On Oct 5, 10:05 pm, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
Today it is beef....tomorrow toys...the next day...well something
else...fasteners, tires, tools?
It would seem that lack of quality control has just cost this company
its existence and its employees their livelihoods.
Should a company be responsible for its own quality control or is it a
responsibility of government to protect us?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
Thanks
TMT
Beef recall forces Topps to shut down By JEFFREY GOLD, AP Business
Writer
Fri Oct 5
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 and 67 years after it first opened its doors.
The decision will cost 87 people their jobs, Topps said.
On Sept. 25 Topps began recalling frozen hamburger patties that may
have been contaminated with the potentially fatal 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.
"This is tragic for all concerned," said Topps chief operating officer
Anthony D'Urso, a member of the family that founded the company in
1940.
The Topps recall raised questions about whether the U.S. Agriculture
Department should have acted quicker to encourage a recall. On
Thursday, top USDA officials said they would speed warnings in the
future.
Topps conceded that much of the recalled meat had already been eaten,
and on Friday expressed regret that its product had been linked to
illnesses. "We hope and pray for the full recovery of those
individuals," D'Urso said in a statement.
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.
Topps faces at least two lawsuits filed since the recall, one from the
family of an upstate New York girl who became ill, and one seeking
class-action status on behalf of all people who bought or ate the
hamburgers. The family of a Florida girl who suffered kidney failure
sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is among chains that sold Topps
patties.
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.
The Elizabeth-based company had initially recalled 331,582 pounds of
its frozen hamburgers on Sept. 25, acting only after the New York
State Department of Health issued an alert linking its patties to
illnesses.
Topps on Sept. 29 recalled 21.7 million pounds of its frozen
hamburgers - a year's worth of production - after further evidence
from the New York State Department of Health indicated a wider
problem.
D'Urso said that a few employees will remain at the site to help USDA
scientists investigate the source of the E. coli outbreak.
The bacteria, which can be fatal to humans, is harbored in the
intestines of cattle and can also get on their hides. Improper
butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat.
Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees internal temperature, can
destroy the bacteria.
Topps gets beef parts from slaughterhouses, grinds them, forms the
meat into patties and freezes them.
Privately held Topps, which claimed to be the leading U.S. maker of
frozen hamburger patties, said it sells its products to supermarkets
and institutions such as schools, hospitals, restaurants and hotels.
The CDC reported the number of linked cases in these states:
Connecticut, 2; Florida, 1; Indiana, 1; Maine, 1; New Jersey, 7; New
York, 9; Ohio, 1; and Pennsylvania, 8.
The recall represents all Topps hamburger products with either a "sell
by date" or a "best if used by date" between Sept. 25, 2007 and Sept.
25, 2008. All recalled products also have the USDA establishment
number EST 9748, which is on the back panel of the package or in the
USDA legend. A full list of the recalled products is available athttp://www.toppsmeat.com.
___
On the Net:
Topps:http://www.toppsmeat.com/
USDA:http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
Well here is another recall....for a similar problem that they had
before.
Maybe there should be a "three strikes and you are out" when it comes
to selling merchandise.
TMT
U.S. says Razor recalling 20,000 electric scooters Fri Oct 5, 2:10 PM
ET
Razor USA LLC, a California-based importer, is recalling about 20,000
of its E300 electric scooters over concerns the handlebars can break
off, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Friday.
Razor has received 25 reports of welds breaking on the handlebar,
including three reports of injuries, the safety agency said.
The battery-powered scooters were sold at Pep Boys stores and various
Internet retail sites in 2006 between January and October.
The Chinese-made blue or silver scooters were sold for between $190 to
$230 and the recall covers those with barcodes beginning 100620-03
through -09.
In 2005, Razor announced a recall of 246,000 electric scooters for a
similar problem.
Consumers were asked to stop using the scooters immediately and to
contact Razor USA for a free repair kit. For more information,
consumers can go to the company's Web site at
www.razor.com/recall.