In brief: Sysco recalls beef patties

SEATTLE – A massive beef recall in Canada has crossed the border, leading the Seattle branch of a major food distributor to recall 16,800 pounds of ground-beef patties that may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria.

None of the beef was sold in groceries, said Charley Wilson, spokesman for Sysco, the largest food-service distributor in the U.S.

Sysco’s Seattle branch bought the beef from New Food Classics, the Ontario- based processor at the center of a recall that extends to more than 135 meat products across Canada. Sysco, in turn, sold the beef to a single customer, which runs restaurants in Washington, Colorado, Arizona and Texas.

Wilson would not name the restaurants. He said Sunday that Sysco is working with its customer to identify and destroy the beef: “We know exactly where the meat is. We know the time frames. It’s just a matter of it being tracked down.”

The recalled products:

• 10-pound boxes of “Prime Rib Beef Patties,” 8 ounces, with product code 55317 and production code 11 NO 22.

• 10-pound boxes of “Prime Rib Beef Patties,” 71 grams, with product code 55391 and production code 11 SE 01 or 12 JA 04.

Bear expert says spray beats gun

MISSOULA – A bear expert says a study has found that people using bear spray during grizzly bear encounters are injured far less often than people using firearms.

University of Calgary’s Steve Herrero said 98 percent of those who used bear spray walked away unhurt, and no people or bears died. He said 56 percent of those who used firearms were injured, and 61 percent of the bears died.

The firearms study involved 269 incidents with 444 hunters. The bear spray study had 72 incidents with 175 people, though some of those might have been less dangerous encounters.