Topps Calls It Quits After Beef Recall

[Akoto]

Source: Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Topps Meat Co. on Friday said it was closing its business, six days after it was forced to issue the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history.

On Sept. 25 Topps began recalling frozen hamburger patties that may have been contaminated after with the E. coli bacteria strain O157:H7. The recall eventually ballooned to 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.

Thirty people in eight states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None have died.

-- snip --

"In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large," D'Urso said in a statement.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEAT_RECALL?SITE=WYCHE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[meegbear]

1. a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall ...

well maybe if they dealt with the economic reality of inspections, they wouldn't be closing.

[EST]

5. You are sooo right!

A few active inspectors, here and there, would well have averted such a catastrophe. Pay me now or pay me later.

[atreides1]

9. Inspectors cost money

Never mind.;)

[shanti]

28. and that inspection money

would've cut into the CEO's profits - nuff said. their greed was their downfall.

[Xenotime]

52. Agreed. Serves them right.

[LiberalFighter]

32. What did they spend so they wouldn't have inspectors?

[ohio2007]

38. That sounds like ther rules of engagement put out by

the PETA wing of those against eating animal.


a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall ...
well maybe if they dealt with the economic reality of inspections, they wouldn't be closing.



ya know,
the company hires a few fifth columnists, one thing leads to another and ;)

It could be considered a hostile takeover and terminating the real merchants of death employees .

I'm sure the majotirty workforce didn't have green cards anyway so
we all win


/sarc

[rusty quoin]

2. That's incredible.

[Fovea]

3. But we can't test for BSE.

things that make you go 'hmmm'.

[LakeSamish706]

4. Well that is one stupid statement...

"In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large," D'Urso said in a statement.

Makes one wonder if he is suggesting that they be allowed to just sell their tainted food and people should just shut up about it!

[EST]

8. Yah, a few dead people, here and there, just don't stack up against

the success or failure of a corporation.

[tanyev]

14. Remember how the real problems at Abu Ghraib were that soldiers had cameras?

:crazy:

[tridim]

6. That is stunning.

So what have we learned? If a Chinese manufacturer poisons kids with lead paint, WE apoligize to them. If an American company has a major recall they are forced to close. I'm not cutting this company a break, but it's obvious something's out of whack here.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. one kid lost his kidneys forever.

at least one more is in intensive care.

the USDA sat on this shit for 18 days. unbelievable.

[Beelzebud]

10. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for them for not ensuring public safety?

LOL

I'm so fucking sick of corporations having more of a say on things than We The People.

[TwilightGardener]

11. Ground beef is risky. There's just no way around it.

[Snarkturian Clone]

12. Wow I used to eat those burgers like 5 years ago NT

[flvegan]

13. It took 18 days to issue the recall. Astounding.

Of those who have fallen ill, the CDC reports that "the first reported illness began on July 5, 2007, and the last began on September 11, 2007. Among fifteen ill persons for whom hospitalization status is known, ten (67%) patients were hospitalized."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-recall4oct04,1,797128.story

July-September. Pathetic.

Even if I ate meat, I wouldn't touch any sort of red meat that I didn't raise and kill myself with a 10 foot pole.

The inspection of food in this country is laughable at best.

[kestrel91316]

15. Maybe if the USDA had the budget they need, and could hire all

the inspectors and veterinarians they need, at a pay rate that would ATTRACT more of them, they could do more inspections. Plants go with inadequate inspection because the Repukes have gutted the USDA.

Don't blame the USDA. Blame those who want government for the sole purpose of waging war.

[eppur_se_muova]

22. USDA has already been carved down to "drown it in the bathtub" size.

Reagan did a lot of that, but even Clinton (who got lots of money from Tyson, the chicken people) did a lot to relax the inspection requirements.

[kestrel91316]

16. BTW, it's not red meat per se that's the hazard.

Feedlot beef, which is fed primarily grain (not a normal food for cattle) is high-risk for E coli O157H7 because of the cows' altered rumen pH. Grass-fed beef is very low risk for it because the rumen pH is where it should be.

