Rochester Meat Recall Legal News Articles & Interviews

Washington, DC It seems that at least a few facts are finally on the table about January's Rochester Meat recall of 188,000 pounds of e. coli contaminated ground beef that was sold to restaurant chains and institutional food services. By "a few facts," we mean very few.

Washington, DC This January's Rochester Meat recall of 188,000 pounds of E. coli-tainted ground beef has been dwarfed by the huge Westland/Hallmark recall of 143 million pounds, nearly two years' production. Nonetheless, the Rochester Meat recall highlights the same institutional failures at the federal Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) as the larger one. We are probably more likely to see repeats of the Rochester Meat incident in the future.

Belleville, ON Consumers may finally receive some better protection against E. coli related illness following the conditional approval of an E. coli vaccine for cattle developed and produced by Belleville-based Bioniche Life Sciences. E. coli O157:H7 contamination in ground beef produced by Rochester Meat of Rochester, MN was responsible for six known cases of food-borne illness in Wisconsin and California earlier this year.

Seattle, WA Bill Marler is the managing partner of Marler Clark LLP, a Seattle law firm specializing in food safety law. He has been in the thick of food safety litigation since the 1993 Jack in the Box incident--when E. coli contaminated hamburgers sold by the restaurant chain sickened hundreds and cost the lives of four children. More recently, Marler and his firm have been closely involved in the Topps Meat and Rochester Meat beef recalls.

Washington, DC A proposed federal budgetary measure is aimed at financing increased testing at meat packing plants--such as Rochester Meat--and hopefully reducing E.coli contamination in the food you eat. It's part of a long-overdue US Department of Agriculture (USDA) response to last year's record recalls of over 30 million pounds of E. coli-tainted ground beef and this year's very early Rochester Meat recall of 188,000 pounds of tainted products.

San Diego, CA: One of the victims of the e. coli contaminated beef sold to restaurant chains and food services by Minnesota-based Rochester Meat Company was described in news reports as a 17-year-old woman living in this southern California city. According to news reports, she fell ill in December, but did not become sick enough to require hospitalization, and has since fully recovered.

Washington, DC: As far as anyone can tell, the recall of 188,000 pounds of e. coli-tainted ground beef by Minnesota-based Rochester Meats has prevented any further cases of illness beyond the six reported in Wisconsin and California. The voluntary recall began on January 12, 2008, and is the largest so far this year.

New York, NY: In the wake of the Rochester Meat recall, things have been quiet—as they say in the westerns, "Yeah, too quiet." Minnesota-based Rochester Meat Company announced the voluntary recall of 188,000 pounds of ground beef suspected of E. coli contamination after six people fell ill in Wisconsin and California.

San Diego, CA: San Diego County health officials say they are trying to contact restaurants that purchased beef from Rochester Meat Company of Minnesota. Rochester Meat recently announced the recall of 188,000 pounds of beef that may be contaminated with e.coli bacteria.