GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES HUDSON TO ACT ON USDA RECOMMENDATION
							Release No. 0283.97


						Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623
							 tamontree@usda.gov
						Jacque Knight (202) 720-9113
							jacque.lee@usda.gov

GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES HUDSON TO ACT ON USDA RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE NEBRASKA
PLANT, RECALL ALL HUDSON BEEF PRODUCTS

     WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced that the Hudson Foods Company of Rogers, Arkansas will close its
Columbus, Nebraska plant, recall all product and dispose of any product in
inventory on the recommendation of USDA. USDA investigators have found
evidence of possible hazards to public health from the E.coli 0157:H7
bacterium in other products and the company is unable to satisfy USDA based
upon their records.

     USDA is alerting consumers to look for all Hudson Foods brand frozen
preformed beef patties with Establishment Number 13569 printed inside the
USDA inspection seal.  The products should be returned to the place of
purchase.   Products were distributed to grocery stores and wholesale
stores.  

     Hudson Foods is also notifying all of its customers to immediately
stop using its products from that plant.  These customers include Safeway,
WalMart, Burger King, Sam's Club, and Boston Market. 

     "Since the beginning of the Hudson outbreak, public safety has been
our number one concern," said Glickman.  "I believe the action we are taking
today while tough, is the only option based on the new information our
investigators have uncovered."  

     A team of USDA investigators today determined that beef burgers
produced on June 6 included product left over from the June 5 production, in
which FSIS laboratory test have identified positive E.coli 0157:H7.

     "USDA is including this information to get the word out to consumers
who will want to check to make sure that suspect product has been removed
from restaurants where they take their families," said Thomas J. Billy,
administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

     Glickman ordered the team of USDA investigators to the Hudson plant in
Columbus, Nebraska after the Food Safety and Inspection Service determined
that an August 12 recall of 20,000 pounds of frozen beef burgers should be
expanded to 1.2 million pounds on August 15. 

     Colorado public health officials initially identified an E.Coli
O157:H7 infection to USDA in late July and sent a Hudson beef patty from the
patient's freezer to a USDA laboratory where it tested positive for the
E.coli 0157:H7 bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal kidney
failure.  Colorado on August 12 confirmed that five of 16 cases of foodborne
illness were linked to the Hudson frozen beef patties, causing USDA to call
for the initial voluntary recall by Hudson.

     USDA has alerted consumers to check labels in their freezers for
Hudson Foods Company frozen beef patties and burgers and return those
products to the grocery stores or wholesale clubs where they were purchased. 
Distribution is considered to be nationwide since consumers often take the
popular frozen burgers across state lines to summer homes or the patties may
be purchased at wholesale clubs for resale in smaller retail stores.

     Officials from the Food Safety and Inspection Service are starting
today to check with Hudson clients to be sure inventory that was produced on
June 6 is returned to a Hudson warehouse in Van Buren, Ark.  FSIS will
collect samples from returned product to determine the extent of the
possible contamination and will supervise destruction of the product, as
requested by Hudson.  Hudson has not notified FSIS how they intend to
destroy the product, which could be burned or rendered.   

     FSIS maintains a liaison with the Centers for Disease Control in
Atlanta to determine whether reports of foodborne illness are linked to the
recall. CDC has no deaths reported that have been linked to this recall and
is continuing to investigate to determine whether reported E. coli 0157:H7
infections are related.

     E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause severe
abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and dehydration.  The very young, the
elderly, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most
susceptible to foodborne illness.  Persons with any of these symptoms should
immediately contact their doctor or hospital.

     "Because of the potential hazard of foodborne disease from consumption
of undercooked hamburgers contaminated with pathogens such as the E. coli
O157:H7 bacteria, we continue to urge consumers who may have purchased the
suspect product to return it to the place of purchase," said Billy.  

     "USDA advised the company to recall all of its product because USDA's
lack of confidence in the records provided to investigators, and we want to
err on the side of public health and safety," said Glickman.
     
     For questions about the recall, phone the toll-free USDA Meat and
Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555. The Hudson Foods Company consumer
hotline number is 1-800-447-2670.

                              #                        

Editor's Note:  Media inquiries to the Hudson Foods Company should be
directed to John White at 501-636-1100.
                                 
USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet.
Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov