The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will take steps to improve its recall process because of delays between reports of illness connected to ground beef from the Topps Meat Co. and the recall announcement.
“There is room for improvement,” David Goldman, an assistant administrator with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, told reporters in a teleconference Thursday.
Topps Meat Co. in late September recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground- beef products for possible E. coli bacteria contamination. At least 29 people in eight states became ill after eating the meat from Topps, which is based in Elizabeth, N.J.
A lawyer for one of the people who became ill has said the USDA knew on Sept. 7 that the ground beef was tainted, yet it waited 18 days before concluding that Topps should issue a recall.
Goldman said the initial testing failed to conclusively link the company’s meat to illnesses.
The USDA said the Topps recall is the fifth-biggest ever.
