Good morning,

I just read a very frightening article about the processing of ground beef products in the New York Times. My family enjoys your beef products, but after reading this article, I am concerned about how your hamburgers/ground beef are processed. Do you have your own processing facility? Do you test the beef before grinding for e coli contamination? Has Tall Grass ever had recall or had a claim filled against it for illness due to possible contamination of its beef products?
I look forward to your reply.

Suzanne

Good Morning Suzanne, 
     I also read the same article and I can assure you that there is nothing 
to worry about with Tallgrass Beef.  There are several reasons why you can 
feel very safe with our ground beef: 
1.  We do not use a large corporate owned processing plant, but rather a 
local family owned processing plant.  Almost all of the recalls and issues 
come from the large corporate owned plants.  Small, family run plants tend 
to be very clean and sanitary.  Our plant is 100% USDA Inspected.  
2.  Grass fed cattle are inherently free of the pathogenic forms of E. coli 
(0157:H7 is the pathogenic strain that causes the majority of the recalls 
and sickness).  Because our cattle are not fed grain and are not confined to 
feedlots, they are relatively clean, both inside and out.  The majority of E. coli 
comes into processing plants on the dirty hides of grain fed feedlot cattle 
and in their gut.  The pathogenic forms of E. coli are acid-resistant 
strains that cannot exist in the guts of grass fed cattle.  Grain feeding 
changes the gut pH from a more neutral pH to an acidic pH.  This is what 
allows the acid-resistant E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria to grow and thrive.
3.  Our cattle are the very first cattle processed each day in the family 
owned plant we use.  That means they are not mixed with any other cattle and 
the plant is completely clean and sanitary when our cattle are processed. 
There is no chance of cross-contamination between our cattle and other 
cattle.  
4.  The plant we use is heavily inspected and routinely audited to assure 
safe, wholesome meat processing.  They have passed, with very high marks, 
every audit ever conducted at the plant.  They are also routinely audited 
for animal care and welfare, plus worker safety and welfare.  
5. Even with all of these safeguards and checks and balances, we do still 
test EVERY single batch of hamburger produced to be certain there is NO 
presence of any pathogenic bacteria or other pathogenic organisms.  EVERY 
batch of our product comes with what is called a COA or Certificate of 
Analysis, guaranteeing that the meat is free of pathogens and perfectly safe 
to eat.  
6.  We have NEVER had a recall of any of our products, nor has anyone ever 
filed a complaint of sickness.  
7.  We have a complete traceback system in place that allows us to trace 
ever pound of beef that we produce back to the processing plant, to the farm 
where it was born and raised, to the individual animal, and to the specific 
date of processing.
8. Finally, Tallgrass Beef is the ONLY beef that my family eats.  We do not 
have any other beef products in our home and have not since the inception of 
Tallgrass Beef Company.  I do have children at home and they eat no beef but 
Tallgrass beef.  
For further information on the safety and wholesomeness of grass fed beef, 
please go to our website at www.tallgrassbeef.com  and check out the "Why 
It's Better" page.  Click on the "Food Safety and Wholesomeness" button and 
you will find detailed information related to the safety of grass fed beef, 
especially pertaining to E. coli and other pathogenic bacteria.   
If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.  We 
care greatly about our customers and do appreciate your concern and your 
inquiry. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html
Allen Williams, Ph.D. 
Tallgrass Beef Company, LLC 
103 East Main Street, Suite 1 
Sedan, KS 67361 
Mobile (662) 312-6826 
Office (877) 822-8283 
http://www.tallgrassbeef.com/