Commercial ground beef commingles meat from hundreds if not thousands of animals, so it there is ONE contaminated cow and it gets in with the others, it ruins the whole batch. E coli O157H7 is SOOOO infectious it only takes a very few bacteria to infect (possible a single organism!!), so a little bit goes a long way.

To minimize the risk of this disease, buy grass-fed pasture-raised beef and grind it yourself at home. Or do without all the damned burgers, America.

[flvegan]

24. That's why even my dogs are vegetarian.

[depakid]

25. Ground beef is just a crap shoot.

[kestrel91316]

31. Well, actually, commercial ground beef is a sure thing.

Guaranteed to have MASSIVE bacterial contamination. And you need to be aware that there is no way for it to be produced commercially and approach the cleanliness of home-ground grass-fed beef.

BTW, there is no legal obligation to produce bacteria-free meats. Can't be done. NOT POSSIBLE. It is not a sterile product. All that is possible is to limit the presence of harmful pathogenic bacteria. Sadly, they are failing at that.

[Vegasaurus]

49. Read "My Year of Meats"

Guarenteed to turn anyone into a vegetarian.

There are more such reads, if one is concerned about the horrific conditions in the meat industry.

[Kagemusha]

17. Hey, this is why rigorous inspections are economically wise.

When you have lax inspections, the problems get bigger, so big that they can sink an entire business.

Penny wise, pound (of meat) foolish.

[pattmarty]

18. This dog shit was sold at Wal Mart for all your info. Low price, big tummy ache.

[LeftHander]

19. Proof "economy of scale" is a economic dead end....

The greed to which companies operate drives them to be "bigger" and bigger. Unfortunately many find that bigger does not mean cheaper or better. It means a poor quality product(s), too many eggs and only one basket and a company that cannot move.

So now we have wasted 21 millions pounds of meat. That cost billions to produce.

I would like to hear the conservative economics and business professors explain this one away....

[daleo]

20. Declaring bankruptcy before the lawsuits?

It might be a way to hide the money.

[mcscajun]

45. Bankruptcy filing hasn't happened yet, and wouldn't matter anyway.

The closing, or any subsequent bankruptcy, does not derail the lawsuits, said William D. Marler, a lawyer for the family of 8-year-old Emily McDonald, of North Colonie, N.Y. She was hospitalized for two days after eating a hamburger Aug. 17 at a barbecue.

"Bankruptcy will slow the process down, but it does not mean that people will not be compensated," Marler said.

Company spokeswoman Melissa McKay said the company has not declared bankruptcy, but said that could change.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=627361&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=10/5/2007&TextPage=1

[Eurobabe]

21. as well they should, this is disgusting, USDA complicit also

:nuke:

[Zenlitened]

23. dupe

Source: The Wall Street Journal

By KATHY SHWIFF
October 5, 2007 12:05 p.m.

The second-largest beef recall in U.S. history caused Topps Meat Co. LLC to close Friday.

"This is tragic for all concerned," said Chief Operating Officer Anthony D'Urso. "In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large."

Topps on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties because of possible E. coli bacteria contamination that sickened more than a dozen people in eight states to 21.7 million pounds from 332,000.

No link yet.

---

Alternate link, USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-10-05-topps-meat-recall_N.htm

[niyad]

27. so the tragedy isn't the sick people, but their bottom line, correct? disgusting.

[radfringe]

26. we don't need no stinking regulations....

[Ian David]

29. The Free Market has spoken. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out, assholes. n/t

[damntexdem]

30. Yeah, they should switch to selling something at which they are more proficient:

e-coli!

[Demeter]

33. Couldn't They Buy Themselves Some Relief?

tsk, tsk, tsk. Things really are falling apart in DC.

I don't think anything like this has ever happened--with the exception of the Corvair, maybe.

