Massive recall triggers more questions over US meat safety (en)

maandag 15 februari 2010

Huntington Meat Packing Inc has recalled a further 4.9 million pounds (2.2m kg) of meat that was not processed in line with the company’s HACCP plan over the course of almost a year, said US authorities.

The announcement followed the recall of over 800,000 pounds (390,000 kg) of beef last month by the same company on fears the product could be contaminated with E.coli.

Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said the incident showed the US meat industry was unable to police itself as she renewed her calls for a safety overhaul of the sector.

The US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) confirmed the recall of beef and veal products had been issued because Huntington had failed to follow its food safety plan at its Montebello plant for almost a year from January 2009 onwards.

“The products are adulterated because the company made the products under insanitary conditions failing to take the steps it had determined were necessary to produce safe products”, said an FSIS statement.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with eating the products, added the safety watchdog.

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