Minn. Beef Recall Expanded

M I N N E A P O L I S, Dec. 5 -- The recall of ground beef sold at Cub Foodsstores will probably soon expand beyond just the meat produced Nov.2 and 3 at a meatpacking plant in Wisconsin, according toexecutives with the store and the meat packer.

They said the Minnesota Health Department’s investigation hasfound that people appear to have been sickened after eating beefground at the plant on days other than Nov. 2 and 3.

“We are concerned about the limited length of the recall ...and the question is ‘Is it only two days that were contaminated ormany more?’” said state epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull.

Tainted Beef Supplies

American Foods Group Inc. of Green Bay, Wis., announcedMonday that it is recalling more than 1.1 million pounds of groundbeef from Minnesota and 15 other states.

The move came two days after Cub officials said they believedAmerican Foods had supplied the company with tainted beef.

American Foods Group Chief Executive Carl Kuehne said tests havenot confirmed the meat was contaminated with the E. coli bacteria.

“Circumstantial evidence raises the possibility that recentserious illnesses may be related to our product,” Kuehne said in anews release. “We have initiated this voluntary recall of allground beef that could potentially be involved in order toeliminate any possible risk.”

The decision to recall the meat was reached after consultationwith the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the news release said.

22 Cases of E. Coli

The Minnesota Department of Health has linked 22 cases of E.coli to ground beef sold at eight Cub Foods stores in the state.The department said Monday that it had received hundreds of callsfrom consumers who believe they might have been infected with E.coli after eating ground beef from Cub.

“Some of them did have bloody diarrhea, but how many of thoseare actually E. coli,” was hard to say, said Kirk Smith, a HealthDepartment epidemiologist and one of the lead investigators of theoutbreak.