Whole Foods was unaware of beef's processor

WASHINGTON — Whole Foods Market has pulled fresh ground beef from all of its stores, becoming the latest retailer affected by an E. coli outbreak traced to one of the nation's largest meatpackers. It's the second outbreak linked to Nebraska Beef in as many months.

The meat Whole Foods recalled came from Coleman Natural Foods, which unknown to Whole Foods had processed it at Nebraska Beef, an Omaha meatpacker with a history of food-safety and other violations.

Nebraska Beef in July recalled more than 5 million pounds of beef produced in May and June after its meat was blamed for another E. coli outbreak in seven states. On Friday, it recalled an additional 1.2 million pounds of beef produced on June 17, June 24 and July 8, which included products eventually sold to Whole Foods.

Whole Foods officials are investigating why they were not aware Coleman was using Nebraska Beef as a processor, spokeswoman Libba Letton said.

The chain's managers took action after Massachusetts health officials informed them Aug. 1 that seven people who had gotten sick from E. coli 0157:H7 had bought ground beef from Whole Foods. The same strain has sickened 31 people in 12 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Tests have not found contaminated Whole Foods beef, Letton said.

Plant under scrutiny

The latest outbreak was identified in late July among customers of Dorothy Lane Market, a small Ohio grocery chain based in Dayton. Dorothy Lane also bought meat from Coleman Natural Foods, which bought primal cuts — meat intended for steaks and roasts — from Nebraska Beef.

The E. coli strain found in the Massachusetts Whole Foods customers matches that Ohio strain.

Nebraska Beef, which continues to operate, has been under close scrutiny by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) since late June.

William Lamson Jr., a Nebraska Beef spokesman, said the company and the USDA had increased testing of its meat since then. It has found no E. coli 0157:H7 in products made since July 8.

He said that since June, Nebraska Beef has hired food-safety consultants and undertaken a review of its processes. USDA is doing the same.

"We will continue to investigate to see what is happening at the plant to see what they have to do to get a handle on their food safety issues," agency spokeswoman Laura Reiser said.

Repeated violations

Nebraska Beef has a contentious history with USDA. In the past six years, federal meat inspectors have written it up repeatedly for sanitation violations, and the company has fought back in court.

Several lawsuits have already been filed against Nebraska Beef as a result of the earlier E. coli outbreak and recall.

Given the history of violations, some consumer advocates questioned why the agriculture department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has not come down harder on the company.

"It seems that FSIS is walking on eggshells when dealing with Nebraska Beef," said Food and Water Watch lobbyist Tony Corbo. "Instead, the agency keeps on coming up with Band-Aid approaches ... while consumers keep on getting sick from eating products put into commerce by this company."

Reiser of the USDA responded that "companies are provided the opportunity to take corrective action."

The company slaughters about 2,000 head of cattle a day and employs about 800 people in Omaha.

Cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees should kill E. coli bacteria, if they are present. The USDA recommends that people use a meat thermometer to verify they have cooked meat thoroughly.

Material from The Associated

Press is included in this report.