Personal Injury Law

E. coli, Nebraska Beef, the number 666 and Kroger Finally puts up Warning Signs - What is Whole Foods Doing?

By Bill Marler, Esq.

A friend of mine, who is a bit too much on the religious side, noted that with the recent recall of 160,000 pounds of meat, Nebraska Beef has now recalled 6.66 million pounds on meat – the sign of the Beast - in the past month.  Well, Nebraska Beef did sue a church once - payback is a bitch. 

I’ll leave the numbers up to my friend and others to interpret.  One good thing is that Kroger finally says it has placed signs in its meat departments in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas with information on the latest Nebraska Beef recall - like, "do not eat our meat?"  What about other retailers?

By the way, does anyone know who is still buying Nebraska Beef?

It really is time for retailers, like Kroger and Whole Foods, to step up and be responsible for what they purchase (and from whom) to grind and sell to the public.  Retailers need to have strong specifications - like "no cow shit on our meat" - a tough one?  Those specifications then need to be audited - hmm, so how many times did Kroger or Whole Foods visit Nebraska Beef?  Retailers also need to pay more for the meat - with no cow shit on it  - and stop squeezing suppliers like Nebraska Beef to the point where they throw food safety out the window.  Customers will pay more for meat with no cow shit on or in it - no parent should have to worry that the meat they are buying has E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, or other fecal bacteria or viruses contaminating it.

Kroger and Whole Foods, and other retailers who grind intact cuts of meat in stores, are clearly in my legal sights.  Not only because Nebraska Beef has limited insurance and assets, but also because these retailers are also manufacturers under the law and are therefore strictly liable for poisoning their customers and others as well.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on August 15, 2008 (boomark / email).