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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
News and Information
July 15, 2002
"Our highest priority at the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is protecting public health through a rigorous system of meat and poultry inspection. Despite these efforts, tragically, a number of Colorado citizens have become ill from the consumption of tainted meat. This is deeply troubling. In response, FSIS has sent an investigation team to the ConAgra plant in Colorado and has implemented a new policy to more quickly trace back tainted meat.
"On June 14, an FSIS inspector took a sample at a facility that further processes coarse ground beef. On June 19, following the minimum five-day period required to confirm the presence or absence of E. coli O157:H7, the sample tested positive. Production had been held at the plant from the date the sample was taken, resulting in no tainted product reaching consumers from that facility.
"Besides testing at the grinding plant, an FSIS investigation was launched to determine all possible sources of the pathogen. At that time, there had been no reported cases of E. coli infections in Colorado.
"Analysis resulted in ConAgra being identified as the source of the contamination, which triggered the recall.
"In order to expedite recalls even more, FSIS will now inform the suppliers to a further processing facility, both verbally and in writing, when a positive E. coli O157:H7 sample is discovered in ground beef supplied to that facility. This will allow all the suppliers to take proactive steps without waiting for results from the FSIS investigation."
For Further Information, Contact:
FSIS Congressional and Public Affairs Staff
Phone: (202) 720-9113
Fax: (202) 690-0460