Well, I tried to take a night off, but the meat industry will simply not let me. I had dinner tonight with, somewhat retired writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ross Anderson, and his lovely, and far more accomplished wife, Mary Rothschild. Over a great meal we talked about the Iowa caucuses and what the future might hold for newspapers and bloggers.  We also ran into Lexblogger Kevin.  Well, back to the reality of the meat industry manufacturing E. coli-tainted hamburger.

Michigan Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

According to an FSIS Press Statement, Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., a Detroit, Michigan firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 13,150 pounds of various cuts of steaks and ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today. The steak and ground beef products subject to recall were produced on Dec. 20, 21, 24 or 26, 2007 (nice to see they took Christmas off), and were distributed to restaurants in the metropolitan Detroit area. These products were not available for purchase by consumers in retail establishments. Each shipping label bears the establishment number "Est. 8951" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The following products are subject to recall:

* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BALL TIP STEAKS."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BEEF NY STRIPS."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BEEF T-BONE STEAK."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BEEF PORTERHOUSE STEAK."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BEEF TOP SIRLOIN STEAKS."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, BULK GROUND BEEF."
* Boxes of "Mark’s Quality Meats, Inc., BEEF FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY, GROUND BEEF PATTIES."