Meat products

Product removed from store shelves; customers asked to return or destroy

October 5, 2007 -- State health and agriculture officials are investigating four cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in Minnesota residents associated with eating ground beef patties purchased from Sam’s Club stores in August and September.    » read more »

October 1, 2007 -- Twenty-five E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in eight states and the recall of 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products are powerful reminders that the federal meat and poultry inspection system must be strengthened and not dismantled in favor of state by state regulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently overseeing the massive nationwide recall.    » read more »

September 26, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2007 - Topps Meat Company, LLC, an Elizabeth, NJ, establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 331,582 pounds of frozen ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall should contact company Vice President of Finance and Administration Jeffrey Rohach at (908) 351-0500 ext. 50.

CLASS I RECALL

HEALTH RISK: HIGH    » read more »

Man used fraudulent cashier’s checks to order $271,000 fresh meat, shrimp

September 25, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Miami man who was accused of defrauding businesses out of more than $271,000 has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of organized fraud. David Subil, 36, was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.    » read more »

August 29, 2007 -- (Ayr, NE) Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach announced the official designation of Adams County as a Livestock Friendly County in Nebraska. The declaration is determined under a state program coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA).

Adams County joins Webster County, Morrill, Hitchcock, Keith Dawes and Wayne Counties in being certified as Livestock Friendly. The announcement was made at the Paul and Patty Berger Feedlot, located south of Hastings.    » read more »

Cases of human brain-wasting disease often confused and misreported as BSE, more commonly referred to as Mad Cow Disease

August 21, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials report today there are no confirmed or suspected cases of a type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Illinois, commonly referred to as human mad cow disease. CJD is a rare, fatal brain disorder that causes mental deterioration and a variety of neurological symptoms, which usually leads to death within a year of onset.    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- For the first time since the confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain earlier this month, the government has decided to ease restrictions on livestock shipments in areas outside of the affected zone in southern England.    » read more »

System Established to Trace Animal Origins in the Case of Disease Outbreak Could Fail if Problems Are Not Addressed

August 2, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and released today found weaknesses in USDA’s plan to implement a national animal identification system.    » read more »

05 August 2007 -- The specific strain of Britain's new foot-and-mouth outbreak has been identified and it looks like it may have originated from a nearby animal disease research facility. Investigators are examining the possibility of a costly breach of bio-security.

The isolated strain, 01BFS67, came from the 1967 outbreak in Britain. That unique version of the virus is used at a British government research lab and at the U.S.-French owned pharmaceutical company Merial, which is also on the same site as the lab about six kilometers from the outbreak farm.    » read more »

August 1, 2007 -- TRENTON -- A Superior Court judge ruled today that an Essex County, New Jersey meat plant ordered closed two months ago for repeatedly fouling the air and violating numerous New Jersey environmental laws cannot resume operating without approval from the state, Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today.    » read more »

Japan Market Expansion Talks Set

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 – Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that the government of South Korea has lifted the suspension of six U.S. meat plants.

"We are pleased that Korea will allow the resumption of shipments from these plants," said Johanns. "USDA has taken action to ensure compliance with Korean import requirements here in the United States and Korea recognized these efforts. Despite some start-up problems, beef exports to Korea are rapidly increasing."    » read more »

June 8, 2007 -- TRENTON -- Acting on a motion by the state, a New Jersey Superior Court judge has ordered the shutdown of an Essex County meat plant for failing to make court-ordered facility improvements and operational changes required to bring the plant into compliance with state environmental laws, First Assistant Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today.    » read more »

June 12, 2007 -- The Arizona Department of Health Services is notifying the public about the expansion of a USDA ground beef recall because of concerns that repackaged meat by grocery stores may contain E. coli 0157:H7, and not be labeled with the Establishment Code 1241. Additionally this recall includes earlier production dates beginning 4/6/07 and ending 4/20/07.    » read more »

June 5, 2007 -- Arizona State Health Laboratory tests have identified four E. coli 0157:H7 cases in Arizona that may be linked to the recalled ground beef from a California plant.

Health officials said the E. coli DNA fingerprint in the four Arizona cases matches the illnesses and ground beef, but further confirmation is necessary to determine whether the ground beef is responsible.    » read more »

June 6, 2007 -- PIERRE, S.D.- South Dakota is in a unique position to capitalize on a new premium/branded beef processing opportunity, according to a recently completed South Dakota Beef Study.

The study, conducted by several independent industry consultants with more than 40 years of combined experience in the meat industry, was commissioned by the South Dakota Board of Economic Development in late 2006 in response to continued public and governmental interest in further developing the beef processing industry in South Dakota.    » read more »