USDA announces meat recall in 3 states

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USDA announces meat recall in 3 states

CHICAGO, May 5 (UPI)

- The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced the recall of

about 83,000 pounds of ground beef sold in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana

that may be tainted with the deadly E. coli bacteria. But state health

officials today criticized the federal agency for refusing to disclose the

names of stores or restaurants that might have bought the bad beef and sold

it to the public. State officials say they're frustrated by the federal

blackout on what could be life-saving information.

Illinois Department of Health spokeswoman P.J. Burtle-McCredie tells today's

Detroit Free Press the blackout " is one of our frustrations with recalls. We

seem never to be able to find out where the products have gone. " The

coarse-ground beef was processed and distributed on the wholesale level last

month by Omaha-based All American Meats Inc. It was sold by the case in

10-pound " chubs. " Each chub is stamped with an April 14 production date, a

" sell date " of April 28 and the EST number 20420. Federal officials say a

sample of the meat taken April 27 was taken to a lab and tested positive for

E. coli on Monday, sparking the recall. When ingested by humans, food tainted

with E. coli can cause abdominal distress, kidney failure and even death.

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