Biggest E. coli O157:H7 Ground Beef Recall of 2011
The largest E. coli ground beef recall of 2011 is from Commercial Meat Co. of Los Angeles, California. The establishment this week is recalling about 377,775 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a human pathogen that causes life-threatening hemoloytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in 5 to 15 percent of patients infected by it. So far, no illnesses have been associated with meat from the current recall.
According to a federal document review by national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, Commercial Meat’s recall is larger than all other U.S. E. coli ground beef recalls combined for 2011. Altogether, six meatpackers this year have recalled 666,827 pounds of ground beef products or cuts meant for grinding due to the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in tested samples.
Pritzker Olsen represents E. coli victims and their families all over the country. We have collected tens of millions of dollars for outbreak victims and our firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We provide free case consultations at 1-888-377-8900, or you can contact us online.
E. coli O157:H7 is banned from ground beef under federal law because of its threat to people. Children under 5 are especially vulnerable, but it can strike healthy people of any age. Of the six E. coli O157:H7 beef recalls announced this year by USDA, only one has been associated with illness. That recall, announced in late September by Tyson Fresh Meats, remains under investigation in connection with a ground beef E. coli outbreak in Butler County, Ohio.
Click here for details of the latest ground beef E. coli recall.
See below for a reference guide to all six of the recalls:
- October 11: Commercial Meat Co. of Los Angeles, 377,775 pounds.
- September 30: Manning Beef LLC of Pico Rivera, Califoria, 80,000 pounds.
- September 27: Tyson Fresh Meats of Emporia, Kansas, 131,300 pounds.
- August 12: National Beef Packing Co., Dodge City, Kansas, 60,424
- March 8: Creekstone Farms Premium Beef of Arkansas City, Kansas, 14,158 pounds
- February 5: American Food Service of Pico Rivera, California, 3,170 pounds.
Minnesota Child E. coli HUS Breakdown
Minnesota HUS E. coli cases are tracked and publicly reported by the Minnesota Department of Health, an organization that is at the national forefront of infectious disease investigating and reporting. The most recently available statistics provide an excellent case example of how children under the age of five are the most susceptible of any age group to be afflicted by this life-threatening and life-changing disease.
Minnesota child HUS cases dominated all HUS cases in the state by a measure of 13 of 16 cases in 2009, the most recent year for which figures were available when this post was written. There were no fatal cases in that year. All 16 cases were hospitalized, with a median hospital stay of 9 days. The longest stay was 43 days. In 2009, the median age of Minnesota HUS cases was 3 years.
E. coli O157:H7 infections were confirmed as the cause in the majority of Minnesota HUS case in 2009 and five of the HUS illnesses in that year occurred as part of foodborne illness outbreaks, according to MDH. Two of the cases involved non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains: E. coli O111:NM and E. coli O121:H19.
According to the report, 2009 was a typical year, although no one died. From 1997 to 2009, the median annual number of reported HUS cases in Minnesota was 16 and the overall case fatality rate was 6 percent.
HUS stands for hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition in which powerful Shiga toxins attack a person’s red blood cells, fragmenting them and causing kidney failure, stroke, anemia, central nervous system disorder and other severe harms. HUS is the leading cause of E. coli death and commonly inflicts lasting damage, even in milder cases.
Minnesota HUS lawyer Fred Pritzker has dedicated a large part of his practice every year to holding food purveyors and insurance companies accountable for E. coli contamination that leads to HUS and many other forms of serious foodborne illness. He knows first hand how often child HUS cases strike in Minnesota and elsewhere and what human suffering and family angst is associated with those illnesses.
Mr. Pritzker’s legal group, Pritzker Olson attorneys 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), is based in Minneapolis but represents HUS E. coli victims throughout the United States, winning tens of millions of dollars for individuals and families who became sick from food they believed was safe. Besides getting involved in practically every major outbreak of food poisoning as a representative for victims, the Pritzker law firm is actively involved in numerous efforts to prevent foodborne illness, which sickens one in six Americans every year. Free case consultations can be initiated with an E. coli HUS food poisoning contact form.
Policy Proposed to Reduce Beef E. coli Outbreaks
From 2007 to 2009, 44 of the most serious meat recalls could have been prevented if a newly proposed test and hold program were in place. That’s what the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) believes. The FSIS proposed the test and hold policy this week in hopes of preventing more outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens.
