Does your ground beef include trimmings and, if so, do the trimmings come from different slaughter houses.

Can the consumer buy ground beef made from whole pieces of meet instead of trimmings.

@Amy We are advising customers: “When in doubt, throw it out.” Customer safety is our priority, so if you have any concerns, we encourage you to contact your local store for a refund. FYI, the FDA says that an internal temperature of 160°F kills e coli, but that can be challenging to measure.

@Laura The frozen grass fed ground beef from New Zealand is not associated with the recall and should be fine for you to use.

@Carol When our meat is processed in plants that also process conventional meat, our meat is processed first thing in the morning before any conventional product is sent through. This is the same way that organic meat is handled – always processed first on clean equipment to eliminate cross-contamination. This process is monitored by the USDA and we also have our 3rd party auditors check the facilities to ensure that the needed processes are in place.

@Tim Please be assured that Whole Foods Market works diligently to comply with all local, state and federal labor laws. We expect our vendors to do the same and to take this issue as seriously as we do. Though we work closely with our vendor partners to offer you products of the highest possible quality, we have no practical or legal authority over their labor practices.

Also @Tim While we don’t want to take the topic too far off by shifting to produce and other areas of food safety, we want to assure you that independent, third-party inspectors perform unannounced monthly audits to assess food handling and safety procedures in each department of every store. Additionally, we have a direct relationship with many of the farmers and suppliers who provide food to our customers. We are proactive in our efforts to monitor the quality standards of food products from their point of origin to store shelves carefully. This “chain of custody” approach helps ensure safety procedures are followed. This issue has always been a priority at Whole Foods Market.

Thanks, everyone.

1. I applaud your efforts to ensure that products are handled properly during processing. In fact, I am happy to have the opportunity to pay you for that effort. However, I am surprised that you make no mention of the humans who are processing the products. Do you require your suppliers to certify that no children or improperly compensated workers are processing the products? Do you audit that fact back to the source?

2. I realize the title of this entry is, “The Safety of Meat at Whole Foods Market” but it might be helpful for the Global Vice President of Procurement to also address the issue of “chain of custody” for all foods sold so that even vegans can feel secure in their understanding of how all foods are handled. For example, we are all now aware of the various fruits and vegetables tainted with E. coli

The good news is that Whole Foods is a business and ultimately we the consumers can vote with our dollars as I suggest we should with each product we purchase from all vendors.

I am sensitive to antibiotics and I must avoid all antibiotics so my body can tolerate them when needed for a health crisis.

What plant process the organic beef that is occasionally available in the local WF store?

Thank you for this blog.

Let’s see, you had no knowledge that your biggest beef supplier had changed hands and was using one of the worst processing plants in the country. Speaks worlds about your quality control and oversight.