According to the New Jersey Department of Law and Safety, a total of 138 boxes of frozen hamburger and beef products recalled by the Topps Meat Company because of potential E.coli contamination have been found on the shelves in seven stores in Hudson County.

Investigators from the Division of Consumers Affairs and inspectors from the Hudson County and municipal health departments jointly visited 197 retail stores since last Wednesday. Hudson County has been the focus since recalled products were found on the shelves of a Union City store.

"We remain concerned and vigilant because these items continue to be available for purchase and consumption despite the voluntary recall notice issued in September," Attorney General Milgram said. "This continues to be a public health issue. Both retailers and consumers should check their freezers for these recalled products."

The seven stores where the Topps-branded products were found are as follows:

Bargain World (aka Stop 1 Food Mart)
715 New York Avenue, Union City

Lucky Food Center (aka Boca Chica Mini Market)
6501 Park Avenue, West New York

Wayne Gusto Meat Market
190 Ocean Avenue, Jersey City

Super Good Luck Grocery
91 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City

8 New Brothers Super World
61 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City

La Mia Grocery
503A Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City

BergenLine Supermarket
8107 Bergenline Avenue, North Bergen

"With the assistance of Hudson County and municipal health officials, our investigators are continuing to check stores," Acting Director DeMarzo said. "We’re also working to identify other areas where these recalled products were distributed."

Greater New York Frozen Food Company has provided the names and locations of retailers who purchased products on the recall list from them after the company was served with a subpoena last week.

The recalled products were produced by Topps with a "sell by date" or "best if used by date" that falls between September 25, 2007 and September 25, 2008. This information may be found on the back panel of the package. All recalled products will have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is located on the back panel of the package and/or in the USDA legend.

PritzkerOlsen has provided a complete list of recalled Topps hamburgers. Please check your freezer for any recalled hamburgers. If you have recalled hamburgers, DO NOT EAT THEM. If someone has eaten recalled hamburgers, do not throw away those remaining in the box. Label them “Do not eat” and wait for 10 days from the time any hamburgers were consumed. If no one gets sick, they can be thrown away or returned. If someone gets sick, get medical attention immediately. If someone is diagnosed with E. coli, contact PritzkerOlsen. Both the stools of the sickened person and the frozen hamburgers will need to be tested.

Labels: hamburgers, New Jersey, topps

For the second time in less than 30 days, Cargill has recalled ground beef due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The recall on October 6 involved 845,000 pounds of ground beef hamburger patties; today's recall involves over 1 million pounds of ground beef.

States impacted by the recall are: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Residents of these states should look in their freezers for ground beef products that are on the list of recalled Cargill ground beef products.

The ground beef products involved in today's recall were produced between October 8 and 11, 2007, at the company's plant in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. Cargill learned of the possibility of contamination after the USDA returned a confirmed positive on a sample of product produced Oct. 8, 2007. Today is November 3, 26 days after that contaminated sample was produced. This ground beef should have been recalled the day there was any evidence of possible contamination. If that date was before the ground beef was distributed, it should never have been distributed.

In addition to Cargill, other manufacturers of ground beef products and other products (Jeno's and Totino's pizza) have also dragged their feet regarding product recalls. The federal government needs to take action to 1) prevent contaminated ground beef from entering the food supply system and 2) immediately recall ground beef when there is any evidence of contamination. This will require legislation giving the USDA the authority to establish mandatory sanitation and processing guidelines for slaughter houses and meat processors and the authority to recall potentially-contaminated meat. We have contacted federal legislators regarding this and will continue to work for the elimination of E. coli in our country's food supply.

PritzkerOlsen represents victims of E. coli outbreaks and the families of victims who have died. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form.

Labels: Cargill lawsuit

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced the voluntary recall of more than 140 million pounds of raw and frozen beef from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. of Chino, California. The recall comes as a response to allegations of Westland inhumanely treating cattle and failing to have cattle inspected thoroughly and correctly.

The allegations stem from over two years of Westland failing to have FSIS public health veterinarians inspect cattle that became non-ambulatory after ante-mortem inspection. This is in direct conflict with the FSIS rule of “Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle” which was issued in July 2007.

According to the FSIS recall statement:

Some of the Westland Meat Co. branded products were purchased for Federal food and nutrition programs and, since Jan. 30, 2008, USDA has had an administrative hold on all products from Westland Meat Co. in all of these outlets including, in the National School Lunch Program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Food Assistance Program on Indian Reservations. Based on this Class II recall, officials of the Food and Nutrition Service and Agricultural Marketing Service will work closely with State food and nutrition officials to minimize any disruptions caused by the removal and disposal of recalled Westland Meat Co. products.

Westland shut down operations on February 1 and FSIS issued a Notice of Suspension three days later after investigating the plant after receiving allegations of violations. The practices at Westland directly violated the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.

According to a Q&A release from the FSIS:

The Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company must first respond to the Notice of Suspension and submit a corrective action plan to address its failure to properly implement the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and FSIS regulations. FSIS must first verify that the plan they submit fully and completely addresses the findings in the Notice of Suspension to ensure the humane handling and slaughter of animals at the facility.

FSIS is continuing to investigate the plant and the company has yet to take any actions to prevent future violations. The USDA has also expressed intent to reimburse state governments for Westland products received from federal food programs. The USDA is also ending contractual agreements with Westland and will be looking to replace all products that are removed from the food supply. Any of the recalled Westland products must be destroyed according to government guidelines.

Concern over the recalled beef products centers around risks of spreading Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) into the nation’s food supply. However, according to FSIS, the risk of BSE in the Westland meat is:

Negligible. The federal government has an interlocking system of controls to protect the food supply and to prevent animals with signs of central nervous system disorders from entering the food chain. All cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company passed ante-mortem inspection before slaughter.

FSIS also maintains that the health risk is negligible to children who may have consumed Westland products through the School Lunch Program. Westland products were also distributed to African nations such as the Ivory Coast and Angola. The USDA does not believe international trade will be affected due to strict standards that are more thorough than those advised by the World Organization for Animal Health.

A list of specific products being recalled can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Recall_005-2008_Release.pdf

Contact information about which schools received Westland products can be found at:
http://www.usda.gov/actions

Labels: food safety