They wanted to protect the Sara Lee name. So they were willing to take the hit, to publish the ads. It was more than what the nation's food safety watchdogs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture did. Because, USDA officials said, the company was handling it. A MIchigan meat plant struggles with santiation.
Listeriosis outbreak begins in Tennessee, Ohio, New York and Connecticut.
Sara Lee starts damage control while the USDA still sits on the fence. A consumer hot line leaves callers cold. Enter the lawyers. Far from it. The government must put the public before the industry.