Contamination-Related Recalls Continue

December 27, 1999

A Texas company has recalled about 180,000 pounds of ground beef because it may contain E. coli. A New Jersey firm is recalling about 17,600 pounds of mousse truffee and peppercorn mousse that may be contaminated with listeria.

Supreme Beef Processors, Inc., Dallas, is recalling all ground beef and ground beef products with a sell-by date of Dec. 28 and the label "Supreme Beef Processors, Inc." or "Spiritas Farms," each bearing the establishment number 7143. The products include one, two and five pound packages of ground beef and patties. Also included in the recall is Supreme's five and ten pound chubs of ground beef with sell-by dates of Jan. 4 or Jan. 5.

The products were produced dec. 20 and distributed in at least eight states including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and New Mexico. USDA discovered the problem after ground beef sampled at the Dallas grinding plant tested positive on Dec. 25.

According to an ASSOCIATED PRESS article, Supreme President Steven F. Spiritas said the company "sincerely regret(s) any inconvenience this may cause our customers. As a family-owned business, we take pride in our reputation for providing consumers with high-quality and wholesome meats."

D'Artagnan, Inc., a Newark, NJ, firm, is recalling the mousse for possible listeria contamination. The action is an expansion of a Dec. 17 recall of the pate-type specialty poultry product. Each package in the most recent recall has the number P9678 inside the USDA seal of inspection. The recall applies to all products with a date code on the package through Feb. 28.

The products were distributed nationwide, exported to Canada and possibly through Internet and catalog sales.