We are now used to frequent reports on contaminated products imported from China. But what about our domestic produce? Unfortunately, quality of foodstuff supplied by our food giants is not always perfect, either. Pesticide-laced cantaloupes, listeria-loaded chickens, poisonous peanut butter, contaminated spinach… now the list is even longer since ten U.S. states, including Maryland and Pennsylvania, have been recently included in the recall of e.coli - tainted ground beef, which was supplied by Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, a Wyalusing, Pa., firm, to the biggest supermarkets, such as Weis, Giant, and Wegmans in Maryland. More than one million pounds of meat with use-by dates from October 19 to November 3, 2007 and stamped with number 9400, were contaminated with one of the most dangerous strains of e.coli.

Cargill Corporation is one of the biggest U.S. processor and seller of fresh meats, such as beef, pork, and turkey, as well as marinated, cooked, and otherwise processed meat products. It represents over a dozen well-known brands, among which are Excel, Angus Pride, and Sterling Silver, which are distributed in numerous retail outlets and foodservice channels. About a month ago, on October, 6, the corporation already had to recall almost 850,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties due to their contamination with the same strain of e.coli - O157:H7.

Statistics show that about 76 million Americans annually get some sort of illness from substandard foods sold in our supermarkets, with more than 5,000 people dying every year from food poisoning. Unfortunately, U.S. major food corporations are more focused on profit than on safety of their customers.