000701 Safeway Canada Recalls E.Coli-Infected Meat

Toronto - Supermarket chain Safeway Canada recalled 45,000 kilograms (99,000 pounds) of ground beef over the weekend saying it feared it was contaminated with E. coli, one of several retailers in Canada and the United States to withdraw meat because of the bacteria.

Safeway's announcement follows a separate move by the world's largest meat packing company IBP Inc. to recall more than 200 tonnes of ground beef from shelves in North America, fearing the meat was contaminated with E. coli.

Some strains of the bacteria can cause dangerous, even life-threatening infections.

During the weekend, Safeway Canada said it had found strains of E. coli in a batch of ground meat from a supplier in Saskatchewan, Canada's CTV reported on Sunday. It said 51 cases of the meat for hamburgers were distributed to stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and western Ontario, but never made it to store shelves.

Last month, as many as 14 people may have died and over 1,000 infected during an E. coli epidemic in the farming community of Walkerton, Ontario. The bacteria was found in the town's water system, put there by heavy rains which may have washed infected manure into the water.

On Friday, IBP said it was recalling meat produced at its Illinois and Alberta facilities that could contain Escherichia coli 0157:H7 bacteria, the same strain that involved in the Walkerton outbreak.

Health authorities from both sides of the border said there had been no illnesses associated with the meat and urged the public not to panic.

In Alberta about 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg) of ground beef produced at IBP's Lakeside Packers unit in Brooks was recalled, which affected 23 distributors and retailers.

The contamination was discovered by Costco Wholesale Corp. chain, which received less than 20,000 pounds of the beef at 30 of its stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD)--a non-profit group promoting the interests of the grocery distribution industry across Canada--on Sunday warned consumers that all ground beef products should be cooked to a minimum of 71 degrees Celsius, or 160 degrees Fahrenheit, to destroy E.coli 0157:H7 bacteria.

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