Ground beef recalled over E. coli illnesses

This is why I am a vegetarian! Good job grounding your own beef. My parents used to do it, and it's easy!

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

You'll note I've added information in many of those posts.

As a person who was raised on a cattle ranch, I'm appalled at the conditions in these meat packing plants, let alone the way they treat animals. We had vets come treat our cows and horses when they were sick. Some of the people who work in these feed lots get paid hourly, and some of them are so shiftless they won't even remove a dead animal for 2-5 days. Nobody wants to touch the dead cow. We had deaths of animals. Sometimes you had pity on the animal because you knew they were hurting and you could do nothing for them, and you'd have to take out your Winchester and take them out of their misery. After you've medicated an animal for days and they die, you cannot eat the meat. Now the Federal Government requires a daily dose of anti-biotics in the feed. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, but unless you say something often enough SOME PEOPLE just do not get the truth! Some are so clueless they could not tell you a cow from a horse or a pig. A chicken poops wherever they walk. If you ever see a commerical chicken house you will vomit! Poor animals... I see the big feed lots and I think, "what the ~ell did you do to deserve this treatment you poor cow or steer?" Greed...a fast buck, plain and simple. Bribe the congressmen with PAC money, and trust me they take it, Democrats and Republicans. So do I apologize for repeating myself. NO...maybe if you read it twice you'll realize I know what I'm talking about, not just some book theory. A cow or steer isn't human, but they deserve decent treatment until the day you decide to harvest them for meat. When you hunt if you aren't a good enough shot to drop your animal with one shot, you have no business hunting...and the meat will taste. Some people have eaten elk and deer, and they know it. I could serve you a mule deer roast and you'd think you were eating beef. I've often not told my guests until after dinner.

Grinding your own hamburger meat does not provide absolute protection from E. coli O157:H7. The bacterial contaminants will be on the outside of a whole muscle cut of meat. Grinding the beef just mixes it all in. That's why you can eat a medium rare steak and be ok. The bacteria on the outside are killed. I will say though that grinding your own hamburger might decrease chances because in the meat plant the trim is ground from many different beef sources. I wouldn't count on the decrease in chances though.

The problem with ground beef in this country is much greater than hygiene or the way the animals are raised. Ground beef is usually not simply a chunk of meat run through a grinder. Instead a single portion of hamburger meat is often an amalgam of various grades of meat from different parts of cows, and, importantly to note, from different slaughterhouses..

The most obvious problem with ground beef lies in the danger with the meat itself. Fatty tissue is a component in all ground beef- up to 32%- and much of that fat is gathered from the surface areas of a carcass, which is often contaminated with fecal bacteria when the animal is slaughtered. As irish_explorer pointed out, that puts the cleanliness of the meat into the hands of a $10 per hour laborer who is already being harried to keep up the production pace on the slaughterhouse floor (but no, irish_explorer, it is not because immigrants are dirty as you insinuated). These large processing plants can kill over 2000 cattle per day and meats are commonly smeared with feces as they are hurried along through the slaughtering process.

But the real danger lies in the procuring and mixing of the different cuts of meats. A typical ground beef sample will have meat and fat input from several sources-fat from Texas, meat scraps from Nebraska, etc. Only after the meats have been mixed and ground will the company do any testing for e-coli contamination. Consequently, it is not possible to implicate a specific supplier. And this keeps prices low for the producer. Even that t

E-coli testing by the slaughterhouse or producer is compulsory; of over 2000 grinding plants in the U.S, less than 6% test for E-coli contamination more than 4 times per year. The Agriculture Department is in charge of testing, but can only do so much: spot-checks are conducted around 15,000 times per year around the country, but even that is just touching the tip of the hamburger pile. Stricter guidelines and regulations need to be put into place to keep ground beef safe, and to allow for better tracing to the contaminated source.

And finally, I read that costco is the only large retailer that tests its ground beef products before and after grinding . I have always been a believer in the quality of costco meats, but now will only purchase my pre-ground beef from them.

