Reading Packer Agrees to Recall of Beef Patties
Posted on: Thursday, 3 November 2005, 12:00 CST
By Tony Lucia, Reading Eagle, Pa.
Nov. 3--Quaker Maid Meats Inc., 521 Carroll St., is recalling about 94,400 pounds of hamburger patties because they may be contaminated with E. coli, officials said Wednesday.
Sergei Szortyka, company president, said federal officials requested the recall of Philly Gourmet 100 Percent Pure Beef Homestyle Patties.
In a press release, the New York Department of Health said it had linked the patties through a type of DNA fingerprinting to illnesses among three Saratoga County, N.Y., residents who ate meat from the same package.
"We felt it was in the best interests of the public to concur with the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and submit to recall procedures," Szortyka said.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service spokeswoman Tara Balsley said the voluntary recall was based on the New York Health Department's testing.
The type of recall signifies a health-hazard risk in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product may cause serious, adverse health consequences or death, she said.
She said a positive link to the Quaker Maid product was confirmed Tuesday.
Szortyka said the firm had not been able to analyze any of the product to determine what caused the problem.
"We would not be confident that if we were able to get anything back, that the samples were properly handled, and we'd be suspect of the analysis," he said. "I'm sure there'll be an investigation by the USDA."
Szortyka said he is not aware of any penalty assessed because of the recall.
The bacterium -- E. coli O157:H7 -- can cause severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Other symptoms include vomiting and nausea accompanied by a low-grade fever.
Szortyka said proper cooking, to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees, kills the bacterium in any groundbeef product.
In July 2004, Quaker Maid recalled about 170,000 pounds of ground-beef patties, including meat from Canada that should not have been imported into the United States under rules imposed after Canada's 2003 mad-cow disease case.
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Source: Reading Eagle
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