60,000 pounds of ground beef recalled

A USDA food safety inspection has resulted in the recall of more than 60,000 pounds of ground beef sold at four major supermarket chains in the Southeast.

Publix, Winn-Dixie, Walmart, and Krogers have issued recalls for ground beef sold in the past three weeks.

The inspectors found E. coli bacteria in samples of ground beef supplied by National Beef Packaging Co. of Dodge City, Kansas.

Officials say the ground beef recall is mainly in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

But the ground beef was also sent to several distributors for nationwide distribution.

Here's the rundown:

• Kroger 5 lb. Pkg. Flavorseal Ground Chuck (UPC: 1111097028 (only date included for this product is "Freeze By 8-12-2011)
• Kroger Beef Chuck Ground 80-85% (UPC 22251500000, 22251510000, 22251520000, 22251530000, 22251550000, 22251560000, 22251570000, 22251580000)
• Ground Beef Patties - Regular & Family Pack (UPCs: 22250400000, 22250410000, 22250420000, 22250430000, 22251600000, 22251610000, 22251620000, 22251630000)
• Ground Beef Seasoned Patties - Regular & Family Pack (UPCs: 29116750000, 29116760000, 29116770000, 29116780000, 29116850000, 29116860000, 29116870000, 29116880000)
• In Store Made Meatballs - packaged and service case (UPCs: 29119600000, 29119610000, 29119620000, 29119630000, 29119640000)
• In Store Made Meatloaf - packaged and service case (UPCs: 29109100000, 29109110000, 29109120000, 29109130000, 29109140000)

Also on the recall list, are Publix  meatballs, Salisbury steak, stuffed peppers, Mesquite seasoned chuck patties, meatloaf and other beef products with "sell by" dates of July 25 through Aug. 12. The Publix beef products were sold at stores in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee.

Products subject to the Winn-Dixie recall have "sell-by" label dates from 7/31/11 - 8/12/11 and can be identified as follows:
-- "Winn-Dixie Ground Chuck," UPC code 20170000000
-- "Winn-Dixie Ground Chuck Family Pack (FP)," UPC code 29127700000
-- "Winn-Dixie Ground Chuck Patties," UPC code 20170100000
-- "Winn-Dixie Ground Chuck Patties Family Pack (FP)," UPC code 29128200000

Products affected by this recall were sold in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Consumers with questions may contact Winn-Dixie Guest Services toll free at 1-866-WINN-DIXIE.

The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) collects data on recalls, and offers advice to consumers on how to safely prepare raw meat - fresh and frozen. It advises: "only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.

What's the Beef with Taco Bell?

For the last several days Taco Bell has done their best to answer all the questions and speculation about the beef they use.

A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit. claiming that Taco Bell uses so much other ingredients in its meat that it can  no longer be called beef.

Taco Bell, shot back that the suit is "absolutely wrong" and that it planned legal action of its own.

So, the question becomes,  how much stuff can be mixed in with the beef and still be recognized as beef?

The US Department of Agriculture says in its raw or frozen form, ground beef "shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders," The seasonings are of no consequence one way or the other.

Taco Bell says, that's exactly the way they do it.

"We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef," the company says in its statement. "Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture."

It's that texture part where the legal debate begins.

The lawsuit states,"In reality, a substantial majority of the filling is comprised of substances other than beef." 

And what about the seasonings in question?

"Those ingredients are not added for flavor, but rather to increase the volume of the product," the suit claims. "These ingredients are binders and extenders such as 'isolated oat product.' "

Things get a bit suspect when supposedly a Taco Bell label on a meat container reads: "Taco Meat Filling," not beef.

Taco meat filling, according to the USDA's Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book, must contain at least 40 percent fresh meat, says Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, the Montgomery, Ala., law firm that filed the suit. The one plaintiff named in the class-action suit, Amanda Obney of California, is not asking for monetary damages, but wants Taco Bell to stop advertising its meat filling as beef.

Taco Bell, refuses to back down down from the allegations.

"We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website," the company said in its statement "Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later – and got their "facts" absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food."

Here's the updated statement by Greg Creed, President and CCO,Taco Bell Corp. (photo left)

"The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture. The lawyers got their facts wrong. We take this attack on our quality very seriously and plan to take legal action against them for making false statements about our products. There is no basis in fact or reality for this suit and we will vigorously defend the quality of our products from frivolous and misleading claims such as this."


What is in Taco Bell's recipe for seasoned beef?


"We're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasoned beef flavor and texture, just like you would with any recipe you cook at home.


For example, when you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef. We do the same thing with our recipe for seasoned beef.


Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today:


• 88% USDA-inspected quality beef
• 3-5% water for moisture
• 3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors).
• 3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product.


Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com."

Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp.

We'll keep you posted as this continues...