"meat recall" news and stories

Zemco Industries, a division of Tyson Foods, is recalling about 380,000 pounds -- 172 metric tons -- of deli meat it sold to Wal-Mart Stores because it may be contaminated with a deadly bacteria.

The meat, produced between June 18 to July 2, with "Use By" dates ranging from Aug. 20 to Sept. 10, is being recalled for possible Lysteria monocytogenes contamination, Bloomberg News reported.

The meats were distributed to delis that then used them to make some "Marketside Grab and Go" deli sandwiches.

A ground beef recall for more than 545,699 pounds of meat has been expanded to states from North Carolina to Maine on fears of E. coli contamination.

Fairbanks Farms of Ashville, N.Y., expanded its ground beef recall on Monday after learning packages of its meat produced between Sept. 14 and 16 may have been distributed to more states than first thought. The recalled ground beef was sold in Acme, BJ's, Ford Brothers, Giant Food Stores, Price Chopper, Shaw's and Trader Joe's.

Get the full recall list after the jump.

I think it's been a while since we had a beef recall. And by "a while" I mean about a week.

JSM Meat Holdings and the USDA have issued a recall for meat that was distributed to 11 states. The beef was distributed in 30 pound, 60 pound, and 47 gallon containers (the beef was used in ground products). The containers are labeled with the words "Morreale Meat" and the number "EST 6872." They could possibly be contaminated with e.coli.

The states affected are Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

I bet that when you heard about the recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef from Westland/Hallmark you didn't think you'd have to worry about sauces and bouillon cubes.

But that's what's happening. Although much of the frozen beef from the past two years has probably already been eaten or discarded, there might also be some of the meat in canned and packaged foods, including soup, sauces, and bouillon cubes. And some of those foods can sometimes stay on shelves and in the cupboards of consumers for a couple of years.

There have been no illnesses reported and no evidence of actual contamination, but officials don't want to take any chances.

When I posted about the latest meat recall yesterday - 143 million pounds of meat by Hallmark - I remember wondering to myself why they were worried about meat that was sold two years ago. Wouldn't that meat have been eaten already? Even if we freeze meat, isn't two years a little long to keep it in the fridge, especially in this instance when it wasn't private homes but schools and restaurants?

The answer comes from the Slate's Explainer column today. Simply put, it's because some of it still might be out there, not eaten. Now, that's highly unlikely, but the recall had to happen just to make sure (and to also alert the public to what happened at this particular company). In fact, they say the recall could be extended beyond those two years.