Over the years, I have had several cases against Cargill Meat Solutions. I think perhaps my last one – Smith v. Cargill – may well be my last.
According to press reports, Cargill Meat Solutions is working to see if a vaccine against E. coli will reduce the number of bacteria, which arrive with cattle – and the preliminary results may be promising. Last Monday, Cargill announced encouraging preliminary results from its 2010 E. coli O157:H7 vaccine trial involving 85,000 head of beef cattle. The $1 million 2010 trial involved the entire cattle supply from 10 feedlots being vaccinated and dedicated to Cargill for harvesting at Fort Morgan. Of the 85,000, nearly 60,000 head of cattle received two doses of the vaccine produced by Wilmar, Minn., based Epitopix LLC, one dose upon arrival at the feedlot and one dose approximately 90 days prior to harvesting. As Cargill said:
“We believe people have the right to expect safe food, and while additional research is required to better understand vaccine’s potential value in controlling E. coli O157:H7 from farm and feedlot to consumers, we’re committed to that pursuit. We continuously strive to provide the safest food possible, every serving, every time. Doing so is critical to the continued success of our business.”
Good job Cargill.