Here we go again..... It isn't bad enough that we have to deal with the pig flu the Mexicans were nice enough to send us. Now we have to to deal with tainted food once again from within our own country. Oh ans just saw the other night on the news that there is anotrher new flu in this country that is affecting dogs. Wonder how long it will take before this mutates and starts hitting humans as well?

micro12-

There are other Shiga toxin-producing bacteria species besides E. coli O157:H7. Your comments about steak vs. ground meat are exactly correct. I would NEVER eat a hamburger patty that wasn't well-done.

You mean illegals don't you? ...then add the federal employees who are supposed to be inspecting the plants?

Nonsense, Irish_Explorer! The American managers who run these companies are the menace here. Poor management is poor management. If the proper process is in place and management does its job, these tragedies can be avoided.

How did this turn into a referendum on illegals? It is the fault of the owners and managers of the plant. As for inspectors, I would wager there are less of them now than there was 8 years ago, so you can only do so much with so little resources.

Preparing food safely isn't rocket science either. Don't use the meat/poultry knife for anything else without first washing it, clean the surface on which the raw meat was prepped, wash your hands after prep, and cook anything ground until well done (no medium rare burgers). This organism is easily killed by cooking.

Why don't we just irradiate the food? It retards spoilage and eliminates many of these threats.

There are definately things that can be done in meat plants but the consumer has to take responsibility for properly preparing foods. Use common sense and don't cross contaminate in your own kitchen. It is easily killed by cooking. Use a meat thermometer and cook to 160F. You also have to follow directions for reheating cooked meat products that you buy. That's why the directions are on the product. People can't expect the food supply to be perfectly sterile. Also if we test every bit of the food supply we won't have anything to eat.

inga and lib50, I cannot say I totally disagree with you but if you read my previous posts you'll see why they are relevant.

allthumbs.... irradiate your food? hmmm...until you glow in the dark or are just warmed when you eat the food? Health risks 20 years down the road? Nobody cares what microwaves are doing to their food? omg... Love canal in N.J., rocky flats in Denver...just bury it, it will be ok.

The sad part is that managers are not doing their jobs or they are under pressure to get a bigger profit, afraid of losing their own jobs. Not enough government inspectors and some of the ones they have don't care. I once stopped at a fast food restuarant and a incongnito health inspector offered to buy us an entire bucket, watch us eat it, and let him know what we thought. Then he'd take two pieces back to his lab. Hey,the lunch was FREE! Who could pass up that offer! The man gave me $20, I bought the meal deal, and he took two pieces of chicken.

it wasn't that great to be truthful but we didn't get sick either and we were in a hurry, no time to cook... (lol)

Not rocket science, but difficult to do with an underfunded understaffed FDA. Not to mention corruption which I'm sure exists. Despite the shortcomings, we have one of the safest food supplies in this country.

At least you can properly handle and cook your meats at home to prevent infection. Raw food, like salads, fruits & veggies, however, need to be bacteri-free to be safe for consumers.

Your right, Food Safety is NOT rocket science. However, let me add a few comments. I remove grocery stores for a living. They close-up, hold an auction and I am reponsible for clearing the remaining equipment from wall to wall. Meat counters, deli, bakery, walkins etc. I do not work for ONE chain, I work at all of them the southwest. And behind the bright lights and fancy advertisement, the nasty, gross, unbelievable conditions in 50% of the stores would make a consumer wonder if there really is a health dept. Your familiar with the "meat counter"? The expensive one! take out the meat, pull back the paper and take a look! Betcha PUKE. Im not going to mention cockroches stuck to walls because of the grease. Hell, im not going to mention alot. Seems to me inspectors get paid well to do nothing. Ive stopped shopping in some chains just because I know their track record. YUK! Id really like to post pics and Vids on You Tube , but im sure I would be sued within the day. As far as the Govt protacting the food source in this country, hahahahhahahahhahah.

allthumbs has the right idea. Irradiation does not harm the meat, nor make it radioactive. But it kills all germs.

Any batch of ground meat larger than 200 pounds, or where machinery is not steam-cleaned between batches, should be irradiated. Many have already written here how they blend up cement-mixer size batches of scraps and pre-ground meat from other plants. If even one box of meat is tainted, it gets blended through the whole load. That's how we get these enormous recalls.

