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Beef plant is shut down
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August 21, 1997: 7:46 p.m. ET
All beef from Hudson Foods Columbus, Neb., plant recalled
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - All beef produced at the Hudson Foods plant in Columbus, Neb., will be recalled immediately and the plant will be shut down until safety standards are improved, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced Thursday.
The Agriculture Department doesn't have authority to order the safety recommendations, Glickman said, but does have the authority to withdraw federal inspectors, which would halt operations there.
"Hudson will recall all product that originated at the Columbus, Neb., plant, destroy all product they have on hand at that plant and immediately cease operations there, until they've adopted far more stringent safety standards that we have specifically laid out for them based on what we have found in our investigation," Glickman said.
"These are non-negotiable proposals," he said. "The plant will not reopen until they are all met."
Hudson Foods said it voluntarily agreed to the closing and recall "out of an abundance of caution, and to restore the public confidence."
Hamburger patties produced at the plant on three days last June were blamed for an outbreak of E. coli bacteria-related illnesses in Colorado. The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that 15 illnesses had been genetically-linked to the Hudson Foods beef.
Two major fast food chains said the recall would mean a temporary shortage of some menu items, including Burger King's Whoppers and Boston Market's meatloaf.
The amount of beef recalled totals about 25 million pounds, although much of it has likely already been sold and consumed, officials said.
The USDA sent a "SWAT" team of inspectors to the Nebraska plant and the Rogers, Ark., headquarters of Hudson Foods to review the safety practices last week after the decision to recall 1.2 million pounds of frozen beef patties produced on June 4, 5, and 9.
The action to close the plant, which employs about 230 people, and recall all ground beef made there was taken because of a discovery made Thursday about how the plant mixed meat from one day with the meat produced the next day.
"We discovered this morning, based on our investigators review of the records and discussions with the company, that the company has a practice of returning unused raw material from a days production to the next days production," said USDA Food Safety Administrator Tom Billy.
With that practice, it makes it impossible for inspectors to know how long the E. coli contamination may have lingered in the plant, Billy said.
"They are still there pouring over records and interviewing people, looking into both the plants food safety procedures and the degree to which Hudson's has been forthcoming in providing timely and accurate information to the USDA," Glickman said.
Hudson Foods said the 230 workers laid off by the plant closing would continue to receive full pay until it reopens.
"We hope and believe this will not last long," Hudson Foods Chairman James "Red" Hudson said in a written statement. "Suspending operations, in fact, should help expedite the USDA investigation and the investigation that Hudson Foods initiated last week."
Beef from the Columbus plant was sold to stores and restaurants including Safeway, WalMart, Burger King, Sam's Club and Boston Market, the USDA said.
Burger King said 25 percent of the company's restaurants were supplied by Hudson Foods and it would immediately stop selling those burgers.
"As a result of this voluntary recall, some restaurants may experience temporary shortages of burgers, so we ask for you continued patience and loyalty," Burger King President Paul Clayton said.
The quarter-pound frozen patties are used to make Burger King Whoppers.
A spokesman for Boston Market restaurants said the company "took immediate action" to pull Hudson Foods ground beef from its menu when it was notified Thursday afternoon of the extended recall.
The action will mean that at 40 percent of their stores there will be no meatloaf available until new supplies of ground beef arrive, according to Boston Market spokesman Jeff Beckman.
WalMart and Sam's Club pulled all Hudson Foods ground beef from the shelves on August 13th, a day after the initial recall, regardless of the plant or day it was produced, a company spokeswoman told CNN.
A Safeway spokeswoman said only 115 of the company's stores, all in Colorado, carried the Hudson Foods patties and all of the product was removed from the shelves on August 12th, when the initial recall was ordered.
The USDA does not have authority to order the safety recommendations, Glickman said, but he does have the authority to withdraw federal inspectors which would halt operations there.
E. coli bacteria-tainted hamburgers can cause serious illness and even death if eaten without being properly cooked. USDA guidelines say that ground beef should be cooked until well done at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
E. coli 0157:H7, the specific bacteria involved, is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and dehydration. The very young, the elderly and persons with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable.
"USDA is alerting consumers to look for all Hudson Foods brand frozen preformed beef patties with Establishment Number 13569 printed inside the UDSA inspection seal," the agency said in a news release. "The products should be returned to the place of purchase. Products were distributed to grocery stores and wholesale stores."
People with questions about the recall can call the USDA meat and poultry hotline at 1-800-535-4555. The Hudson Foods Company consumer hotline is 1-800-447-2670.
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