Beef Recall Puts Topps Out Of Business

67-Year-Old Company Can't Survive Recall Of 21.7M Pounds Of Beef Over E. Coli Reports

(CBS/AP)  Topps Meat Co. on Friday said it was closing its business, six days after it was forced to issue the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history and 67 years after it first opened its doors.

The decision will cost 87 people their jobs, Topps said.

On Sept. 25 Topps began recalling frozen hamburger patties that may have been contaminated with the E. coli bacteria strain O157:H7. The recall eventually ballooned to 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.

Thirty people in eight states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None have died.

"This is tragic for all concerned," said Topps chief operating officer Anthony D'Urso, a member of the family that founded the company in 1940.

The CDC reported the number of linked cases in these states: Connecticut, 2; Florida, 1; Indiana, 1; Maine, 1; New Jersey, 7; New York, 9; Ohio, 1; and Pennsylvania, 8.

The Topps recall raised questions about whether the U.S. Agriculture Department should have acted quicker to encourage a recall.

University of Georgia Food Scientist Mike Doyle said such outbreaks are happening more frequently.

"We are seeing more problems with E. coli O157 in ground beef this year than we have in the previous three or four years," Doyle told CBS News.

On Thursday, top USDA officials said they would speed warnings in the future.

Topps conceded that much of the recalled meat had already been eaten, and on Friday expressed regret that its product had been linked to illnesses. "We hope and pray for the full recovery of those individuals," D'Urso said in a statement.

The Elizabeth, N.J.-based company had initially recalled 331,582 pounds of its frozen hamburgers on Sept. 25, acting only after the New York State Department of Health issued an alert linking Topps patties to illnesses.

Topps on Sept. 29 recalled 21.7 million pounds of its frozen hamburgers -- a year's worth of production -- after further evidence from the New York State Department of Health indicated a wider problem.

D'Urso said a few employees will remain at the site to help USDA scientists investigate the source of the E. coli outbreak.

The bacteria, which can be fatal to humans, is harbored in the intestines of cattle and can also get on their hides. Improper butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat.

Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature, can destroy the bacteria.

Topps gets beef parts from slaughterhouses, grinds them, forms the meat into patties and freezes them.

Privately held Topps, which claimed to be the leading U.S. maker of frozen hamburger patties, said it sold its products to supermarkets and institutions such as schools, hospitals, restaurants and hotels.

Caroline Smith-DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says the company's move to shut its doors for good is surprising.

"The Topps Company had its federal inspection withdrawn until they can show that they can produce ground beef safely," she told CBS News. "Apparently they've made the decision, they'd rather go out of business than to take those steps.

"This deadly strain of E. coli claims many victims, and sometimes they are corporate."

The recall represents all Topps hamburger products with either a "sell by date" or a "best if used by date" between Sept. 25, 2007 and Sept. 25, 2008.

A full list of the recalled products is available at www.toppsmeat.com.

[dollybaird]

Let me tell you, you don''t get millions when you sue the food companies, I know first hand, my husband has Lupus w/ kidney failure, diagnosed right before the biggest recall of turkey meat on the east coast in 2002, we couldn''t sue the meat company because they only scrapped one drain and they were not taking any cases if the strain didn''t match exactly, the company (Wampler foods) I think Bo Wampler and President Bush are good golf buddies...Gee I wonder....
Any way, my husband almost died and the experience was horrifying so much so that we had to settle out of court because he still could not talk about it, OH he ran a fever of 107 and to this day we swear he has burnt brain cells, but of course that couldn''t be proven, not too many people live to have any cases to read up on.
We should blame the government someone needs to make stricter laws AND THEN Enforce those laws how many more children and adults with suppressed immune systems have to get sick and almost die before changes are made. Who do we blame and what can we do?
If anyone has a sensible answer out there I''d like to hear it.

[mitywhity]

The food industry - am I paranoid, but do you think that we could be getting some deliberate contamination? What kind of background check goes into the hiring process at a poultry plant? NONE. You just putee in your applicaccion go to workee when they call you senor! Nah, I guess I am just paranoid because I am sure no muslims work in the food industry either.

[brianbwb-2009]

I wonder how many millions some people will get for their tummy aches
Posted by nexgen99,

E. Coli poisoning can kill you, that is a pretty big "tummy ache", as you term it.

So lets assume for a moment that you are unlucky enough to be rushed to the hospital, vomiting blood, and also having it come out of your lower port, receive emergency care that saves your life, but costs you a few tens of thousands, which your insurance refuses to pay more than a couple hundred for,

Then your doctor tells you it was caused by some s!it that was mixed in with your cheeseburger, I take it you will not complain, you will accept bankruptcy, and you won''t try to sue the company that is responsible for poisoning you, right?

[rushlimpdrug]

I miss Korea...ke gogi, and no PETA wasting energy on *** ideas about "they deserve a place, too" . . . . .
-Posted by ibsteve2u

No need to miss it you can go back and stay.
You can even take family members.
Really, go now.
Have a good life eating the dog.

[nexgen99]

I wonder how many millions some people will get for their tummy aches

[cyberus-2009]

Something thats been bothering me and nobody seems to be asking a very big question.

Where was the USDA Inspector(s) during all the weeks that all those millions of pounds of patties were produced???

Seems like the Inspector(s) at that plant need to be investigated as close, if not closer than the plant itself.

[pilgrimsway-2009]

Dear Caroline Smith-DeWaal of the Center for Science, Where was the control in place by the FDA to help Topps not to experience financial ruin and not as you put it "They made the choice not to clean up there act". It seems to me you like to put slant on a company thats been in business for a whole lot of years and not a solution for future businesses who may face similar challenges.

[nexgen99]

with all the illegal aliens and Americans with health care - the solution will Soylent Green.

The new food source and finally the answer to population control.

Biggest question is which party will drive it?

Posted by ravnslikbals at 07:34 AM : Oct 06, 2007
============================
You forgot to include the Obese, yummy.

[hypnotoad72]

ravnslikbals - and which country; 300 million vs 1.2 billion in that country, which would redefine ''misogyny'' to an art?

[ravnslikbals]

with all the illegal aliens and Americans with health care - the solution will Soylent Green.

The new food source and finally the answer to population control.

Biggest question is which party will drive it?