E. coli Testing Could Expand Soon As Policy Advances
Within three months of the New Year, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is expected to begin testing beef trim for six additional types of shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria in a breakthrough for food safety.
Since 1994, E. coli O157:H7 has been the only type of the bug declared as an adulterant and therefore subject to testing. It will soon be illegal to sell ground beef and beef intended for grinding if it is contaminated with six other serogroups: O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145.
The pending change could be delayed depending on handling of comments from meat industry interests who are opposed to the expanded testing program. But it has the backing of President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group, which is chaired by the secretaries of agriculture and health and human services. Like other food safety reforms by the President, it is focused on prevention as a principle for building a modern food safety system.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that non-O157 STEC strains are connected with about 110,000 human illnesses annually, and food-borne O157 strains are connected with about 63,000 annually. The STEC strains recently declared as adulterants in ground beef also are found in other food, but they originate in the the guts of cattle and other animals.
Still, one of the most dangerous combination of food poisoning is STECs in undercooked ground beef, causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS sufferers lose kidney function and are at risk for stroke, heart attack, central nervous system invasion and severe anemia. Children under 5 years of age are in the age group most susceptible to HUS.
Cincinnati, Ohio E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses Linked to J.B. Meats Ground Beef and Hamburger Patties
After Cincinnati, Ohio health officials found a possible link between two cases of E. coli O157:H7 and hamburgers processed by J.B. Meats and served at area restaurants, the company recalled about 72,800 pounds of ground beef and hamburger patties due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The products subject to the J.B. Meats recall are 5 and 10 pound clear packages of ground beef and ground beef patties in various size packages that were processed on and can be identified by the dates Aug. 18, 2010 through Aug. 18, 2011. J.B. Meats is a Cincinnati, Ohio establishment.
The recalled ground beef and hamburger patties were sold to restaurants in the Cincinnati area, but the company did not say which restaurants. Each clear plastic bag and label bear the establishment number “EST. 1188” within the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s mark of inspection.
J.B. Meats said it was notified on Aug. 12 of an investigation of two E. coli O157:H7 illnesses. The Cincinnati Health Department reported there were two patients who became ill on July 20 and 21 that may have resulted from ground beef consumed on July 16 and 17, the company said.
Epidemiological and microbiological evidence points to a possible link between the ground beef products produced by J.B. Meats on July 15 and the illnesses in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company said the recall is precautionary, as there has been no conclusive link between the illnesses and the ground beef produced at the facility.
E. coli O157 can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), both severe illnesses that can cause kidney failure, central nervous system damage (seizures, stroke, paralysis, etc.), heart failure, pancreatitis and death.
Michigan Ground Beef E. coli Probe Continues
McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC is a meat-processing and retail establishment in North Branch, Michigan, that has been linked by USDA to an outbreak of E. coli O157:NM that is believed to be ongoing. The Michigan Departments of Community Health (MDCH) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have issued a public health alert and are continuing to investigate where 2,200 pounds of potentially contaminated ground beef from McNees was distributed.
Some restaurants purchased the ground beef and some of the nine victims of this outbreak are believed to have been sickened while dining out. The McNees recall also applies to certain packages of ground beef sold from its retail location in North Branch, Michigan.
Michigan officials have stated so far that five people are confirmed case patients in the outbreak while four others are probable case patients. Of special concern in this outbreak is that two-thirds of all people associated with it have had to be hospitalized for the seriousness of their illnesses. So far, no deaths have been reported.
The outbreak started in mid-July and patients have ranged in age from 15 to 88. Those affected live in the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Isabella, and Sanilac.
Pritzker Olsen law firm is accepting cases from this outbreak for a possible ground beef E. coli lawsuit against McNees. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or you may provide your contact information and an E. coli lawyer will call you.
Holding companies accountable for contamination in our food supply is an integral function of food safety in the United States. Harms caused by food poisoning — especially infections of E. coli O157 — can plague a person with long-lasting health concerns that should be monitored annually by a physician. Hospitalization, lost time at work, travel expense, pain, suffering, medical checkups and additional expenses are costs that victims should not shoulder when the cause of injury was a dangerous micro-organism spread by fecal contamination. E. coli outbreaks are preventable.