Your local butcher who makes a small batch every day, would thus be exempt from the requirement to irradiate.

Anyone who still fears irradiation could go to the butcher instead of the supermarket. And get a better product right from the craftsman who made it.

Eirík Þorvaldsson

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

hygene is not the cause period. ecoli is produced in the intestines of cattle who have to stand in feces and are not cleaned properly before slaughter. Onece again we are back to loose federal legislation that was pushed through congress by the last administration at the insistence of the meat packing industry. The old let them regulate themselves and keep the government out of private industry etc. Well i the year before the regulations were relaxed we had eacalls of this nature that amounted to 40,000 pounds of meat and now look at this one half a million pounds. Off the top of my head I can recall close to 3 million pounds this year. I had to take meat purchased from a store that bought from this place also. I do not shop there anymore because apparently they have no QC department becasue some efficiency expert said they could save money by making the shipper responsible and to hell with the consumer.

Blame it on Bush. LOL

Bush must have done it....he had to be there. (grins)

When I grew up we were poor, could not afford a family tree so we had a family bush. Not more fun of bushes please?

Take tour tro;;ing to one of the political forums not here this is about tainted meat genius.

It's just all part of the bigger picture logdump.

They're connected.

Why do you think Pelosi and Reid and others, Democrats and Republicans alike don't want a healthy immigration reform?

This is just part of the problem, but if you look for the clues you will see it does connect. A major portion if not all of your grain industry is controlled by one company, and fortuantely at the moment they are honest. Might not be so during the next generation because they are privately owned. Your grocery stores now are greatly influenced or controlled by less than 3 companies, who tell them where to put the products, even send in their own employees to stock the shelves. The hamburger and beef industry are being taken over, as we speak, by large corporation giants, and they often own the same company that processes the meat, but they don't tell you that. They hide them in subsidiary companys or corporations.

So logdump, they are connected. Your elected representatives are taking PAC money (call them bribes if you want?) to look the other way, and not really tackle the real problem. I've come to the conclusion many of them don't care about their children, let alone their grandchildren, as long as they rake in the bucks and stay in office. This isn't true of all your elected officials but there are a number of Democrats and Republicans who are part of the problem, not the solution. Until then enjoy your tained meat? I don't eat it because I don't buy it. I get one cow at a time and either butcher it myseslf and put it in a freezer or I hire someone I know who is reputable. Can everyone do that? Probably not because they don't have the knowledge, but should there be enough safeguards so you're assured, the average consumer you have good quality food, including your meat. Absolutely... Washing your hands frequently not only keeps you from getting the flu but also keeps you from tainting the meat in your supply line at the meat plant....They also need to do that with their processing equipment. Hot water and soap!

Great post!

Actually I read an article a few weeks back where a young woman died because of a "rare" condition. In the article, USDA inspector complained about the conditions and was rebuffed. In my opion(sic) the govt should fire those that simply wish to collect a paycheck without any regard the American Citizen, OH,sorry I forgot, there called politians. What was I thinking?

poor pets...

...and they aren't and neither are your congressmen and representiatives. They've stood by and watched the illegal invasion, and I'm talking about BOTH parties!

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

darkangel -

I bet you would puke "if you knew how sausage was made." Just kidding.

irish -

Antibiotics in the feed can lead to selection for bacteria resistant to antibiotics (notably, fluoroquinolones), but I don't think they influence the percentage of meat that is infected by E. coli, which I agree is more of a hygiene issue (both for the cattle and during slaughter).

...or what other critter is often a part of sausage, bologna, hot dogs, and salami. Natural healthy preservatives...

They're perfectly edible these creatures, but if you think tuna is 100% tuna, think again...

bon apetite?

I'll still eat them...they're great!

i need a recipe for chicken lip tacos or other fine dining.

You have it fairly close.

