Topps Meat Co. Expands Recall of 21.7 Million pounds of Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. Coli Virus
Posted by
Amy RothschildOctober 01, 2007 11:26 AMOn Saturday, September 29, 2007. Topps Meat Co. announced that it massively expanded its nationwide recall of ground beef products to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Health officials are investigation 25 illnesses in the following 8 states: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. An investigation by the New York Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention preceded last week's initial recall.
The recall includes all ground beef products produced by Topps Meat Company with a "sell by date" or "best if used by date" between September 25, 2007 and September 25, 2008. Last week the company recalled 331,582 pounds of ground beef produced on specific dates in June and July. Topps Meat Company reported that this is its first recall in 65 years.
The United States Department of Agriculture said that the expanded recall is due to additional product sampling that was conducted by the New York Health Department, reported illnesses and findings USDA said the recall is being expanded based on an additional positive product sample reported by the New York Health Department, reported illnesses and findings from a food safety assessment conducted by Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS). The FSIS Is a division of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Affected products of this recall were distributed to retail grocery stores and food service institutions throughout the United States. Based on consumption patterns, Topps Meat Company expects that the majority of the recalled products have already been consumed.
The recall list includes a wide range of frozen hamburger patties and other products that bear the USDA establishment number of EST 9748. For a complete list of products subject to recall click here.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.