[mcscajun]

46. There was a similar case in 1997.

Topps, which halted production Sept. 26, is not the first meat company shuttered by a recall. Hudson Foods Co. closed its plant in Columbus, Neb., after it agreed in 1997 to destroy 25 million pounds of hamburger in the largest U.S. meat recall after E. coli was found in the ground beef. The plant later reopened with new owners.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=627361&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=10/5/2007&TextPage=1

[cosmicdot]

34. "Quality goes into every bite."

from Topps' Quality Assurance section of its former website ... found using the Wayback Machine

http://web.archive.org/web/20070620094030/www.toppsmeat.com/quality.html

It starts right from the beginning. At Topps, we only use the highest quality raw materials in our products. We are very selective in the sources we use for our raw materials, only purchasing from those facilities that have demonstrated a high degree of safety and Good Manufacturing Practices.

Topps uses only the best cuts of meat. We do not use PDCB (Partially Defatted Chop Beef), although the government permits its use in 100% pure all beef patties. Nor do we use LFTB (Lean Finely Textured Beef), even though the government allows its use in ground beef. Topps also does not use tubes of coarse ground or fine ground beef, both of which may utilize LFTB.

No meat by-products, no extenders - nothing artificial. Topps Hamburgers are ground from either sirloin beef or lean two-piece boneless chucks - for a delicious, sweet taste that no other frozen hamburger can match. That's the reason why so many supermarket chains, wholesalers and distributors have turned to Topps to develop their private label programs. ~snip~

It's nice to know that some things never change.

who supplied the meat?


Who establishes and regulates 'Good Manufacturing Practices'?

http://www.fda.gov/CDRH/DEVADVICE/32.html

is it pretty much self-regulation?

I know when ISO-9000 became big, good ol'boy management's instructions were 'keep it simple' ... you issued a purchase order/contract to some 'company' set up to 'ISO-certify' companies. It seemed rather loose-goosey to me. In the end, there really weren't any quality mechanisms. Once certified, one could have the IS0-9000 certification stamp on equipment. Sort of accepting whatever quality mechanisms the seller had by virtue of a stamp. In manufacturing environments, there once existed layers of quality and reliability assurance inspections: in-process inspections, in-coming, in-house, out-going.


Looks like Topps recently acquired another company. Perhaps instead of expanding, resources could have been focused on quality.

[NYC]

37. If Topps purchased the meat, who else purchased the meat?

...purchasing from those facilities that have demonstrated a high degree of safety and Good Manufacturing Practices...

Who manufactured this e-coli contaminated meat? Did companies other than Topps buy it? Has it been recalled? I didn't get that impression from the article.

Why is Topps not suing the manufacturer, rather than going out of business?

[NYC]

39. Meat produced by Cargill was recalled.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/06/sams.recall.ap/index.html?iref=topnews

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- The Sam's Club warehouse chain has pulled a brand of ground beef patties from its shelves nationwide after four children who ate the food, produced by Cargill Inc., developed E. coli illness.

...ground beef patties...under the name American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties...

...Cargill, based in Wayzata, Minnesota, is one of the nation's largest privately held companies and makes food ingredients, moves commodities around the world and runs financial commodities trading businesses...

...The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine the source of the contamination...

Cargill will not comment until Monday.

[TommyO]

47. I saw this too

If you're going to have hamburgers, get meat from a local butcher or grocery store that grinds their own meat in small batches from one cow, not manufactured patties that can have meat from hundreds, if not a thousand different cows in one patty.

[NYC]

48. Is Cargill where Topps purchased their meat?

That wasn't stated in the article.

I agree with you. Commercial chopped beef is just too unsanitary. They don't even try.

[Pharlo]

44. ISO isn't a corporate quality stamp as some seem to think.

It's billed as a Quality Management System, but all it really is, is a document trail.

The company determines its policies. It documents its policies. ISO certification is nothing more than an audited compliance of those policies by tracing the documents.

If a company is certified ISO compliant, many companies replace on-site audits of a vendor by accepting a quality manual, proof of ISO compliance, and a vendor quality audit - filled out by the vendor. I'm in Q/C. I've filled out more than a few of these audits. I've seen frequency of on site vendor audits decline as companies rely more on ISO certification from their vendors.

