Nebraska Meatpacker Denies Supplying Tainted Beef

An Omaha meatpacker denies supplying tainted beef to Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. that sickened dozens of people in 2007.

A statement issued Saturday by Greater Omaha Packing Company President Henry Davis says all products shipped to Cargill tested negative for E. coli.

Cargill filed a federal lawsuit Friday, saying the meatpacker supplied beef trimmings that were processed into ground beef at its Butler, Wis., plant in mid-August 2007. About 845,000 pounds of the beef was voluntarily recalled after four Minnesota children got sick from E. coli.

The lawsuit says Greater Omaha Packing violated the terms of its sales agreement with Cargill by providing bad meat.

Cargill says said the tainted meat was linked to at least a few dozen illnesses, including those in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Tennessee.