Huntington E. coli Beef Recall Includes Taco Meat Sold to School Lunch Programs
Schools from Michigan to Texas have been removing seasoned ground beef, hamburger patties and other products sold by a California company that is under criminal investigation for its food safety practices.
Huntington Meat Packing Inc. of Montebello, California, is under criminal investigation and the probe has led to the recall of 4.9 million pounds of beef and veal products made over the past year. USDA's interest in the meatpacker was piqued earlier by a finding of E. coli O157:H7 in a sample of the plant's beef.
The E. coli contamination prompted an initial recall of 864,000 pounds of beef patties and bulk ground beef products. Insanitary meat plant conditions at Huntington were cited in the second recall notice in which USDA announced the criminal investigation.
Both USDA recall notices said the meat from Huntington was sold to California distributors, hotels and restaurants. Now we learn from independent newspaper reports across the country that Huntingon meat potentially contaminated with E. coli was in schools.
In west Michigan, for example, school lunch programs expelled Huntington's beef patties, veal patties, diced beef, sliced beef and burrito filling. The school lunch items were sold under the Huntington, Imperial Meat Co. and El Rancho brand names. The supplier was identified as Chartwell.
In Arlington, Texas, a newspaper reported that the beef E. coli problem at Huntington led to the elmination of a taco roll call Fernando Taco Snack by Huntington.
Young children are especially at risk from E. coli infection because they are more likely to develop life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS E. coli. HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children and the leading cause of E. coli deaths. Other long-term effects from E. coli infection and HUS include stroke, heart problems, E coli in the brain, neurological damage and paralysis.
National food safety lawyer Pritzker Olsen represents HUS victims and other victims of food poisoning. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. To contact an HUS lawyer at Pritzker Olsen call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
