020743 USDA to Large ConAgra Meat Recall

Washington - The U.S. Agriculture Department was expected to announce a large meat recall from ConAgra Beef Co. within the next few hours, a department spokesman said on Friday.

ConAgra Beef, owned by ConAgra Foods Inc., on June 30 voluntarily recalled 354,200 pounds of hamburgers from its Greeley, Colorado, plant due to an E.coli outbreak that has already sickened at least 18 people.

E.coli O157:H7 can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and kidney damage. Children and the elderly are the most at risk.

The largest U.S. food recall for E.coli contamination was in the summer of 1997 when Hudson Foods withdrew about 25 million pounds of ground beef after 15 people in Colorado were sickened by the meat.

Hudson was purchased by poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. one year later.

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