Most Of Beef IBP
Recalled Consumed

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. —(AP)— More than one quarter of the 500,000 pounds of beef recalled by IBP in Florida and 32 other states has been returned or destroyed by customers, the meatpacking company said Friday.

As expected, most of the ground beef was consumed before the meatpacker's voluntary recall was announced Nov. 4, said Gary Mickelson, IBP spokesman.

The Dakota City-based company recalled 556,226 pounds processed Oct. 22 at its flagship plant. The meat was recalled shortly after a distributor detected the presence of E. coli bacteria on a beef sample. Further tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that the sample was tainted with E. coli 0157:H7.

"Food safety is an ongoing process," Mickelson said Friday. "We are continually reviewing procedures used at all of our plants."

States included in the recall are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.