The corporate greed is unbelievable. They turn cows loose and never see them again until fall. They don't check on them, won't hire people to do that, then if a cows gets sick and dies they don't get veterinarian care like the family farm or cattle ranches, the coyotes simply eat them, while the others are walking over them. Most professional cattlemen check on their cows, all summer, all winter, they are there as mid wives for cows, they actually care about their animals...not so these corporate greed mongers, but they have literally pushed the small farmer and small cattleman out of business. Did you know a cattleman cannot sell you meat by law? There are other laws and regulations most consumers know nothing about, including their lastest brain twister...requiring the meat packing plants to radium their meat, so that all the ecoli is killed during that process. The taste and quality of the meat? They could care less...

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

I couldnt agree more!! I remember the Govt banning DDT in the Sixties, I remember the Govt shutting down Family Farms in the seventies. Destroying centery(sic) old farming. Only to be taken over by foriegn countries that still use these chemicals and ship them to us. Can you say AG-Cong as just one example. i could follow up on more, but anyone over 40 knows, those under 40 should check it out.

Conspiracy Theory, Conspiracy Theory, Conspiracy Theory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Speculation, no basis in fact!!!!

duh.... health care reform, the same government idiots who brought you the FDA, USDA, and the OSHA and EPA?

Hello... It's sanity calling.

Anyone with any common sense can figure out what is wrong but they never hire those people in office. USDA hasn't had a person who understood farmers and cattlemen since Earl Butts.

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

Equalizer - If the professors have spent years studying irradiated food in universities all over the world, and can find no problem with it, why do you keep trying to spread baseless rumors?

Eirík Þorvaldsson

Jimmy 915356: you don't have a @!$%#ing clue what you are talking about. USDA & Dept of Agriculture are one in the same. Corn,Soy,Wheat production this past year were at an all time high....

steve 395209: ALL packing plants have inspectors on site. They are licensed veterinarians and they only due visual inspections. The two items they check are liver & lungs. Visual inspection cannot determing bacteria, samples have to be sent to a lab to determine contamination. With thousands of carcasses moving on converyor belts, taking sample is impossible. Suspect carcasses are put in a seperate cooler to be tested. If contaminated, they become pet food.

No speaky English...and the inspectors are probably afraid to do a complete and thorough inspection. These meat cutters have large knives.... ...sad but true...

poor pets....I don' know about you but I don't feed mine tainted meat. Even during the pet food recalls my brand was not recalled. But get the cheap stuff...and you get it!

I've worked in some of these meat packing plants. Some of them are quite clean, but these aren't owned by the big corporate folks out of Chicago. Their motivation is push push push, cash cash cash, and they could care less, and you could get fired for pointing out something is unsanitary...and you will be laid off. It is the truth!

You thought they weren't Mafia?

Big clue. Most of the big meat packing plants either have Chicago backers or are out of Chicago. Hmmm...Jimmy Hoffa, Al Capone, and Hussein who? All from Chicago or Illinois? Was Lincoln honest or was there something fishy there too. No it was the ecoli in the meat?

Your congressmen and representative are voting on bills without even reading them. DOA and USDA are a joke any more. They don't want to make waves nor fight being PC?

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

i hate to inform you, that your veggie supply isn't much better. They're picked by the same kind of help, except out in the field they often don't have good restroom facilities....
Do the math? Check the green cards? Heavens no, that would mean you're not PC? Ask inspectors to do their jobs? Heck, NO they're afraid to! I cannot blame them.

So true, many cases of e coli and salmonella have come from tainted vegetables. Maybe we should all grow our own.

Worst case of a parasite infection I had came from LETTUCE!!! Although I washed it thoroughly, I still got a parasite and spent the next two months trying to hold something. . .ANYTHING. . .in!!!! I now exfoliate my lettuce, and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy "salad in a bag"!!!

This article made me physically ill and heinously nauseous. The conditions in these animal slaughter plants are deplorable and inhumane to begin with, and it seems that day by day there are more and more reasons to avoid eating meat of any kind altogether. As for our vegetable and fruit supply sources and workers, all I can say is BOIL BABY BOIL!!!!

ARGH! ACK! SPUTTER! SPIT! HONK! My tummy feels not so good now!!!! UTTERLY DISGUSTING!!!

smart msbelle...

