ConAgra to Recall 18 Million Pounds of Beef NYT 7/19/02

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New York Times July 19, 2002

 

CONAGRA TO RECALL 18 MILLION POUNDS OF BEEF

 

By REUTERS

 

Filed at 12:31 p.m. ET

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Giant ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG.N) will launch the nation's

second-largest recall of ground beef because of potential contamination with a

deadly bacteria, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Friday.

 

ConAgra's recall of more than 18.6 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground

beef ranks behind Hudson Beef's record withdrawal of 35 million pounds of meat

in 1997.

 

At least 19 people, mostly in Colorado, have fallen ill from eating ConAgra

beef

contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, according to USDA Undersecretary Elsa

Murano.

 

Murano told reporters ConAgra agreed to expand its recall to try to prevent

more

illnesses.

 

ConAgra on June 30 first recalled 354,200 pounds of hamburger from its Greeley,

Colorado, plant after an outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 was linked to the meat.

 

E. coli O157:H7 can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and kidney damage.

Children and the elderly are the most at risk.

 

A ConAgra spokesman declined to comment on another recall, saying only that the

company has had talks with the USDA over the past week about its Colorado

plant.

 

The USDA sent an investigative team to the Colorado plant after the first

recall.

 

``Our investigation and review has led us to conclude that ConAgra should

conduct this recall, and they have agreed,'' Murano said. ``Our highest

priority

is protecting the public's health.''

 

19 ILL FROM HAMBURGER

 

The tainted meat from the Colorado plant was distributed to grocery stores in

21

states, according to the USDA.

 

The government said it would issue detailed information with lot numbers and

grocery store locations later on Friday.

 

So far, 19 illnesses from the beef have been reported to the U.S. Centers for

Disease Control. One case occurred in Wyoming and another in South Dakota.

 

News of the recall sent ConAgra shares falling on Wall Street.

 

Shares of the No. 2 U.S. food company were off $1.59, or 6.7 percent, to $22.15

in mid-morning trading at the New York Stock Exchange.

 

The company reached an agreement in May to sell off more than half its fresh

meat-processing operations to a private investor group led by Hicks Muse Tate &

Furst, so it could focus more on branded consumer products such Healthy Choice

Meals and Armor meats. The deal is valued at about $1.4 billion.

 

However, analysts said the recall may not have any lasting effect on the

company.

 

``I continue to be amazed at the capacity of the American consumer to brush off

most recalls,'' said Credit Suisse First Boston food analyst David Nelson.

``I've yet to see Americans get overly concerned about this type of thing.''

 

The recall also depressed prices in the U.S. cattle market, which has seen

soaring supplies in recent months due to drought and slumping exports.

 

USDA CRITICIZED

 

The USDA has been scrambling to recover from criticism over how it handled the

first ConAgra recall last month.

 

The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service admitted that it waited 10

days after federal meat inspectors first detected the E. coli bacteria in a

ConAgra sample before notifying the company.

 

The USDA said this week it revised its food safety policy. Federal meat

inspectors will immediately alert a beef company when its sample tests positive

for E.coli, instead of waiting until an investigation is complete.

 

In the earlier ConAgra recall, USDA tests confirmed the bacteria's presence on

June 19, but the company was not notified until after an investigation was

completed on June 29. ConAgra announced its first recall the following day.

 

The largest U.S. food recall for E.coli 0157:H7 contamination was in the summer

of 1997 when Hudson Foods withdrew an eventual total of 35 million pounds of

ground beef after 15 people in Colorado fell ill, according to the USDA.

 

Hudson was purchased by poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN.N) one year later.

 

The E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria is destroyed when meat is thoroughly cooked to an

internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.