Capitalism to The Consumers' Rescue Against E. Coli in Food

From The New York Times, "Food Companies Act to Protect Consumers From E. Coli Illness" by William Neuman:

The federal government has spent years considering whether to take steps to help keep dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria out of the food supply, a question that has become even more urgent in the face of a deadly wave of E. coli sickness that swept through Europe and raised alarms on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Now, two major American companies, Costco Wholesale and Beef Products Inc., have gotten tired of waiting for regulators to act. They are proceeding with their own plans to protect customers.***The company also plans to test all of the ground beef sold at its warehouse stores. Costco operates a large ground beef plant in Tracy, Calif., and Mr. Wilson said the plant recently began evaluating testing procedures to detect the broader range of E. coli in the hamburger it makes and the beef trimmings that go into it. As an added step, the company plans to ask suppliers of the trimmings to do their own testing, starting later this summer, he said.

Greed, the desire to make a profit, to keep customers, to prevent competition, to protect a brand name, to keep sales, or in other words, everything that is capitalism and free markets protects consumers as well if not better, cheaper and quicker than government safety regulations.

Years ago, brand names in food, such as Kraft, Hershey, etc., became successful because they promised and delivered unadulterated quality and if necessary pasteurized products to the consumer without any government intervention or regulation.