You ought to check your fish and veggies...even worse.

Still believing the BUSH BUSH BUSH crapola!

They brain washed you, its easy to tell. There is plenty of blame to give both parties, as far back as the Carter Administration, for not only our ills of the Muslim terrorists, but the lack of quality control in not just the beef packing plants, but your vegetables as well...and they're both condoning the illegal invasion of illegals, all from the South.

I'm not a Democrat nor a Republican but you're not doing your research. The FDA and USDA have not had a good person at the helm since Earl Butts. He understood the small family farm and the cattle ranches. This group of idiots, including your congressmen and representatives are clueless. You voted for them based on a hate message... yet they never told you waht they planned to do. Welcome to radicial socialism? They want to take over the banks, the car industry, and just wait the vegetable and meat industry. Yah Vohl Comrad Chavez?

It is sad to say but the problem doesn't defy common sense.
Most of the workers at these plants think the word "hygiene"
means a greeting you give Gene, "Hi Gene!"

Until your cure this problem, make sure the plants are clean and sanitary this problem will continue. But you ask yourself the question? What else? Well think about the poor animals that stand around in pens, in manure up to their knees, all day long, no real clean water, and the Federal Government in its infinite wisdom thinks requiring them to put anti-biotic in their feed will cure the problem. Don't eat beef? Not hardly. Consider then the difference between what they call range cattle and feed lot cattle. The range or cattle ranch cows do not stand around in manure, do not have anti-biotic in their feed, get relative clean water, get exercise, a little sex once in a while, and the only stress is probably during the last 5 days. Cattle ranch beef also has natural anti osteoporosis chemicals in the meat, the other have anti-biotic. What a cow eats you eat.

Add to the fact that most of the workers in these plants don't speak English, a high percentage of them aren't even American citizens. Well you do the math? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the problem, just a little common sense? If your grocery store is honest, there is a way to tell which kind of beef you're buying. Trust me the bargain brand isn't it. You'll pay and extra $1 per pound for quality beef. Is it worth it? Once you try it you'll never want feed lot beef again, and you cannot tell me these people love animals and put them in feed lots. It defies any common sense, quick money, but caring for the animal until it's harvested for food it is not.

Still believing the BUSH BUSH BUSH crapola!

Wake up Buddy!

Bush downgraded the FDA. For example: He doesn't care about kids getting permanent injury or death by ecoli.

for example:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/26/health/main2518201.shtml

Here's a sample written in 2007:

Between 2003 and 2006, FDA food safety inspections dropped 47 percent, according to a database analysis of federal records by The Associated Press.

That's not all that's dropping at the FDA in terms of food safety. The analysis also shows:

There are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.

Safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency's own statistics.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the FDA, at the urging of Congress, increased the number of food inspectors and inspections amid fears that the nation's food system was vulnerable to terrorists. Inspectors and inspections spiked in 2003, but now both have fallen enough to erase the gains.

"The only difference is now it's worse, because there are more inspections to do — more facilities — and more food coming into America, which requires more inspections," said Tommy Thompson, who as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services pushed to increase the numbers. He's now part of a coalition lobbying to turn around several years of stagnant spending.

The Bush administration's budget request for 2008 includes an additional $10.6 million for food safety at the FDA; the lobbying group said 10 times that increase is needed. Even though the FDA increased its overall spending on food between 2003 and 2006, those increases failed to keep pace with rising personnel costs.

"It's not just outsiders like us who have been watching it for a while. People who worked in the Bush administration are coming out and saying the agency is not working at its current resource levels. It just can't manage the job," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group.

you must be paid or work for these people !!! idiot !!

Actually, Ben , the USDA does send investigators and trainers to some foreign lands like Mexico, to help them meet our standards. Mexican farmers have a huge reliance on exporting to the USA, that they do not want to lose due to bad news headlines.

And some of those big plantations have long been USA-owned. You know their famous brand names.

Eirík Þorvaldsson

Hey, they arrested the two border patrol agents who shot the known drug dealer in the keister...even send a DA down there to grant him immunity, a known drug dealer...

