As you may have heard, Cargill's recalling a big bunch of beef. It's from their Beef Packers Inc. plant, and this is the second salmonella problem they've had this year. In the first incident (in August), they recalled 825,769 pounds of ground beef. This time they are recalling a mere 22,723 pounds of ground beef (although who knows - that number might go up). As such, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is calling on the USDA to shut down the plant:
"Given the repeated violations of Beef Packers Inc., the USDA should close this facility and undertake a comprehensive examination into the process at Cargill-BPI to identify and correct any major problems internally or with their suppliers," DeLauro said in a news release.
The USDA probably cannot legally shut down the plant, but they can withdraw their inspectors and that will effectively shut the plant down since the plant cannot operate without USDA inspectors present.
So here's Cargill's response:
"Since Beef Packers Inc.'s voluntary product recall in August 2009, we have undertaken a comprehensive examination of our processes and believe that this review can continue without the closure of the Fresno operation," Cargill responded in a statement forwarded to Meatingplace. "This comprehensive examination has already resulted in process improvements and implementation of additional food safety enhancements at the Fresno operation. Additionally, we will be convening a panel of respected food safety and public health experts to conduct a third-party evaluation of our Fresno business."
Translation: We're fine. Nothing to see here. See, we fixed the problem in August. Please ignore the fact that we've managed to taint our meat again now in December. |
