August 4, 2004
By TARA GODVIN
Associated Press Writer
OMAHA, Neb. -- A meat processing plant has recalled 497,000 pounds of beef feared contaminated with E. coli bacteria and distributed to Sam's Club stores in 10 states.
The three products -- ground sirloin patties, 80 percent lean beef patties and 90 percent lean fresh ground beef -- all were processed at the Nebraska plant June 21 and sent to stores in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin.
Health officials said four Minnesota residents and one Wisconsin resident became ill in July after eating sirloin patties contaminated with a harmful strain of E. coli.
Officials said the implicated meat was being pulled from all Sam's Club stores. They also said some of the meat may have been sold by other retailers.
The processing plant in Columbus, in eastern Nebraska, is run by Oklahoma-based Carneco Foods and has been the source of two other meat recalls since 1997.
John Schaller, Carneco's vice president of operations, said Wednesday management and procedures at the plant were completely changed when his company took over operations in 2001.
A 25 million-pound recall was ordered in 1997 after E. coli was found in ground beef processed at the Columbus plant when it was under other ownership. In 2002, the plant, by then under Carneco, was the source of a recall of 130,981 pounds of beef patties.
The bacteria strain produces a toxin that can cause stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and in some cases death. Children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had 21 recalls associated with ground beef. The Carneco recall marks the fourth such recall in 2004, according to the USDA, which is working with Carneco to identify the source of the contamination.
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