Topps Beef Recall Legal News Articles & Interviews

Elizabeth, NJ: It grew to become the second-largest beef recall in US history. And yet an 18-day delay issuing the Topps beef recall after the first positive E. coli test put consumers at risk.

Elizabeth, NJ: Now that Topps Meat has gone into bankruptcy and the federal USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has promised to tighten up its food inspection protocols in the wake of the 21.7 million-pound recall of Topps products, it's time to ask a simple question: Was this trip necessary?

Elizabeth, NJ: In one of the first positive steps to come out of the massive Topps beef recall in late 2007, a new program announced January 4th by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will see enhanced risk-based sampling and testing for the nasty E. coli 0157:H7 pathogen in raw ground beef.

Elizabeth, NJ: The trouble with branding is that you sometimes lose sight of whose actually doing the manufacturing. And in the case of the recent Topps Meat recall, various lots of potentially tainted product sold under different trademarks may have confused some consumers—even some retailers—as to the condition, and the pedigree of the allegedly contaminated product.

Elizabeth, NJTopps Meat Co. may have closed October 5th, but there are still 1.8 million pounds of meat potentially contaminated with E. coli still languishing in the company's warehouses. What ultimately happens to that meat will hinge on the potential sale of the bankrupt company—its assets as well as trademarks—to a food company in New Jersey.

Lexington, NB In the aftermath of the Topps beef recall, one of the largest beef recalls in US history, a number of problems have been identified that may, ideally, serve to improve safeguards and prevent illness and similar recalls from happening again.

New York, NY Sherita Wells took her half-empty box of Topps frozen beef burgers back to the supermarket for a refund. "I told the cashier that these burgers had been recalled but he had no idea what I was talking about," says Wells. "I thought they were supposed to keep up with recalled products—it's wild that these burgers are still being sold." And the lawsuits are next up.

Queens, NY Vincent Torres bought a package of quarter-pounder Topps beef burgers and broiled three of them that night—he had a healthy appetite. But it's going to be a long time before he'll eat another burger after becoming violently ill from E coli, just one week before reading about the Topps beef recall.

Poughkeepsie, NY Denise Shepherd's family was celebrating her son's graduation party—she cooked a box of Topps beef burgers. Luckily, she had other items on the menu and the kids opted for hotdogs; they were the only family members who didn't get food poisoning—the burgers were on the recall list because they were contaminated with E. coli.

Elizabeth, NJ In the wake of a massive Topps tainted hamburger recall earlier this fall, there is some speculation amongst industry watchdogs that there could be a more widespread problem looming, with the prevalence of E. coli contamination on the rise. And [lawsuits] are on the rise.