants. This kind of an episode should add urgency.”

Sara Lilygren, spokeswoman for the American Meat Institute, said consumers should keep the recall in perspective. “A product recall is a sign that the system is working,” she said.

The initial Hudson recall began after health officials in Colorado traced the illnesses of 16 people ages 3 to 76 to hamburger patties they ate in early July. All of those people have recovered, said Cindy Parmenter, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Before the expanded recall, Hudson spokesman White told the Columbus (Neb.) Telegram that the contamination appeared to have come from a specific load of beef trimmings.

“We have a lot of technology to detect it at that plant, but it’s still a tough thing to do,” White told the newspaper.

Hudson also is a major supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which owns Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart stores, Burger King and Boston Chicken Inc., owner of the Boston Market restaurant chain. The restaurant chains said they routinely test such products for contamination and found none in the Hudson items. They added that they cook beef thoroughly at 155 degrees or above, a standard deemed safe by the government.

The USDA urged food shoppers who have purchased frozen ground beef patties since June 4 to check their freezers to see whether they still have any suspect product.

The government recall covers Hudson frozen-beef patties produced on June 4, 5 and 9. Officials have not yet identified every batch of hamburger that could be contaminated, but consumers should check specifically at least for these codes:

* All 48-ounce packages of “Hudson Beef Burgers, Individually Quick Frozen” that contain 12 quarter-pound patties. The code 156A7 is on the bottom of the package.

* All 3-pound packages of “Hudson 100% Pure Beef Patties, Individually Quick Frozen” that contain 12 quarter-pound patties. The code 156B7 is on the bottom.

* All 15-pound boxes of “Hudson 60-- 1/4-lb. Beef Patties, Uncooked Individually Quick Frozen” containing 60 quarter-pound patties. The codes 155B7, 155A7, 160A7 and 160B7 would appear on the bottom.

All three products contain the code “Est. 13569” in the USDA inspection seal on the label.

Times wire services contributed to this story.