U.S. Reviews Claim of Tainted Beef Shipment

Agriculture Department officials said they were investigating a South Korean report of finding harmful E. coli bacteria in a shipment of frozen beef from the United States. The report came five weeks after the largest meat recall in U.S. history--25 million pounds of hamburger patties--also because of the E. coli strain, which can cause food-borne illness. South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said that inspectors had detected the bacteria in a 40,100-pound shipment of meat from the Dakota City, Neb., plant of IBP Inc., the largest U.S. meatpacker. Agriculture Department officials said they confirmed IBP was the supplier. The department will run its own tests to double-check the South Korean finding, a press aide said.