These workers in meat packing plants have knives, meat cleavers, meat saws...and the illegal traffic of tainted beef and other products continue. A few years back they were importing beef from South America and Australia...and they found kangaroo in the meat and rats... yummm...yummmm. Buy more imported meat! Ask our pet food companys and our childrens toy sellers how swell that worked for them?

You'll note I've added information in many of those posts.

As a person who was raised on a cattle ranch, I'm appalled at the conditions in these meat packing plants, let alone the way they treat animals. We had vets come treat our cows and horses when they were sick. Some of the people who work in these feed lots get paid hourly, and some of them are so shiftless they won't even remove a dead animal for 2-5 days. Nobody wants to touch the dead cow. We had deaths of animals. Sometimes you had pity on the animal because you knew they were hurting and you could do nothing for them, and you'd have to take out your Winchester and take them out of their misery. After you've medicated an animal for days and they die, you cannot eat the meat. Now the Federal Government requires a daily dose of anti-biotics in the feed. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, but unless you say something often enough SOME PEOPLE just do not get the truth! Some are so clueless they could not tell you a cow from a horse or a pig. A chicken poops wherever they walk. If you ever see a commerical chicken house you will vomit! Poor animals... I see the big feed lots and I think, "what the ~ell did you do to deserve this treatment you poor cow or steer?" Greed...a fast buck, plain and simple. Bribe the congressmen with PAC money, and trust me they take it, Democrats and Republicans. So do I apologize for repeating myself. NO...maybe if you read it twice you'll realize I know what I'm talking about, not just some book theory. A cow or steer isn't human, but they deserve decent treatment until the day you decide to harvest them for meat. When you hunt if you aren't a good enough shot to drop your animal with one shot, you have no business hunting...and the meat will taste. Some people have eaten elk and deer, and they know it. I could serve you a mule deer roast and you'd think you were eating beef. I've often not told my guests until after dinner.

thank you for the info irish ...

bacalax: YOU BELIEVE Irish Explorer. What he posted is far from reality and the truth. He is clueless and is 1st class b.u.l.l.s.h.i.t.e.r!!!!!!

while I know some people don't appreciate it, you're welcome bacalex.

Some nights I've even shed tears for these poor cows, steers, and even the chicken. And yet I know, as a cattleman I was raising beef to eat. Our banty chicken roamed the fields, and came in at night to be shut up and safe from coyotes and foxes, and I'd have to select 3-4 unfortunate victims for dinner often.

Yet while they were alive...I treated them with as much respect as you could. But the reality is that you are going to eat them or their eggs. They is nothing like the site of a baby calf. They're almost as cute as a baby duck.

spoken like a drug store cowboy Bernie...if you ever were one of those either.

I've yet to see a country boy, let alone a real cowboy who didn't love his horse and his cows, and the horse will love you back. He'll even eat a carrot out of your mouth, one bite at a time. Of course if all you ever use is your mexican rowel spurs on him, yeah, he probably thinks as much of you as you do him. My father, my grandfather, and my horses followed me around, hoping they would be ridden that day. They like the treat aftewards I suspect.

Make YOUR point. Let others make their's. If that doesn't suit you, maybe neither did your criticism of the Irish dude.

Not necesarily true joe-dude. Some of your non red meat isn't any safer, neither are your veggies.

As my father used to say, it's time to drag out the 30 gallon can of whoop ~ass, not only for the inspectors who are not doing their jobs, but the plants as well. You cannot tell me the peanut folks didn't know? You cannot tell me the pet food folks didn't know? You cannot tell me the childrens toys mfg didn't know? The meat packing plant managers knew?

you have teeth, desinged by your creator for eating both meat, veggies, fish, and grains. If you only want to eat grain, you are a cow...(lol) Beware though, someone might want to eat you. A good steak or good hamburger, if you know the meat source is great.

...its not all red meat. IF it were that simple it would be great, but it isn't.

Please pull my finger...and the stench won't be tainted meat?

