According to an article in Capital Press, the federal Food Safety and Inspection Service insists that it is staying on top of potential contamination at meat processing plants despite having announced a meat recall nearly three months after it was produced.
The Southern California's Sterling Pacific Meat Co. recalled about 3,516 pounds of ground beef products Aug. 18 because of a concern that it might have been tainted with E. coli. Some of the products were ultimately sold to Fatburger restaurants.
No illnesses have been reported from the meat, which was produced May 18.
As reported in the article:
Despite the three-month lag time, agency spokeswoman Peggy Riek said the recall could still be effective in that it will ensure that any meat that is still in freezers isn't served.Riek said specific information as to what tipped off USDA inspectors about the potential contamination is "proprietary," and she referred such questions to the company."One thing I can assure you right now is that nobody got ill, nobody got sick and everything is normal," said Sterling Pacific Meat Co. vice president Luis Munoz.