In fact, I can't recall the last time I have encountered an on-site audit from an existing customer - only new customers where we would be a first time vendor.

Even then, certification approval is often sufficient.

To say that ISO has replaced inspection practices is not completely accurate. What has happened, is there is more of a reliance on internal vendor documents (aka ISO certification) than on on-site inspection. At least, from what I have observed.

With the implementation of ISO, many companies have become more dependent on Vendor certification status. Which means they have a list of 'certified vendors' which they may not even do incoming inspection on - or, they may do 'skipped batch/lot' inspection (ie, for every 10 batches/lots of incoming, they do incoming on one batch/lot).

Currently, I work in a small plastics molding company. I receive material certifications from our suppliers for the plastic material. I do not have the facilities to do incoming on the plastic. I am dependent upon the supplier for that. (My procedures states I accept and retain this document for a minimum of one year in current files and 3 years in archived files. I do that. Thus, I am audit compliant. No where does it state I do an independent analysis of the material. I don't have to. Not for compliance.) I do, however conduct a dimensional incoming inspection on component parts - such as threaded inserts.

In the instance of food preparation, there are so many government regulations concerning food quality, that the ISO doc would read "Inspected per USDA standard ...." ISO certification only means they have the documents stating they do what they say they do. It does not ensure perfection. As long as I can show documented proof to my auditor that I am doing what my procedures say I am, I get re-certified. If it's the USDA's responsibility to see to it that my numbers are correct, an ISO audit won't find this. Hell, in the instance of many ISO auditors, I don't think they'd know if numbers were non compliant unless the USDA had issued a warning or reprimand. All they would see is a document with the appropriate title, date, and filled out and move on to the next item.

ISO auditors follow company procedural paper trails. USDA inspectors are the regulations experts and can analyze the integrity of the data they are being shown.

[itsrobert]

35. They will just open under a different name

in less than a week. Count on it. The names will be changed to protect the innocent and guility.

[olddad56]

36. I wonder if all the execs cashed out the day before the news broke...

It is proper corporate etiquette to do that.

[ohio2007]

40. the question is ....was it a union shop ?

I would guess not since the union would abide by heatlth industry standards in food handling

[mcscajun]

41. No. This was a small, local NJ company with less than 100 employees.

They are now all out of work because the company had no recall insurance.

The jobs could have been saved if recall insurance was mandatory, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said.

"Eighty-seven workers are out of a job because a company could not afford a large recall -- recall insurance should not be an option," said Brown, whose legislation would require coverage so distributors can cover recall costs.

The bill would also give the USDA the authority to issue recalls. Currently, the USDA can only recommend a recall to the company to have its products pulled from shelves.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=627361&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=10/5/2007

[mcscajun]

42. No stock to "cash out": this was a small, privately held corporation

based in NJ with less than 100 employees.

I have no sympathy for the owners, but much for their now-unemployed staff.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=627361&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=10/5/2007&TextPage=2

[mcscajun]

43. I have never purchased pre-made frozen burgers, and while I may

have eaten one or two unawares at a barbecue, if I spot the box before grilling takes place, I pass on 'em every time, no matter What name is on the package. Topps may have been the largest manufacturer, but certainly not the only one.

I hope this situation leads to a major change in inspections and regulations, but until and unless BushCo is out of power, I'm not holding my breath.

[burrowowl]

50. E.coli comes from fecal matter

It is the way the cows are butchered that sprays it all over the place.
A procedure that would cause less spray and rinsing the carcasses would help.
Better still butchers at your supermarket who grind a cut you want into hamburger. Hamburger has lots of surface area that can get contaminated. That is why in France, restaurants have to use their ground meat within 2 hours. You also choose your cut to grind at the local butcher and he has to clean his grinder after he has ground your meat.

[Blue_Tires]

51. at least Topps stopped just short of demanding an apology from consumers

:sarcasm: