Outbreak of E. Coli Prompts Beef Recall

Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it will voluntarily recall about 400,000 pounds of beef after federal authorities linked it to an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 56 people in the Midwest.

The outbreak in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois came just days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under fire for allegedly failing to protect the public against E. coli O157:H7, declared “war” on it and ordered all U.S. beef plants to adopt new safeguards.

An investigation by the USDA found tainted ground beef from Milwaukee-based Emmpak Foods Inc. the cause of at least 40 of the illnesses in the three states. Excel, a unit of privately held Cargill, purchased Emmpak Foods in 2001.

The company said it would not be a nationwide recall but would involve a “handful of states.”