E. coli concern prompts firm to recall beef
Published 9:00 pm Monday, May 21, 2001
PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles company is recalling 1,800 pounds of beef because it may have been contaminated with a lethal strain of E. coli bacteria.
Evergreen Meats Inc. announced the voluntary recall Monday in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
There have been no reports of illnesses because of the beef, the Agriculture Department said.
Some of the beef being recalled is packaged in 10-pound cases labeled "Evergreen Meats Ground Beef Patties."
Also being recalled are 10-pound bags of ground beef labeled "Evergreen Meats, Inc., Ground Beef."
The meat was sold to wholesale establishments in Washington state on May 16, and the packaging may be marked with that date.
The problem was discovered after routine inspection by the Agriculture Department.
The bacteria involved, E. coli 0157:H7, is potentially deadly and causes bloody diarrhea and dehydration.
For information, call Evergreen Meats at 360-457-8555.
Mardi Gras panel must meet in public: A judge said Monday that city task forces investigating racial profiling and Mardi Gras violence must conduct their meetings in public. The city had argued that the committees were merely advisory panels not responsible for crafting public policy, and therefore were not subject to open meeting laws. The public would eventually be allowed to comment on the panels’ recommendations, the city said. King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer disagreed, ruling in favor of an activist who argued that the recommendations of the task forces would be used to make public policy and that the public had a right to know what happens at their meetings. Mayor Paul Schell formed three panels to investigate Mardi Gras riots that left one person dead and more than 70 people injured in February.
Cord suspected in cafe fire: An overheated electrical cord in a second-floor bathroom was probably responsible for a fire that damaged the Speakeasy Cafe, investigators said Monday. The Friday night blaze at the two-story building in the city’s Belltown neighborhood did an estimated $900,000 damage. There were no injuries. Fire officials said remodeling was under way on the second floor, and that the power cord was dangerously close to flammable materials. The second floor was most heavily damaged; the first floor, where the cafe is, suffered mainly water damage. The cafe is housed in a 5,000-square-foot converted warehouse that featured a restaurant, coffee house and performance space. About 60 firefighters and 30 fire units battled the two-alarm blaze.
Sex-offender bill goes to governor: The Legislature in Salem gave final approval Monday to a bill intended to prevent the state from placing released sex offenders in homes near schools and day care centers. The House unanimously approved the bill, sending it to Gov. John Kitzhaber. The bill generally prohibits the state Corrections Department and the state Parole Board from locating violent or predatory sex offenders in residences near schools, day care centers or other areas "where children are the primary occupants or users." The measure would allow some exceptions. The bill also requires officials to tell local residents in advance if their areas are being considered for a sex offender home placement.
Bill labels "peeping" a crime: Sexual "peeping" at nude people without consent, whether photographing acts or not, would become a crime under a bill on which the Legislature completed action Monday. The House unanimously endorsed the measure, sending it to Gov. John Kitzhaber. The bill would expand the crime of invading privacy to include nonconsenting observation of a nude person for the purpose of "arousing or gratifying sexual desire" when the person observed was in a place with a "reasonable expectation of privacy." The bill would revise a 1997 law that was approved in the wake of complaints about hidden cameras being used to record women patrons of Portland tanning salons. Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, says he sponsored the new bill because current law deals only with making recordings of people without their consent.
From The Herald’s news services
