Who needs "terrorists" when all our meat is processed in one plant to "save costs" by consolidation. The companies that run them do enough to cause alarm and terror if not death to the public.
Any one keeping a tally of how much meat has be recalled so far this year?
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Pilgrim's Pride Issues
Record Meat Recall
PHILADELPHIA -- Poultry processor Pilgrim's Pride is recalling 27.4 million pounds of cooked sandwich meat after warnings of possible contamination from the listeria bacteria -- the largest meat recall in U.S. history.
The company recalled 295,000 pounds of turkey and chicken products from a suburban Philadelphia plant on Wednesday, but expanded the recall over the weekend after tests came back positive for a strain of the potentially fatal bacteria, the company said Sunday.
The nationwide recall covers deli meat primarily sold under the company's Wampler Foods brand, though it is also sold under brands including Block & Barrel, Bonos, Golden Acre, Reliance and a variety of private labels. The products include turkey and poultry sold freshly sliced or made into sandwiches at deli counters and in individually sold packages of sliced deli meats. The meat was processed at the company's plant in Franconia, Pa., from May 1 through Oct. 11.
The discovery followed an investigation of a listeria outbreak in eight Northeast states since early summer that caused at least 120 illnesses and 20 deaths, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said.
"We want consumers to be aware of the recall because of the potential for foodborne illness," said Dr. Garry McKee, the inspection service's administrator.
No Wampler products have been linked to that outbreak, said David Van Hoose, Wampler's chief executive officer. The genetic strain that caused the outbreak is different from the strain found at the plant, officials said.
"We don't have any scientific evidence at this point that there is a connection, but our analysis of sampling in that plant is not complete," inspection service spokesman Steven Cohen said.
The national recall is the largest in the history of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mr. Cohen said.
Because consumers might not have access to the meat's original packaging, the best way to know if a product falls under the recall is to ask if it comes from a package that bears the plant number P-1351 inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection, said company spokesman Ray Atkinson. Production dates also can be found on that part of the label. The deli products were sold in retail groceries, in delicatessens and by food service distributors. Wampler officials said the recall didn't include fresh turkeys, and that it should have no effect on the holiday season. Customers are being asked to return the meats to where they were purchased for a refund.
Listeria can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea, according to the USDA. It can be fatal in young children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems, and can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
The company said it halted all production Saturday at the plant about 25 miles north of Philadelphia so that it could be thoroughly cleaned.
The meat being recalled makes up roughly 6% of the company's total poultry production, Mr. Van Hoose said. The company didn't say how much revenue it would lose as a result of the shutdown.
Pilgrim's Pride, based in Pittsburg, Texas, is the nation's second-largest poultry company behind Tyson Foods. Its stock price plunged more than 30%, down $2.31 to $4.70, in morning trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
The largest previous meat recall was in 1997, when Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds of ground beef after 15 people in Colorado fell ill from E. coli after eating hamburger from its plant in Columbus, Neb.
The Wampler recall comes less than three months after ConAgra Beef recalled nearly 19 million pounds of ground beef because of E. coli contamination at its plant in Greeley, Colo. -- WSJ
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