Sam's Club Beef Recalled After E. coli Illnesses*

Sunday October 7, 2007 2:01 AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Cargill Inc. is voluntarily recalling more than
840,000 pounds of ground beef patties distributed at Sam's Club stores
nationwide after four Minnesota children who ate the food developed E.
coli illness, a Cargill official said Saturday.

The Sam's Club warehouse chain, which sold the burgers that sickened the
children, had previously pulled the same brand of ground beef patties
from its shelves nationwide.

The children became ill between Sept. 10 and Sept. 20 after eating
ground beef bought frozen under the name American Chef's Selection Angus
Beef Patties from three Sam's Club stores in the Twin Cities area.

Two of the children were hospitalized; one remains in the hospital and
the other has been discharged, the state Health Department said.

Cargill is voluntarily recalling nearly 845,000 pounds of frozen ground
beef patties that were produced on Aug. 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17, Cargill
spokesman Mark Klein said. Each package bears the establishment number
``Est.924A'' inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Most of the recalled products were the American Chef's Selection Angus
Beef Patties packaged in 6-pound boxes containing 18 patties of
one-third pound each, Cargill said. Each package bears a case code of
7703100 and ``Best If Used By'' dates of Feb. 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2008.

Although the extent of contamination is not known, Cargill is recalling
the products as a precaution, said Bill Rupp, president of Cargill Meat
Solutions.

Cargill has been cooperating with the state Department of Health and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine the scope of the issue,
Klein said.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is working with the federal
Agriculture Department to determine the source of the contamination.

Cargill learned of the issue Friday, when a compliance officer from the
federal Agriculture Department visited the company's ground beef
facility in Butler, Wis., Klein said. Officials had traced the patties
to that plant.

Symptoms of E. coli illness include stomach cramps and diarrhea. People
typically are ill for two to five days but can develop complications
including kidney failure. People who have developed such symptoms should
contact their doctor, the Health Department said.

Cargill, based in Wayzata, Minn., is one of the nation's largest
privately held companies and makes food ingredients, moves commodities
around the world and runs financial commodities trading businesses.

The Cargill recall comes on the heels of Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps
Meat Co.'s recall of 21.7 million pounds of ground beef amid E. coli
concerns. The recall - the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history -
caused Topps on Friday to announce that it's going out of business.

The source of the E. coli contamination at Topps is still being
investigated, but USDA spokeswoman Sharon Randle said Saturday that the
Cargill and Topps cases are not related.

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On the Net:

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