Beef Plant Recalls Suspect Hamburger

A beef-processing plant recalled more than 440,000 pounds of hamburger because of suspected contamination with a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria. It was the second major beef recall in the United States in less than two months. The recall of 443,656 pounds of hamburger produced by BeefAmerica Co., which followed a request by the Department of Agriculture, capped a week of growing concern in Washington about the safety of U.S. meat and imported fruits and vegetables. The recall by BeefAmerica’s plant in Norfolk, Neb., was not expected to grow to the size of the massive Hudson Foods Inc. recall that ballooned to a record 25 million pounds in August. President Clinton has announced an initiative to expand the budget for food inspectors and to bar imports of contaminated fruits and vegetables.