R.I.P. Topps Meat

[greenblood]

having been in business almost 70 years, never had single recall
but this one is enough to kill this company
7Online.com: Topps expands ground beef, Frozen burger recall (http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=alerts_recalls&id=5692099)

(Newark - WABC, October 5, 2007) - The Topps Meat Company, which issued a massive recall because of E. Coli contamination, is being forced to close it's doors.

Eyewitness News reporter Sarah Wallace has details.
Topps is at the center of a massive recall, the second largest beef recall in U.S. history.

And now, it appears that it was enough to cripple the company to the point where they are going out of business.

The company is based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was founded in 1940.

The decision comes six days after E. coli-tainted meat prompted the recall of 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products.

The company was facing a class action lawsuit, which is asking for an unspecified amount of money for anyone who bought or got sick by hamburgers made by Topps Meat Company.

Thirty people in eight states had E-coli poisoning matching the strain found in the Topps patties.

Some of those victims were found on Staten Island.

No one has died.
hit the link to read the rest

[Railroader]

Thanks for the link Green! With stuff like this going on, and they want to cut the FDA even more, this administration is either living in a world of denial or stupid, mostly likely both.

[greenblood]

we learned to cook food and boil the water completely, that can kill enough of harmful germs/virus
we even learned down from ancient times

[Ellen]

I haven't made beef for my family in over 10 years. This is good information for the people that do though.

[Railroader]

Really? Man, I need my beef! :)

[soccerjohn]

Me too. I just cook it all the way through. Never had a problem.

[Railroader]

Chicken and Pork are two other things that need to be cooked completely as well.

Speaking of burgers, I guess restaurants are allowed to serve them like stakes, well, medium well, etc. You do take a risk doing that though, not sure I'd trust them doing that, no matter how good the place was. I know Stars Restaurant in Ukiah will cook your burger like that.

[Edward]

Every time we go out to eat at a restaurant and order steak, they ask us how we want it.

We tell them: very well-done

[PortPowerKS]

Yeah, I learned from the Jack In The Box situation in the early 90's and from a bad burger at this Mid-East market in high school the importance of cooking food all the way through. I'm more or less concerned about my mom's beef habits cos she likes her practically mooing still. =(

[Railroader]

Well, with steak you're safe, there's really no way for the bacteria to get inside of it, you can order your steak rare without worries. With hamburger though, the bacteria have a ton of entry points, and it's handled more than a steak.

[greenblood]

other than E-Coli, the other thing freaks me out is Mad Cow
a bad protein contamination, that corrupt the brain cell
the look of the brain is like sponge!

[Rzrlvr74]

It is a shame that the company will be going out of business after 70 years, but with the forthcoming lawsuits it is no surprise. It just sends the point home that stricter guidelines for meat processers and more careful home preparation are a necessity.