Michigan E. coli 0157 Outbreak Investigated by Lawyer
A Michigan E. coli outbreak has prompted a ground beef recall, and the E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen are closely following the outbreak’s development. Ground beef product from McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC has been linked to 9 cases of E. coli in Michigan, 5 confirmed and 4 probable. Six of the people sickened were hospitalized.
The products being recalled are 36 – 10 lb. Bags of McNees Ground Beef Bulk. Establishment number: EST. 33971. They were produced July 15 and July 21, 2011. They were sold in Armada, Lapeer and North Branch, Michigan and also at a retail establishment owned by McNees Meats and Wholesale, LLC. Those sickened reported consuming ground beef either at local restaurants supplied by McNees or purchased directly from the company.
E. coli Outbreak Investigation and Lawsuit Information
According to the FSIS:
FSIS was notified of an investigation of E. coli O157 illnesses on August 4, 2011.Working in conjunction with the Michigan Departments of Community Health (MDCH) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), 3 case-patients in Michigan have been identified with illness onset dates between July 18 and July 28, 2011.
The E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen have recovered millions of dollars for people sickened by E. coli and other dangerous foodborne pathogens. People who think they may be sick with E. coli should visit a healthcare provider and get tested for E. coli. People who test positive for an outbreak strain of E. coli may be able to file an E. coli lawsuit and recover expenses for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages.
Contact the E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen for a free case evaluation >>>
New Legislation For E. coli Food Poisoning
A bill expanding safety measures against E. coli food poisoning has been introduced in the United States Senate by New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, who proposes more regulation of unchecked, deadly strains of E. coli in the meat supply — including E. coli O104:H4 — the strain that has killed 22 people in the massive HUS E. coli outbreak currently centered in Germany.
The legislation would add confirmed strains of E. coli to the list of adulterants (026, 045, 0103, 011, 0121, 0145, 0104: H4), requiring meat companies to test for any batches containing any of these toxic strains of E. coli, and give the USDA the authority to find and regulate more toxic strains in the future. E. coli O157:H7 — the dominant Shiga toxin-producing strain of E. coli in the U.S. – already holds status as an adulterant in ground beef.
Specifically, the much-needed legislation addresses E. coli in meat by:
- Requiring plants that produce the cuts and trimmings that make ground beef to test their products regularly before it is ground and again before all the components are ground together. For those facilities where source trim and grinding occurs at the same facility, the legislation requires one test of the source trim and another test of the final ground product.
- If ground beef is found to be contaminated, the bill requires the company to properly dispose of the contaminated batch, or cook the meat to a temperature that destroys the E. coli.
- Requiring foreign facilities to certify their product has been tested for E. coli to be eligible for importation into the country. The domestic facility receiving the product would be required to verify the results with secondary testing.
- Requiring slaughterhouses, producers and grinding facilities receiving trimmings to use independent testing facilities operating under annual contracts. The requirement of an annual contract would prevent companies from firing a testing facility as retribution for too many positive E. coli test results found by the lab.
- Sets a threshold of 25,000 lbs of trim per day for compliance implementation to reduce the burden on small producers. Those producers under the threshold have 3 years before they must comply with the new regulation. Approximately 90 percent of producers are above the threshold and 86 plants produce roughly 75 percent of all ground beef.
- Calls for habitual violators to be listed on a public website. Any slaughterhouse or processing establishment that produces or distributes trim with positive E. coli test results for 3 consecutive days, or more than 10 times per year, will be deemed a habitual violator. The bill also establishes regulatory action for plants that fail to test or fail to notify the USDA Secretary of positive E. coli results.
Additionally, Senator Gillibrand is urging the FDA’s new under secretary for food safety, Elisabeth Hagan, to begin listing all pathogenic forms of E. coli, not just 0157:H7, as an adulterant in our meat supply.
