Old Story Causes New Damage

Meatingplace.com, a Web site many food industry officials keep a close eye on, said it was a computer error that caused a story from 2000 to be distributed again on the morning of March 14 that said IBP Inc. was having meat recalled due to the possibility of E. coli contamination.

This came one day after a foot-and-mouth disease scare in Kansas hurt stock prices for several meat processing companies, including Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale.

Tyson suffered a double public-relations whammy because it purchased IBP, the beef and pork giant, in September.

Meatingplace.com issued a correction and apology a few hours after the accidental release of a two-year-old story.

On March 13, news broke that five head of cattle in Kansas were being tested for symptoms similar to foot-and-mouth, but there was no evidence of the disease and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the testing was routine for sick animals. CNBC later reported the tests as being negative.

Tyson was among those stung by the early report as its shares dropped 33 cents March 13. ConAgra Foods Inc. saw its shares fall 30 cents, and Smithfield Foods dropped 19 cents. Restaurant companies were also hurt. Outback Steakhouse Inc. fell 49 cents, McDonald’s Corp. was down 44 cents, and Wendy’s International dropped 8 cents per share.

Tyson Foods had risen by mid-day March 14 to $12.50, up 8 cents from close of market the previous day.