Tag: beef
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New York Times Questions Safety of Ammonia-Treated Beef
The New York Times recently published an investigative report that questions the safety of beef processed with ammonia to kill E. coli and Salmonella. According to the article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has exempted one company, Beef Products Inc. (BPI), from routine testing requirements since 2007 because the processor apparently claimed that its…
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Beef Group Challenges EPA Climate Change Finding
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has filed a challenge to the Environmental Protections Agency’s (EPA’s) finding that manmade greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) endanger human health and the environment. Filed by a coalition of interested parties in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 23, 2009, the petition calls for the court to determine that…
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DeLauro Urges Labels for Mechanically Tenderized Beef, Pork
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has responded to the recent recall of 248,000 pounds of blade-tenderized steaks by urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “to require labeling that clearly identifies mechanically tenderized beef and pork products for all processing facilities, retailers and consumers.” USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the Class I recall…
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E. Coli Plaintiff Seeks $100 Million from Meatpacker
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has reportedly filed suit against Cargill on behalf of the guardian of a woman allegedly paralyzed by consuming hamburger contaminated with E. coli. Stephanie Smith was profiled in a recent New York Times article; she is a former dance instructor who reportedly became ill in 2007, began having seizures and was…
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Livestock Operation Loses Organic Certification Amid Allegations of Poor Recordkeeping
An administrative law judge recently issued an order suspending a Nebraska-based livestock operation’s organic certification for four years, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2008 complaint that the company failed to keep and produce adequate records. In Re Promiseland Livestock, LLC, No, 08-0134 (USDA, Nov. 25, 2009). A supplier for Aurora Dairy and other organic…
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Additional Litigation Filed over E. Coli in Ground Beef
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has apparently filed a second lawsuit against New York-based Fairbank Farms for injury allegedly caused by consumption of E. coli-tainted ground beef. According to Marler, the suit has been filed in a Maine state court on behalf of a woman who was hospitalized for six days after consuming meat produced by…
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Congressman Requests Investigation into E.Coli Risk in School Lunches
The chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and Labor Committee has reportedly asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the risk of E.coli contamination in school lunches. In a letter to GAO, U.S. Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) wrote that he remains “concerned about the safety of our nation’s food supply and whether…
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First Lawsuits Filed in Latest E. Coli Outbreaks Involving Ground Beef
Plaintiffs’ lawyer William Marler has reportedly begun filing lawsuits on behalf of families allegedly sickened in an E. coli outbreak linked to fresh ground beef processed by Fairbank Farms, which has recalled nearly 546,000 pounds of the product, mostly from retail outlets on the Atlantic coast and in the Northeast. According to news sources, two…