They tell me goat meat is really very tasty…via AP:

Cargill Inc. said Saturday it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month it has voluntarily recalled beef that may have been tainted.

No illnesses have been reported, said John Keating, president of Cargill Regional Beef.

The agribusiness giant produced the beef between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 at a plant in Wyalusing, Pa. and distributed it to retailers across the country. They include Giant, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and Weis.

Cargill learned the meat may be contaminated after the Agriculture Department found a problem with a sample of the beef produced on Oct. 8, the company said. The bacteria is E. coli O157:H7.

A spokeswoman for Cargill said 10 states are included in the recall — Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

This is the Very Very Bad e. coli, so don’t take a chance on this one.  Read more 

Wal-Mart’s most famous anti-worker case came back a couple of decades ago. The meatcutters in one particular store actually got as far along in the organizing process as to vote to join a union. In response the company closed, not just that meat department but all meat departments at all their stores. All their meat cutting, grinding, processing, etc., is now done at a central location and the packaged product distributed.

That’s for fresh meat of course. Much more of their meat products are sold frozen, and those are bought from, sigh, whoever will sell at the lowest prices. The big recall you’ve been hearing about involves beef from Topps Meat Co. of (soon to be “formerly of” since they’re going out of business) Elizabeth NJ. Their products were sold under their own name and at a wide variety of stores besides Wal-Mart.

The other recall, which is just starting to get publicity, is of the same product, frozen hamburger patties, but sold under the name American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties. That one is sold pretty exclusively at Wal-Mart-owned Sam’s Club, although not in the WM stores themselves.

American Chef is produced by a little mom-n-pop outfit called Cargill. And Topps?  Read more 

Just in time for the Labor Day weekend! So be sure to echeck the sell-by dates and brands before you pack up the food for your picnic. CNN:

Kroger Co. said Friday the grocery chain was recalling its store-brand “Southern-Style” and “Mustard” potato salads because of concerns they have been tainted with E. coli bacteria, according to state agricultural officials.

Cincinnati-based Kroger has stores in 31 states, many under different banners. Glynn said potato salads sold in Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and QFC stores weren’t affected. Those stores are mainly in western states.
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CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta informs us of yet another recall on contaminated spinach.
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The Ohio Department of Agriculture and Kroger advised consumers not to eat the potato salads if they have a “best if used by” date of Sept. 5.

Beef, too:  Read more