You obviously have not worked in either, or are so taken with the giant corporation's PR and SPIN, you've fallen for it. If I had a place to post them I could take you pictures this weekend!

There may be some sites doing what you suggest, but I've worked in a meat packing plant, been there, done that, and the t shirt you get reeks. The commerical chicken house I saw, and the stench was nasty. The poor chicken stands in what looks like a stainless steel cage, no hay to lie down on, and when the egg drops out, it rolls down a conveyor to the other end of the building. The poor chicken spends all of its life, never able to sit. Fed and watered, yes, sit or lay down NO.

I've seen the feed lots too. You need to get out of your
office an open your eyes, truthfully.

Been there, done that, seen both, and nope I would never buy a feed lot, run a feed lot, nor own a commerical chicken facility. There are just some things that should not be compromised. Everything else is pure greed, at the expense of the animals, and I'm not a tree hugger or bleeding heart. I know where my meat and my eggs come from but they deserve decent treatment while they are alive. They do have feelings. You'll never know that unless you watch a cow have a still born and she grieves its death, just like a human mother. You can sometimes help her by substituting another calf, who has lost its mother, and the pair become bonded. Its a trick few people who have never worked with cows doesn't know, but it brings joy to your heart when you do it. They adopt each other and the grief for both is gone in a moment. Chickens don't like to have their eggs stolen because they know they have given birth. There are good tricks there too but if you don't know that either....THEN NOTHING I COULD SAY would convince you.

...say this to yourself 20 times. Ducks that fly upside down, quack up! Ducks that fly updside down, quack up!

The only one who is showing that they do not know, is you, sorry to say Bernie, but if you'll get out of your corporate office once in a while, you might see the reality of it, the truth. And I would not give a buck to PETA, they have their own political agenda and it has nothing to do with animals I suspect.

You are nuttier than a fruit cake!!!

c'mon bernie , tell us you are working for the meat industry !!

ammiesmom.... this is very good advice.
When in doubt about where your meat comes from, it is safe to do exactly as you suggested.

I'm a little more careful. I know its because I was a cowboy on a real cattle ranch and I can look at meat and tell you where it came from most of the time. What they eat you eat because you're eating them.

Everyone seems to be waiting for big brother to solve their problems, including health care and everything else. Every time big brother gets involved it starts out great and then something breaks down and it becomes well...less than desired results, to be polite. I never trusted big brother, and I think anyone who does is truly fooling themselves. I did some research, just on the cereal isle a while back. What I found was disgusting....simply eye opening and corporate greed. It extended itself to the bottled juices too. So why wouldn't it extend to the pre-packaged meat on the shelves, just in a different capacity. I know about meat and cows but the cereal and the juices were an eye opener for me.

Every diabetic should file a lawsuit, but if you know and you do the research you quit buying these products, taking personal responsibility. Some people just don't know though and don't want to find out? And we all pay for that?

Anniesmom - E.coli itself is not generally a big problem, and we all have some E.coli in our intestines - but it is a sign of fecal contamination of any food - and thus an indicator to beware of other bacteria, careless procedures, etc.

The problem comes from relatively new specific strains of E.coli that have picked up a gene for producing dangerous toxins that can produce severe illness.

You can kill all the bacteria by cooking, then re-contaminate the meat by placing it back on the same plate that held the raw meat! I have seen people do it when grilling.

Eirík Þorvaldsson

there's nothing racist in what you say. when are the american companies going to wake up and hire americans to do jobs for america??? we NEVER used to have problems like this and it seems like the last 5 - 10 years all you hear about are food recalls and people becoming sick and dying from products that we the american consumer public have been assured are safe. as far as the vegetarian comment - come on - spinach was killing people a couple of years ago. who works in those plants - ILLEGALS. there was a raid in louisiana not so long ago of illegals and the comment made by one of them was that the authorities came in and treated everyone like a criminal. guess what - the key word here is ILLEGAL - as in CRIMINAL. and what has happened to our food supply IS criminal. and who fosters all of this - the corporations - as in corporate greed. if they weren't hired by these companies, they would have no work and go home and our jobless rates would drop instead of rise. do the math.