Recalls Still coming in, Part 2

[PORKER]

Oklahoma seeks source of deadly E. coliStory Highlights
1 person dead, 116 ill in northeastern part of the state

Focus of investigation is restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma

Officials say this form of E. coli is "not normally found in this form of outbreak"

(CNN) -- Oklahoma health officials said Friday they are searching for the source of a rare form of E. coli that has killed one person and sickened 116 others in the northeastern part of the state.

The subtype of bacteria -- called E. coli 0111 -- is "not normally found in this form of outbreak," said Leslea Bennett-Webb, director of communication for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

More than 50 people have been hospitalized and nine people -- six of them children -- have been placed on dialysis, she said.

She said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, helped state officials determine the subtype, but said the cause of the outbreak remains unknown.

"The focus has been narrowed to the Country Cottage Restaurant located in Locust Grove," she said, noting that most of the people who became ill ate there between August 15 and August 23.

Tests carried out on water from a well on restaurant property indicate the presence of bacteria, but "we have not been able to confirm what kind of bacteria," said Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

The Oklahoma Department of Health will analyze them and compare them with samples taken from victims, she said. "We can't say for sure that it is tied to the water in any way, but we also cannot rule it out," she said.

Symptoms of infection with the bacteria can include severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, vomiting and severe abdominal cramping, said Larry Weatherford of the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Management at the restaurant, which has closed during the investigation, was working closely with health officials, he added.

Meanwhile, the outbreak appears to be abating. "While we believe we are seeing a downward curve in the number of people who have become ill, we still have many challenges with some patients who remain hospitalized," said State Epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley. "We continue to ask the public to be extra diligent in their hand washing and food preparation to minimize the possibility of additional persons becoming ill."

The CDC estimates there may be about 70,000 E. coli infections each year in the United States.

[PORKER]

McConnell: Why the U.S. meat industry hasn’t had a cow about bovine feces

Cara McConnell
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Somewhere between the glowing fast food menu and driving up to Window Two to make sure they gave you extra ketchup packets, Americans forgot what and how to eat. Eating seems simple enough, until you realize what people are willing to eat nowadays.

Feces, for example.

I’ve eaten many things in my life. I’ve eaten food off the floor well past the five-second rule, and I’ve been duped into eating creatures that were still alive.

Despite my adventures, I draw the line at feces.

I’m going to assume you do, too. However, Whole Foods learned the public has a distaste for feces. On Aug. 8, Whole Foods recalled ground beef sold over the past two months that may have been contaminated with E. coli.

The type of E. coli toxic to humans lives in the intestines of animals such as cattle. In order for E. coli to contaminate your food, it must be defecated.

Occasionally when a cow is slaughtered, some of its feces get into your burger, chili cheese fries or taco meat. Puts a new spin on the term “cow patties,” doesn’t it?

As nauseating as it sounds, a little feces doesn’t seem to disgust the major meat suppliers, which control 80 percent of the market. What does disgust them is the price tag of running a clean operation that minimizes the risk of toxic bacteria getting into your meat.

Shouldn’t the USDA be regulating and scrutinizing the entire meat processing system? Yes, but it isn’t. Meat recalls are voluntary, not mandatory. According to Marion Nestle, author of “What to Eat,” the USDA doesn’t track food poisoning outbreaks either. The USDA backs down when the meat industry expresses its discontent with policy.

Fortunately, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has stepped in to protect consumers while the USDA is busy licking the meat industry’s boots. According to the Center’s reports, since 1990 there have been 30,000 people who sat down to dinner, took a bite and ended up consuming toxic bacteria.

Meat packers don’t care about those 30,000 people, though, because to them, those 30,000 people lack the common sense to cook their food properly. They think that by slapping a label on their products that tells you to cook your meat thoroughly before consuming they’ve passed the responsibility on to you. It’s not their problem there are feces and toxins in our food — they say it’s your problem that you didn’t cook the feces enough so that it won’t harm you.

It would be really easy to just tell you to go vegetarian. For a lot of people, not eating meat is a great way to avoid harming their bodies and to not support the meat industry. But not eating meat is a huge step for most people, especially Americans, who would lose the centerpiece of their meals if meat were off the menu.

Instead, look to local meat suppliers. The community holds local businesses accountable, which is a far more than what the USDA claims to do.

But here’s the rub: Just because it’s local doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safer. It just means that you know just where it came from, and the closer you are to the source, the easier it is to make sure they’re keeping it clean.

The meat industry and the USDA are not looking out for you. If this matters to you, the least you can do is pull your money out of the major meat market until it cleans up its act.

Until the USDA and the meat industry make sure business is done well, you’ll have to make sure your next burger is well done.

[rancher]

I see the baby formula had the same problem as dog food. Bet it doesn't create the stir it did with dogs. Go figure.

[mrj]

So........the source hasn't yet been found.

The various e coli organisms ARE carried AND passed along to others by some people. The only reason that hasn't been found to be a source of illnesses in others, an opinion I share with many others, is that NO ONE will look for it due to UNIONS insisting it would be an invasion of privacy of those workers.

But......."journalists" get paid to insist "USDA is at fault" and that "Meat Packers don't care about.... people".

Never mind that honest journalists (there are still some of them!) would inform people that e coli lives in many animals, that those large meat packers have spent huge amounts of money trying to stop e coli contamination, or that CSPI is really an activist organization with an agenda to end meat consumption, and that 'cow feces' is simply recycled green grass and is not harmful to most people, even if not fully cooked!!!!

Gross as it sounds, most rural people involved in raising cattle have accidentally 'tasted' cow feces many times with no ill effect other than the "yuk" factor!
mrj

Far more "yukky" IMO, and more harmful potential is the rodent feces that infests most processed food. But we never hear about that.

[PORKER]

Hong Kong authorities said Thursday they had found the industrial chemical melamine in drinks, ice creams and yoghurt from a Chinese firm involved in a deadly food safety scandal.

[mrj]

And I heard this morning that they have the people who sold the contaminated milk and those who sold the banned chemicalsl

Wonder how long till they have the executions????

mrj

[PORKER]

China’s tainted milk crisis that killed four infants and sickened 53,000 babies across the country spreads in other parts of the world.

After Chinese authorities decided to pull 4,247 tons of milk powder and 1,562 tons of liquid milk from the shelves in an attempt to put an end to the tainted-milk scandal, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced that some instant coffee and tea drinks containing a nondairy creamer made in China, had been recalled for fear of contamination with melamine. The FDA recommended that consumers avoid Mr. Brown instant coffee and White Rabbit candy, products which are made in China. The Shanghai-based maker of White Rabbit said it stopped domestic sales after the Hong Kong government's Center for Food Safety found the popular vanilla-flavored candy contained more than six times the legal limit of melamine.

[PORKER]

October 5, 2008: Salmonella Sickens 32 People In 12 States
October 5th, 2008

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert after learning that an in investigation conducted by Minnesota health officials uncovered a link between Milford Valley Farms frozen chicken cordon blue and frozen chicken kiev and 32 cases of Salmonella food poisoning in Minnesota and 11 other states.

Although many of the stuffed chicken products are reported to be labeled “uncooked”, the breaded entrees are pre-browned thus allowing the raw meat to appear “cooked” to consumers. In fact this is the 6th Salmonella outbreak in the state of Minnesota in the past 10 years linked to this type of product. The average consumer may not know this, but the food industry surely does!

This type of outbreak can go on for some time, because the foodborne pathogen Salmonella is not considered an adulterant in raw poultry, and therefore no recall is required according to federal guidelines.

With no ability to recall the contaminated product, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides consumers with this advice:

FSIS is reminding consumers of the critical importance of following package cooking instructions for frozen, stuffed raw chicken products and general food safety guidelines when handling and preparing any raw meat or poultry. It is especially important to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of these chicken products such that all points of measurement are at least 165° F.

[PORKER]

CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-036-2008 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Amanda Eamich

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2008 - Astro Meats & Seafood, Inc., a Miami, Fl., establishment, is recalling approximately 4,200 pounds of frozen beef trim that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The following product is subject to recall: [View Label]
60-pound bulk boxes of “BM-95 BONELESS BEEF.” Each shipping container bears the establishment number “Nicaragua 4” inside the Nicaraguan mark of inspection. The shipping label bears the item number “00003,” and pack date of “8-19-08.”

The frozen beef trim products were produced on Aug. 19, 2008, and were exported to the United States and then sent to distributors and establishments in Indiana and Wisconsin. These products were sent to establishments for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number “Nicaragua 4” on products available for direct consumer purchase.

The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling of imported product from a foreign establishment that was then sent to multiple importers of record in the United States. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product.
PREPARING GROUND BEEF FOR SAFE CONSUMPTION

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHOTLINE or visit
www.fsis.usda.gov

Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Also wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Immediately clean spills.

Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.

Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.

Consumers should only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160º F.

Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.

The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase or one hour if temperatures exceed 90º F. Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking.

[PORKER]

Ingham County lawsuit follows outbreak that sickened 36 in Michigan.
MSU student sues Detroit lettuce supplier in E. coli case

A Michigan State University student on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a Detroit produce supplier for a recent lettuce-borne E. coli bacteria outbreak that sickened more than 40 people in five states, including 36 in Michigan. "It's an accident, so I'm not mad, but I'm annoyed I got sick. It just shouldn't happen," said Samantha Steffen, 19, a premed student from Lake Villa, Ill.

