Excel, the nation's second-biggest beef processor, has never had to recall a single pound of beef for possible E. coli contamination, but won't guarantee that its meat is free of the microbe. The industry, meanwhile, is scrambling to come up with better sanitation and detection methods, along with ways to eradicate the microbe from cattle prior to slaughter. The bacteria kill an estimated 60 Americans each year and sicken an estimated 73,000 more, mostly children or the elderly. The microbe first appeared in cattle in the late 1970s and now shows up in entire herds. It was found in 28 percent of the cattle entering Midwest slaughterhouses last summer, according to an Agriculture Department study published this spring, and was even more prevalent inside the plants.
Cattle can carry the bacteria on their hides as well as in their intestines.
About 43 percent of the skinned carcasses tested positive prior to being eviscerated - suggesting that the microbes were being spread within the facility. By the time the carcasses were cleaned and sent to a cooler to be readied for processing, most of the E. coli had been destroyed, but 1.8 percent of the sampled carcasses still tested positive. E-mail this story to a friend. Kentucky Connect and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved.