CHICAGO - Livestock analysts were unsure of the extent of any backlash from U.S. consumers in response to the recall of 25 million lbs of beef by Hudson Foods Inc.
"I don't know how serious it is going to be and I don't know how to predict that," said Joseph Uhl, a food marketing economist at Purdue University.
"I think you're going to see a lot of damage control and peolpe trying to reassure the public that this is not a widespread problem," he said. "The whole thing turns on how successful they are at that."
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Hudson Foods will recall 25 million lbs of hamburger patties produced at its Columbus, Neb., meatpacking plant and close the plant temporarily.
The recall -- which has ballooned from 1.2 million lbs last week -- was prompted by potential contamination by E.coli bacteria. The Agriculture Department still has not identifed the source of the suspedted contamination or the supplier of the affected beef to Hudson.
About 16 people in Colorado became ill in July from eating apparently tainted hamburgers processed at the Hudson plant.
"You've really got a psychological problem here," Uhl said. "It may not be a safety problem, but it's in the consumer's head and that's what you're dealing with, and I have no way of predicting how people are going to react to that."
The beef industry could get stung further if it is perceived that the problem was not isolated, said Chuck Levitt, livestock analyst with Alaron Trading Corp in Chicago.
"The only impact it will have is if they find out who the supplier of the Hudson plant is and if the supplier also services a brand name or name on the product that can go to different locations," Levitt said.
Levitt said consumers probably will not be too concerned about eating ground beef unless it comes from a package with Hudson Foods' name on it.
"But if the consumer starts to panic because the amount is getting bigger and bigger and all of a sudden they start talking about who supplied the plant with beef and they name some top company that also supplies to 100 other places...that's something else," Levitt said.
Levitt added that much of the 25 million lbs has probably already been consumed.
Dan Vaught, a livestock analyst with A.G. Edwards and Son, Inc in St. Louis, said he also was unsure what impact the news would have on beef demand but said consumers have become hardened to "food scare" stories.
"I've kind of come to the term that consumers are 'scared out.' It's basically a question of how much consumers care about this," Vaught said.
Vaught said the news had a potential to boost beef prices if retailers find themselves short of frozen hamburger supplies right before the busy Labor Day holiday weekend because they had to return boxes.
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