Tainted Meat From Costco Sickened Two Kids In 1995 -- But Company Denies Knowledge

Two King County children got food poisoning after eating Costco meat tainted with E. coli in 1995, state health officials said yesterday.

But Costco officials denied knowing about the 1995 contamination until yesterday.

"Today was the first knowledge I had that our product tested positive for E. coli (in 1995)," said Tim Rose, senior vice president of produce for Costco. "We were never informed of that in 1995."

Costco is the subject of a multi-state voluntary recall of 172,000 pounds of selected frozen ground beef after a New York state grandmother got sick June 2 from eating meat contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, a particularly deadly strain of the bacteria.

Following the two 1995 cases, samples of the ground beef the sickened children ate tested positive for the bacteria, said Dr. John Kobayashi, senior epidemiologist with the state Department of Health. The children, both under age 10, did not require hospitalization.

Health officials chose not to expand their investigation because lab results took so long to complete, Kobayashi said.

By the time tests were completed about two months after the children's illnesses were reported, most or all of the potentially bad meat had been sold and eaten. No action, such as a recall, could have been taken at that point, he said.

Costco did, however, supply the Seattle-King County Department of Health with the names of its members who had purchased meat the same day the two children's families bought meat from the store.

At that time, no other illnesses in connection with the meat were reported, Rose said.

"(Costco officials) were aware that there were two E. coli cases that were related to Costco meat," Kobayashi said of the 1995 case.

But on Monday, Richard Galanti, chief financial officer for Costco, said last month's E. coli incident was the first food contamination of its kind for the company.

Yesterday, Costco members in 24 states including Washington returned bags of the potentially contaminated meat for a full refund. An average of 20-25 packages were returned to each warehouse, but more were returned in New York, said Jim Sinegal, president and CEO of the Issaquah-based warehouse store.

The meat in question is limited to two types: frozen 1/3-pound "Kirkland Signature Ground Sirloin and Loin of Beef Patties" (item number 18508) and frozen 1/4-pound "Kirkland Signature Ground Beef Patties" (item number 18498). Both products came in 6-pound packages and have date codes of either "04/06/98" or "04/07/98."

The E. coli involved in the New York case is the same strain responsible for the deaths of four people who in 1993 ate contaminated food at Jack In The Box in Washington and a 16-month-old Colorado girl who drank E. coli-tainted Odwalla apple juice in 1996.

Costco buys its meat from U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved meat suppliers and grinds it at a meat-manufacturing plant in Tracy, Calif. Company officials insist they have a good record and maintain high food-handling safety standards.

So far this year, about 30 people in Washington have been sickened by E. coli. On average, 150-200 cases are reported annually in this state, Kobayashi said.

That the numbers are lower this year suggest people are taking more precautions in handling and preparing uncooked meat, and practicing better safety habits in general, such as washing hands and wiping countertops.

Costco consumers who need help identifying the product or have questions on how to return it can call Costco's consumer inquiry number at 1-800-727-8248.

Putsata Reang's phone message number is 206-515-5629.