Hold that burger

Washington, D.C.

Federal health officials recalled 18.6 million pounds of ground beef after contaminated meat made 16 Coloradans sick. The government last week urged anyone who bought hamburger meat processed this summer by the ConAgra Foods plant in Greeley, Colo., to return it to the store or throw it out. Officials discovered traces of E. coli bacteria in samples before issuing the recall, the second-largest in U.S. history. Cooking the meat to 160 degrees kills the bacteria, so much of the meat may have been safely eaten. Dr. Elsa Murano, undersecretary for food safety, said she had “no idea how much product is still in consumers’ hands.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up