USDA defends wait on beef recall, re-examines policy

The Department of Agriculture defended its decision to wait 18 days before seeking the recall of millions of pounds of ground beef after initial tests showed E. coli contamination, saying it was following standard policy to rule out other factors.\nIn a telephone interview Thursday with The Associated Press, department officials acknowledged that they knew as early as Sept. 7 that frozen hamburger patties could be contaminated after a federal inspector confirmed that preliminary tests indicated the E. coli bacteria strain O157:H7.\nThe department said it was following its common practice of confirming the original results. However, because of the delay in this case, Agriculture officials will now re-examine the policies to determine whether quicker notice is necessary.\n“We are concerned about that delay and we recognize that we can do better,” said spokeswoman Terri Teuber. “One of the things we’re looking at for future recalls is to determine whether the science is strong enough in some cases that we should authoritatively move forward sooner.”\nThe department’s response comes after the AP obtained an Agriculture Department e-mail showing the department knew on Sept. 7 about possible contamination but waited 18 days before concluding Topps Meat Co. should issue a recall.\nThe recall that began Sept. 25 was soon expanded to comprise 21.7 million pounds of hamburger produced by Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps, making it the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history.\nA Florida teen was hospitalized with kidney failure in August and the meat her family bought was tested by the USDA.\nThe e-mail – from federal inspector Kis Robertson, an employee of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service – was provided by the teen’s family lawyer, Scott P. Schlesinger, on Thursday. The e-mail was reported Wednesday by The Chicago Tribune.\n“They should have recalled immediately. That’s not even a maybe,” Schlesinger said.\nAs of noon Wednesday, 29 people in eight states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None have died.\nThe first illness began July 5, and the last began on Sept. 11, the CDC said.\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating in an attempt to find the source of the E. coli strain, which stems from the intestines of healthy cattle.\nThe CDC reported these states and number of cases: Connecticut (2), Florida (1), Indiana (1), Maine (1), New Jersey (6), New York (9), Ohio (1), and Pennsylvania (8).\nThe recall represents all Topps hamburger products with either a “sell by date” or a “best if used by date” between Sept. 25 this year and Sept. 25, 2008. All recalled products also have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is on the back panel of the package or in the USDA legend. A full list of the recalled products is available at http://www.toppsmeat.com.\nThe company has said it believes much of the recalled meat has already been eaten. Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees, can destroy the bacteria.\nAssociated Press Writer Jeffrey Gold contributed from Newark, N.J.