31 Dec 2012

No link found between imported beef and frozen burgers

5:04 am on 31 December 2012

The Food Inspection Agency in Canada has failed to find a link between New Zealand or Australian beef and E.coli in frozen hamburgers that sickened five people.

Beef products produced by a Canadian company, Cardinal Meat Specialists, were recalled between 12 - 15 December after a small cluster of illnesses in Ontario and Alberta.

The agency investigated whether beef imported from Australia and New Zealand used in the burgers could be the E.coli source, but found it met all import certification and testing requirements.

There was also no confirmation of illness in Australia or New Zealand from E.coli with the same genetic fingerprint.

The agency has closed its investigation without a result, saying all lines of inquiry have been exhausted.