reported case of illness linked to the contamination occurred on July 5, 2007. On October 4, 2007, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Topps Meat over the contaminated meat and its consequences. Also on October 4, 2007, the USDA served Topps Meat with a "notice of intended enforcement" (which is a move just short of suspending the rest of the company’s meat production) because of "inadequate process controls" also in the company’s non-ground beef production processes. On October 5, 2007, Topps Meat ceased operations; 77 workers were laid off while about 10 others remained employed to assist the USDA's investigation. "In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large," Anthony D'Urso, chief operating officer, said in a statement. USDA's first positive test results for E. coli contamination came back September 7, 2007, but they waited for confirming tests before ordering a recall 18 days later. Criticism of that 18-day delay in seeking the recall of millions of pounds of tainted Topps Meat ground beef caused the USDA to promise to speed up warnings about contaminated meat in the future. As of October 7, 2007, 29 people in eight states had fallen ill after consuming hamburgers made by Topps Meat Co. See also List of United States foodborne illness outbreaks Sources and notes External links Topps Meat Company home page, from Internet Archive copy as of May 19, 2006 Defunct agriculture companies of the United States Companies based in Union County, New Jersey Food manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1940 Food recalls Companies disestablished in 2007 Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey History of Elizabeth, New Jersey Meat companies of the United States Food and drink companies established in 1940