Federal officials defend delay in recall of beef tied to E. coli

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defended its decision to wait 18 days before seeking the recall of millions of pounds of ground beef after initial tests showed E. coli contamination, saying it followed standard policy to rule out other factors.

Department officials acknowledged that they knew as early as Sept. 7 that frozen hamburger patties could be contaminated after a federal inspector confirmed that preliminary tests indicated the E. coli bacteria.

The department said it followed its common practice of confirming the original results. However, because of the delay in this case, Agriculture officials will now reexamine the policies to determine whether quicker notice is necessary.

“We recognize that we can do better,” spokeswoman Terri Teuber said. “One of the things we’re looking at for future recalls is to determine whether the science is strong enough in some cases that we should authoritatively move forward sooner.”

The department’s response came after the Associated Press obtained an internal e-mail showing that the department knew on Sept. 7 about possible contamination but waited 18 days before concluding that Topps Meat Co. should issue a recall.

The recall began Sept. 25 and was soon expanded to 21.7 million pounds of hamburger produced by Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps, making it the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history.

A Florida teen was hospitalized with kidney failure in August and the meat her family bought was tested by the USDA.

The e-mail -- from USDA inspector Kis Robertson -- was provided by the teen’s family lawyer, Scott P. Schlesinger, on Thursday.

A Topps spokeswoman referred questions about the delay to the USDA.

Teuber said the Sept. 7 tests yielded 13 negative results and one positive result.

USDA scientists then conducted a more sophisticated test that took an additional seven days. After those results became available Sept. 14, the department then investigated to determine whether the suspect meat could have been contaminated in the consumer’s home.

In general, home contamination is rare and the department is now reviewing whether to bypass that test in the future, Teuber said.

“We have real concerns about the 11-day lapse,” she said.

As of Wednesday, 29 people in eight mostly East Coast states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None has died.