Steffen's lawsuit was filed in Ingham County Circuit Court against Aunt Mid's Produce Co., a supplier of cut and chopped iceberg lettuce to restaurants and institutional food preparers. Shipments from Aunt Mid's have been identified as the source of some of the illness in the outbreak caused by E. coli strain O157:H7.
Thursday, the Michigan Department of Agriculture said California is the source of the tainted iceberg lettuce suspected to have sickened 36 in Michigan.

"Illness dates, ship dates and delivery dates narrow the origin to California," said Jennifer Holton, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The California Department of Public Health is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the state of Michigan, said Ken August, a spokesman with the California agency. He said the source of the contamination was still unknown.

Steffen got sick after eating salad at a university cafeteria early last month. "I missed class and I haven't been allowed to go back to my job in food service because I still get nauseated," Steffens said. "The hospital bills are pretty expensive, $1,600 so far, and I still don't feel good." Aunt Mid's halted shipments in early September. Two more cases of 0157:H7 infections were reported to state officials Thursday.

"Aunt Mid's remains the only source linked to some of the cases. The cause of others remains unidentified so far," said Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis. Representatives of Aunt Mid's couldn't be reached for comment.

[PORKER]

E. coli in Michigan lettuce traced to California
By Marie Vasari

Monterey Herald

Article Launched: 10/10/2008 07:56:36 AM PDT


Source of Article: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10687830

An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in tainted iceberg lettuce that sickened 36 people in Michigan last month has been traced back to California growers.

Michigan agriculture officials had previously named the supplier of the lettuce as Aunt Mid's Produce of Detroit but had not identified where the lettuce was grown.

The outbreak, involving bagged, industrial-sized packages of iceberg lettuce sold through wholesale venues to restaurants and institutions, sickened students at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, and inmates at Lenawee County Jail before spreading to metro Detroit.

The Detroit Free Press reported late Thursday that Michigan agriculture officials had confirmed the state of origin, although a region wasn't specified.

Several questions remain to be answered, including in which part of California the lettuce originated.

Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said September is peak season for Salinas Valley lettuce growers.

"That's when our growers are very busy," said Perkins. "If it's California bagged lettuce, there's a real probability that it will be tied to our area, or to somebody that we know."

Even if it turns out that the lettuce was grown outside the Salinas Valley, he expects the implications could weigh heavily on a leafy green industry still reeling from the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach that sickened more than 200 and left three people dead.

Consumers from California may be familiar enough with the state's geography to differentiate the San Joaquin Valley or Imperial Valley from Salinas Valley, but Perkins thinks that's not likely the case for someone living outside the state.

"For anybody outside of California," he said, "what they're going to remember is California."

As of late Thursday, the news that California had been identified hadn't yet traveled through the local industry.

Perkins said the other big question will be whether health officials will be able to suggest a possible cause for how the bacteria was introduced.

"Everybody's going to want to know as much as possible about the potential causes, because everybody is doing pretty much everything they can to prevent outbreaks," he said.

For consumers reading about food safety outbreaks, he suspects it's hard to know what choices to make. And confusion doesn't help the industry sell its product, he said.

"Just talking about California certainly affects consumer confidence," he said.

Likewise, Dennis Donohue, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of the Central Coast, said the determination that California is the source of the lettuce is only one part of a complete picture.

"How was the product handled by the processor? How was the product handled by the product's consumers? How was it consumed?" he said.

As a founding member of the California Leafy Greens Handler Marketing Agreement, Donohue said he was proud of the efforts grower-shippers have made to ensure food safety.

"Obviously we would hope that the source would not be identified with that membership," he said. "But no one has ever said it would be a zero-incident world."

But wherever in California the lettuce turns out to have been grown, Donohue said, it will have some impact on consumer trust.

"Consumers, in terms of confidence levels, they tend not to split hairs. So the strongest link is affected by the weakest link," said Donohue. "This is an issue that has affected our industry, if nothing else, in costs and practices, and we're going to have to be eternally vigilant."

Aunt Mid's Produce of Detroit was identified as one of the Michigan suppliers. The company immediately stopped its lettuce distribution, said Chief Executive Officer Philip Riggio, and had its supply and processing facilities tested by outside experts. The tests found no evidence of contamination.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture also tested Aunt Mid's lettuce, with no findings of E. coli, said Jennifer Holton, MDA spokeswoman.

Holton said Aunt Mid's will be able to resume operations soon and the investigation is ongoing in cooperation with California food and safety officials.

The Detroit Free Press contributed to this report.

[hypocritexposer]

label it all, I say!

Porker, any stats on food borne illnesses, that originate within the US, compared to other countries?