Authorities investigate big rise in beef contamination.(Recalls & Safety Alerts)

After four years of decline in recalls of ground beef contaminated by the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria, the toxin has returned with a vengeance. More than 25 million pounds of beef believed to be tainted went to market in 2007, up from less than 200,000 pounds the year before.

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Government regulators and beef industry officials have been scrambling to explain the increase. Among the theories: rising oil prices have encouraged greater production of ethanol, which creates a corn byproduct that increasingly is being used as cattle feed. This feed appears to make the animals' digestive tracts even more hospitable breeding grounds for the toxic strain of E. coli bacteria, says Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator in the Office of Field Operations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Droughts in some regions might also have contributed to the survival of more virulent forms of the bacteria, and better investigation methods now can link far-flung cases to a single cause.

But the main obstacles to preventing the spread of toxic E. coli are inadequate government inspection and meat-handling practices, particularly in slaughterhouses, where contamination is most likely to occur.

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