The U.S. agriculture secretary said the nation's food safety system was reliable, but added that the meat processing industry would constantly be examined because the bacteria which animals carry was developing.

"I don't think we'll ever see a totally bacteria-free environment in the United States," stated Ed Schafer on Tuesday while paying a visit at some Nebraska meat processing plants. His visit did not comprise the Nebraska Beef Ltd. plant in Omaha, which reminds of 5.3 million pounds of meat that have been linked the previous week to 41 E. coli infections in Ohio and Michigan Midwestern states.Ed. Schafer considers that the company should take responsibility for the contaminated food. He added that the examiners’ duty is to ensure the plant strictly takes into account the USDA set of rules.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service determined the previous week that Nebraska Beef's production practices were in short supply to successfully keep under control E. coli bacteria. Now the focal point is on accurately clarifying by what means the products were tainted at Nebraska Beef and enhancing a safety plan in order to ensure measures will be taken to avoid potential harmful incidents.

The company's merchandise was linked to an outbreak of E. coli infections touching 41 people in Michigan and Ohio. The recall notified last week was extended from 531,707 to 5.3 million pounds yesterday. Since May 30, when the first case of E. coli related to the meat was reported, twenty-two individuals have arrived at the hospital, said the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.