Company Recalls 113 Tons of Year-Old, Smelly Beef Bound for Prisons
Filed under: Food, Recalls, Consumer Ally
Company spokesman Frank Tobin said the privately-held company is continuing to search for a cause of the odor and discoloration complaints that prompted the recall. Tobin said none of the product was eaten and no illnesses have been reported.
The USDA said its investigation showed the meat was returned, repackaged and then redistributed to the prisons. Some of it was produced a year ago. However, the Class II recall has a low health risk, the agency said.
Tobin confirmed the meat was repackaged after a retailer returned it due to questions about the ratios of fat to lean. The repackaged meat also was re-inspected by the USDA before it went to two distributors who then sent it on to the prisons. One Great Burger has distribution outlets nationwide for its products.
"Product is repackaged and redistributed all the time," he told Consumer Ally. "There was not a question of the quality of the food product ... everything was inspected and everything was wholesome."
Involved in the recall are 20-pound boxes of "ONEGREAT HAMBURGERS" with an item number of 02044 and an establishment number of 34575 within the USDA mark of inspection. The meat was produced between January 2010 and May 2010 and has "packed on" dates between July 2010 and November 2010.
The USDA is continuing to investigate the case. Consumers with questions about the recall can call the company's director of technical services, John Haug, at (973) 477-9039.
Just last week in an unrelated recall, some 34,000 pounds of organic ground beef and beef patties were taken out of grocery stores including some Costco and Harris Teeter locations over fears of e. coli contamination.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-11-2011 @ 10:04PM
krantcents said...
Aren't there laws against repackaging food? It bothers me that they thought it was okay to repackage the meat. I realize there are insufficient inspectors, but this is dangerous. A fine sizable enough to stop this in the future seems appropriate. I don't want to be suspicious of food products.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 10:42AM
Lindsey said...
They are prisoners true, but at the same time you don't want to have to pay doctor fees for getting them well again after mass food poisoning. But I do think the should work more to produce their own food. Save your money when you have to buy food, use Save Creatively . c* o m and their money saving tips.
1-11-2011 @ 10:37PM
whocares? said...
So what? They're PRISONERS. If they don't like the food served there, then by God don't commit the crimes that put you there. I have no sympathy for the food that goes in the mouths of murderers, rapists, child molesters, sodomizers, arsonists and thieves.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 12:10AM
Nancy Fosler said...
I agree about them. But what about the innocent men in prison?? We all know there are many innocent people that end up in jail, even on death row. It has been proven by DNA that we were going to execute innocent men. I wonder how many we already have? Don't get me wrong, I am for the death penalty, and stand behind our 2nd amendment. They just need to make triple sure that the man they are going to execute is, indeed, guilty beyond even more than a reasonable doubt!
If one of my friends or family was mistakenly and unjustly put in that prison.. DAMN STRAIGHT I'D CARE!! If it happened to YOU, an innocent misunderstanding, or mixup, or someone wrongly ID'd you as the perp. Would you care then??
1-12-2011 @ 10:50AM
Jackie Butler said...
Do you know how much it would cost to treat just one person for food poisoning, yet alone several hundred people?! All on the public's dollar?! Also the guards eat the same thing as the inmates-is it right to allow bad food to go into the bellies of those who risk their lives daily by watching over the very scum you described? It was in the best intrest of all involved to destroy this bad meat.
1-12-2011 @ 11:52AM
Yayabeanes said...
You should care. Not because it's food for prisoners but as you the taxpayer paid top dollar for that rotten food to begin with by someone who bribed state employees.
1-12-2011 @ 7:05AM
Brian said...
I work at a State Prison in NJ and we are not allowed to bring outside food into the jails. In other words we eat the same food as the prisoners and many times we have thrown food out because the meat is bad and we always joked that it was rejected food repackaged. I'm not a inmate hugger but to give them bad food would be against the law as they have already been sentenced by a judge and serving them bad food is not in the sentence!!!!
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1-12-2011 @ 7:17AM
Glenn said...
Why reacll it if it was bound for prisons? They do not deserve better.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 8:26AM
tim baker said...
You can buy a special license to sell out of date foods, but rotton meat I don't think so. Also they can smell it and eat if they want to.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 8:28AM
FINELY TUNED AND POLISHED said...
Many other stories on this Beef issue state it was staged! Meaning they wanted to reduce the debt structure of many states by reducing the number of inmates. Just think HUMANNOIDS reducuing these parasites by 1,000 across the country, and costing as much as six figures to keep them caged in, you do the math.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 9:50AM
MEATMAN said...
WHO EVER SHIPPED THAT MEAT SHOULD ALSO BE IN PRISON
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 9:50AM
John Gray said...
Now they will ship the bad beef back. Next they will make it into saugages and sell it at low named stores such as Food King. This isn't a new practice. Ever wonder what is in a "Slim Jim" meat snack?
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 10:14AM
cliff said...
a question for WHOCARES.
YOU THINK ITS OK TO KILL PEOPLE IN JAIL?
YOU ARE A COMPLETE FOOL.
MANY ARE IN JAIL FOR MINOR CRIMES.
RETHINK THAT .MIGHT BE YOUR FRIEND.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:03AM
Rich said...
Send it to the Chinese penal system. It will help the trade imbalance. Plus, the Chinese will use it!
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:16AM
FRAN said...
WHY? NOW follow it up with "unable to fill critial shortage of on site health care providers ......" How about "unusual" source of beef being supplied to U.S. cattle. I could go on and on ....sorry.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:47AM
Glenn Posner said...
Oh hell...throw a little bar BQ sauce on it, maybe a little hot sauce & you're good to go. Wouldn't inadvertently (of course) poisoning the prisoners help reduce/thin out the herd? Prisoner poisoning makes perfect economic sense in these tough times. It may force surviving prisoners to become vegetarians, further reducing the cost of each incarcerated animal.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:48AM
Glenn Posner said...
You're right Frannie...aren't prisoners a pain in the buttocks region?
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:48AM
Glenn Posner said...
What's minor to you Cliff, RAPE?
Minor is a parking ticket.....
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 11:54AM
Yayabeanes said...
"The USDA said its investigation showed the meat was returned, repackaged and then redistributed to the prisons. Some of it was produced a year ago. However, the Class II recall has a low health risk, the agency said."
Response: And none of you idiots picked up on the fact that some of it was produced a year ago. A YEAR AGO! So what do you think you get from the grocery stores. Your getting the same swill.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 1:06PM
MyKisa said...
big expensive FDA is a failure, always after-the-fact. Now Homeland Security, another new government beast, will control...oh, er...help to keep the food safe...yeah right
Reply