The meat grinding company associated with a deadly ground beef E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 25 people in 10 states, killing two, is one that doesn’t test incoming shipments of trim for pathogens.
That’s from a new report by New York Times reporter Michael Moss, who first blew the whistle on this dangerous and prevalent practice earlier this fall in a blockbuster story that is still reverberating.
The Ashville, New York, hamburger grinding plant at the center of the current ground beef E. coli outbreak is Fairbank Farms, owned by AFA Foods. AFA’s retail customers have included Trader Joe’s, Giant, Shaw’s, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and many others. They are all dealing with the Fairbank ground beef E. coli recall of more than 500,000 pounds of meat produced September 14, 15, and 16. Consumers should look in their freezers for packages with those date codes and USDA establishment number EST 492 inside the mark of inspection.
Dr. David M. Theno, a retired food safety consultant, told The Times that he worked with AFA Foods’ predecessor company to devise new safety systems. He confirmed previous statements by AFA Foods officials that they started testing trim at their grinding facilities, but then stopped when slaughterhouses balked at selling them trim.
That industry practice, which companies like Costco are starting to buck, has crept into existence because slaughterhouses don’t want any “hot” beef trim (positive for E. coli) traced back to them, causing costly recalls of trim sent to other grinding plants. Surprisingly, this is all legal with the USDA.
Grinding plants like Fairbank repeatedly test the end product after it is ground, but if E. coli O157:H7 is present, they can’t trace it to a particular supplier. That’s because the grinders mix trim from many different suppliers into the same batch of hamburger to get the desired fat content.
Costco grinds its own hamburger and was a witness to unwritten agreements with slaughterhouses that grinding plants would be cut off from the supply chain if they were going to test trim for E. coli O157:H7 — which the USDA bans from ground beef but is not considered an adulterant if it is in trim or muscle meat cuts.
AFA Foods told The Times that it is re-evaluating its testing procedures. “In addition to (existing) controls, Fairbank is evaluating the addition of another firewall such as additional testing of incoming product,” the company said.
The story also said Trader Joe’s, which has 325 stores in 25 states, has stopped buying ground beef from Fairbank and will seek only to buy ground beef that is made from E. coli-tested trim.
Families affected by the Fairbank Farms ground beef E. coli outbreak have special legal rights because E. coli O157:H7 is an adulterant. The responsibility for allowing a banned pathogen into the food supply doesn’t stop with the meatpacking industry. If you have legal questions, call national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact and information form.
We represent victims in practically all major outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and have collected millions of dollars for food poisoning survivors and their families. E. coli infections are dangerous and lead to life-threatening E. coli HUS in more than five percent of cases. But these illnesses are preventable and part of our mission is to advocate for law changes and more inspections to keep people from getting sick and dying.
Hopefully the reporting of Michael Moss will lead to mandatory testing of beef trim at grinding plants.
