Where's the Beef?!

Many of you remember last summer's E. coli outbreak and subsequent recall of nearly 22 million pounds of beef. The Associated Press just released documents detailing disturbingly negligent behavior and flagrant irresponsibility on the part of the meat company, along with lax USDA oversight.

The company responsible for the recall, Topps Meat Co., went bankrupt shortly after the recall was announced – which is just as well, considering their interpretation of “food safety”.  From the AP:

While the Topps Meat Co. churned out millions of frozen hamburgers a month, beef ground one day was often stored and "reworked" with meat from another production cycle, government documents show. A conveyor belt that moved raw patties to packaging was marred by "gouges, cracks and tears," inspectors said. They found residue on surfaces that fresh meat came into contact with.

Gross. If only inspectors from the USDA would have stopped these disgusting practices before 40 people were sickened…