Consumers Union Calls for Meat Inspection Reform

On Monday, the Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of "Consumer Reports" magazine, called for mandatory recall authority to be given to both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a single food agency in order to ensure better safety of the United States' food supply.

The call was published in the wake of a 21.7 million pound beef recall by the Topps Meat company out of Elizabeth, NJ. A major recall was put out by the company on Saturday, September 29th. This meat, in the form of beef hamburger patties, had been put on the market but was recalled because it was found that it might be contaminated with the potentially deadly E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria. The amount of meat recalled is reported to constitute the third largest beef recall in U.S. history and represented several months' worth of meat production.

Some people who had eaten the beef patties started getting ill with what became diagnosed as e. coli bacterial infections in August.

"The system is broken. Recalls and inspections have failed miserably. Clearly we need a single food agency with the tools, resources, and leadership to focus on one clear mission -- food safety," said Jean Halloran, CU's Director of Food Policy Initiatives.

There have been 25 cases of contamination from the meat reported from eight different states.

The bacterial contamination can cause diarrhea, bloody stools, and chronic dehydration. While it nearly always clears within a week in healthy in healthy teens and adults, it can be fatal in infants, those who have compromised immune systems, and frail elderly adults.