If enacted, FSIS said the proposed new requirement for the meat and poultry industry would reduce the amount of E. coli ground beef and other meat that reaches store shelves. Under the change, FSIS would be able to hold products from commerce until FSIS test results for E. coli O157:H7 and other harmful substances are received. Currently, when FSIS collects a sample for testing, the sampled products are requested but not required to be held. The proposed change holds the promise of substantially reducing E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria recalls for meat and poultry products.
The change won’t take effect until a public comment period passes, but the step is welcomed by national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen, where preventing outbreaks of shiga toxin-producing E. coli and other dangerous pathogens is a primary goal. E. coli causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths in the United States each year. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and occasionally to kidney failure and additional organ failure, stroke, anemia and many chronic after-effects.
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) are the most severe complications of E. coli infection. HUS is a disease that attacks a person’s red blood cells and causes serious illness including kidney failure, strokes, heart problems and other damage. HUS also is the leading cause of E. coli deaths, most often affecting young children, the elderly or others who have weakened immune systems.
Raw Milk Madness in New Jersey Legislature
National food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker is calling on the New Jersey Legislature to kill a bill that would allow public sale of unpasteurized milk at farms where it is produced. One of the pathogens that can cause raw milk outbreaks is E . coli O157:H7.
The New Jersey bill passed this week in a lopsided vote of the state Assembly. It is exactly opposite of what the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics has been warning for decades: Raw milk can carry E. coli and other pathogens that can make you very sick or kill you.
“Putting dangerous food into commerce is lawmaking at its worst,’’ said Pritzker, a leading food poisoning attorney. He has represented families and individuals who have been sickened in raw milk outbreaks of E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and Salmonella. Currently he represents a Pennsylvania man who was permanently paralyzed by Campylobacter bacteria in raw milk that caused Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which ravaged his central nervous system.
“New Jersey is setting a shameful example for the rest of the country if it proceeds to adopt a law that pushes people into harm’s way,’’ Pritzker said.
At least six other states this year are considering similar proposals to liberalize trade in raw milk under the phony pretense that it is more nutritious and healthful than pasteurized milk. Is bacterial disease a virtue? Contrary to what is claimed by proponents of raw milk who are selling the product for up to $15 a gallon — it is one of the riskiest of all foods.
In its latest consumer alert against contaminated raw milk, the FDA and CDC include a statistic that New Jersey and other states choose to ignore by toying with raw milk. From 1998 to 2008, public outbreaks of food poisoning caused by contaminated raw milk resulted in 1,614 confirmed illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and two deaths. In Minnesota last year alone, more than 50 people fell ill from germs associated with drinking raw milk, including E. coli O157:H7, a pathogen that emits a potentially lethal toxin that causes hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS).
“Permitting the sale of raw milk is a trap that will inflict an enormous toll on families who will be stricken by illness,’’ Pritzker said.
Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free). Mr. Pritzker is the founding partner of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a Minneapolis, MN law firm that represents victims of raw milk food poisoning nationwide. Mr. Pritzker has won millions for food poisoning victims and has appeared on national and local news programs to discuss foodborne illness lawsuits and food safety.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Confirms E. coli O157:H7 in Recalled Hazelnuts
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) laboratory has confirmed E. coli O157:H7 contamination of in-shell hazelnuts (also known as filberts) collected from the home of an ill Minnesotan. The contaminated hazelnuts are part of a multi-state recall announced last Friday, March 4, by DeFranco and Sons, a California-based nut and produce distributor.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) confirmed that the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria found on the hazelnuts by MDA’s lab matches the DNA fingerprint of the bacteria that sickened three people in Minnesota, three in Wisconsin, and one in Michigan. Based on purchase information associated with the positive hazelnut sample, MDA traced this product to a December 9, 2010, shipment from DeFranco and Sons.
DeFranco and Sons has recalled all hazelnut and mixed nut products it distributed from November 2, 2010, to December 22, 2010. Recalled product was shipped to stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. MDH and MDA issued a joint news release on March 4 detailing the recall and providing a list of stores that sold the recalled hazelnuts, either alone or as part of a mixed nut product. See the hazelnuts (filberts) recall list on our website.
Our E. coli attorneys have offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and represent E. coli victims throughout the United States. To contact them about a hazelnuts E coli lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation. For more information, download our free E. coli Answer Book.
