Cargill Inc is recalling more than 450,000kg of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month it has voluntarily recalled beef that may have been tainted.
No illnesses have been reported, Cargill Regional Beef president John Keating said. The agribusiness giant produced the beef between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 at a plant in Wyalusing, Pennsylania.
Cargill learned the meat may be contaminated after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found a problem with a sample of the beef produced on Oct. 8, the company said on Saturday.
A spokeswoman for Cargill said 10 states are included in the recall -- Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"We are working closely with the USDA to remove this product from the marketplace," Keating said in a statement.
Spokeswoman Lori Fligge said that the company had no further comment.
Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), said her agency would work with Cargill to track the approximately 491,873kg of beef that could be contaminated and remove it from store shelves.
On Oct. 6, Cargill voluntarily recalled more than 381,000kg of ground beef patties distributed at Sam's Club stores nationwide after four Minnesota children and four Wisconsin adults who ate the food developed E. coli illness, which is the same strain that was detected to prompt the latest recall.
A lawsuit is pending from that outbreak.
In late September, Topps recalled 9.8 million kilograms of its patties -- the second-largest US beef recall -- and then closed its business.
The USDA said later on Saturday it would increase the testing and re-inspection of poultry and meat imported from Canada.
"Effective next week, the FSIS will increase testing for Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 and will require shipments be held until testing is complete and products are confirmed negative for these pathogens," Richard Raymond, the USDA undersecretary for food safety, said.
He said the audit of the Canadian food safety system would focus on Ranchers Beef, Ltd, which has shut down after being identified as a likely source of the E. coli outbreak that led to the Topps recall.
E. coli is harbored in the intestines of cattle. Improper butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat.
Thorough cooking can destroy the bacteria.
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Young children, seniors and people with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique