The 18-year-old woman from Ashtabula, Ohio suffered E. coli O157:H7 infection linked to adulterated beef products recalled late last year by the Oklahoma meat processor. The young woman was hospitalized for weeks and almost died of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). She was on dialysis for months and now suffers from decreased kidney function and hypertension. She faces a lifetime of medical problems and medical bills that should have been prevented.

National Steak and Poultry recalled 248,000 pounds of beef products on December 24, 2009, following an investigation that found an association between the company’s steaks and an E. coli O157 outbreak in Ohio and other states.

The so-called “non-intact beef products” were mechanically tenderized. This usually involves putting rougher cuts of beef through a machine that utilizes a set of needles or blades which pierce the meat and break down connective tissue.

Unfortunately, this process also can push E. coli O157:H7 on the surface of the meat into its center.  If the meat is then served rare or medium rare, its center is not heated enough to kill the pathogen.

There have been at least four E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with mechanically tenderized beef, but Pritzker said meat companies and restaurants that sell these products still do not warn consumers about the risk.

Said Pritzker: “They don’t want consumers to be able to make informed choices because they’re afraid it will hurt sales.”

According to Pritzker, the National Steak and Poultry outbreak highlights the need for a number of changes including:

• Requiring producers to use microbiological decontamination technologies on meat products before mechanical tenderization
• Requiring labeling changes that alert consumers to the existence of and dangers associated with mechanical tenderization
• Creating and mandating public outreach programs alerting consumers to this practice

Attorney Fred Pritzker represents E. coli victims nationwide. He can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing his firm’s online contact form.  His offices are in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The change has delivered critical new information to consumers during outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and other foodborne diseases that annually kill about 5,000 people in the U.S., including those who die from HUS E coli.

But FSIS excluded restaurants from the new requirement and national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has learned that the decision was made despite criticism from state and local health officials and other food safety advocates.

According to the Federal Register, FSIS received several comments during the rule-making process that said the disclosure effort didn’t go far enough.  Excluding restaurants, hotels, cafeterias and other outlets “will create an unnecessary hurdle for state or local public health agencies to overcome to obtain timely distribution information” during an outbreak,  the document summarized.

“One commenter stated that providing (restaurant) information would provide consumers greater protection from the risks associated with tainted meat or poultry while another suggested that restaurants be included so that individuals are fully aware of the scope of recalls.”

But agency officials rejected the urgings, saying restaurant disclosure was beyond the scope of the new rule: Which was intended to help consumers determine if they have tainted meat in their homes.

In the wake of the National Steak and Poultry E. coli recall of 248,000 pounds of beef products sold to restaurants nationwide, the FSIS may want to reconsider.  The December 24 recall was Class I, meaning that there was a reasonable probability that the use of the product would cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Yet the FSIS’s recall announcement, issued with input from the company, included only a partial list of restaurants that received the product. Many days later, media scrutiny revealed that the FSIS announcement was incomplete and misleading. Two giant restaurant chains — Applebees and Olive Garden — also had received beef products involved in the recall.

If the point of  government recalls is to protect consumers, it makes no sense to impede them from accurately identifying where tainted products are being sold. Just as it is with meat and poultry recalled from grocery stores, the information is readily available from the manufacturer and does not constitute confidential commercial information.

The news comes two weeks after the beef supplier, National Steak and Poultry, and federal officials announced the recall. Since then, 21 cases of E. coli in 16 states have been linked to this recall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nine of these cases required hospitalization and at least one patient contracted life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). States with confirmed cases include: California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.

Applebee’s operates about 2,000 locations nationwide; Olive Garden has 695.

“There are thousands of restaurants in question—how many more people will get sick before we see a full and detailed list of restaurants where this beef was distributed?” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. “Two weeks is simply too long to wait for this news.”

“As a customer of NSP (National Steak and Poultry) we took immediate action when learning of this recall,” Applebee’s spokeswoman Nancy Mays told Nation’s Restaurant News. Furthermore, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) “does not agree that publicly identifying food service establishments would provide consumers greater protection from the risks associated with tainted meat or poultry.”

It is Pritzker’s opinion that these policies and procedures aren’t enough.

“No matter how many future illnesses might be prevented by removing tainted meat from restaurant menus after cases have been reported, that does nothing for the people who actually got sick,” Pritzker said. “Restaurant chains and food safety officials need to understand that diners have a right to know where and how they became sick.”

Map image from CDC.

Previously, the only confirmed chains were Moe’s Southwest Grill, Carino’s Italian and 54th Street Grill and Bar.

The steak E. coli recall was for 248,000 pounds of boneless sirloin, sirloin tips, beef trim and other beef products. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service — which is not authorized to name restaurants that receive contaminated meat — said in the original recall announcement that the problem was discovered in an investigation of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with blade-tenderized steak.

Since then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said there have been 21 confirmed E. coli infections in 16 states and that the outbreak is still under investigation. Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, Washington and Colorado are among the states involved.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen was the first organization to publicly disclose that health investigators were probing an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with blade-tenderized steak. We have been in contact with one of the victims of this outbreak and we are accepting cases.

Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We have collected tens of millions for our clients and we remain actively involved in efforts to reduce the threat of  food poisoning in the U.S. For a free case consultation or to ask questions of our attorneys, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact and information form on the side of this web page.

On December 24th, the Oklahoma meat processor recalled 248,000 pounds of beef products after federal and state officials determined there was an “association” between  blade tenderized steaks and E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in six states.

USDA said the recalled meat was sold to restaurants “nationwide,” but not a single restaurant was named.

On Monday National Steak and Poultry said in a press release that the meat was sold primarily to Moe’s Southwest Grill, Carino’s Italian Grill and KRM restaurant locations in Michigan, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Washington — the same states where the corresponding outbreak is located. At  least 19 people are said to be sickened by the potentialy deadly bacteria.

Unless we’re missing something, six states in the greater Midwest and Northwest does not constitute “nationwide” distribution. And why hasn’t USDA published a comprehensive listing of all the retail outlets where the recalled meat was sold? Such disclosure is customary in Class I High Health Risk situations.

As Pritzker Olsen Attorneys and other food safety organizations have stated previously, announcing a recall without thoroughly and promptly identifying the public purveyors of the adulterated product is ludicrous and unsafe. It’s the equivalent of announcing a recall of flammable pajamas without identifying the retailers who sold them.

Consumers cannot protect themselves if they have no information about unsafe products that threaten them. This is a failure of  regulation and a violation of food ethics and it raises questions about whether our food safety agencies are more interested in protecting producers of dangerous products or in safeguarding the public’s health.

The discrepancies in this National Steak and Poultry E. coli recall are enough to make you wonder if tons of similar products may have been shipped to even larger restaurant chains than Moe’s, Carino’s and KRM. NSP counts as its customers “some of America’s best known chains.” What about those chains?

Let’s hope the implicated product is limited to the first three companies. But if it comes out later that other restaurant companies purchased adulterated product from NSP, both the companies and the government agencies charged with food safety will have a great deal to explain and justify.

If you have information about this recall and outbreak call a Pritzker Olsen investigator at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Our firm also is accepting cases from those sickened in this outbreak. Contact us by phone or by completing the contact and information form on the side of this website.

We are one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected tens of millions of dollars over the years for victims of food poisoning. The National Steak and Poultry E. coli outbreak was preventable and our firm is actively involved in numerous causes to reduce foodborne disease in the U.S.

That is the distribution information released Monday by National Steak and Poultry regarding 248,000 pounds of steaks recalled December 24th for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

The six states where Moe’s, Carino’s and KRM restaurants are located are the same states identified by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as home to a steak E. coli outbreak associated with blade-tenderized, non-intact cuts of beef that were adulterated.

As of late Monday, FSIS remained silent on which restaurants received recalled steaks from National Steak and Poultry. Nor has the agency said how many people have been sickened, including those who may have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic  thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The original FSIS press release on Christmas Eve said the recalled steaks had been distributed to restaurants “nationwide.”

The supplier of steak to Moe’s, Carino’s and KRM said the E. coli steak recall applies to four production dates: October 12, 13, 14 and 21.

NSP’s statement said: “We are in the process of reviewing our procedures and will make any necessary upgrades.”

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen was the first organization to publicly announce that state and federal health officials were investigating an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak related to mechanically tenderized steaks in multiple states. Such products are known hazards to eat rare or medium because the tenderizing processes can drive surface E. coli into the center of the meat where it can survive flames and heat.

If you have information to add to our investigation, or if a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak, contact an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the contact and information form on the side of this web page.

We will provide you with a free case consultation, just as we have already done so in the case of  one potential victim of this outbreak. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we are involved in practically every major outbreak of food poisoning.

Our national food safety law firm was the first to warn the public of this possibility with announcements made more than a week ago on this web site about an E. coli outbreak caused by blade-tenderized steaks.

The outbreak was confirmed December 24th when the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of 124 tons of NSP steak products that were packed in October and “shipped to restaurants nationwide.”

But the recall notice issued by FSIS on Christmas Eve is essentially useless since it fails to identify the restaurants at which the adulterated steak was served. Without that crucial information, the millions of consumers who eat steak at U.S. restaurants are left with no practical information about whether they were exposed to a potentially deadly bacteria.

To any person of reasonable intelligence, this decision smacks of favoritism. Our government appears to be protecting the “good name” of national restaurant chains at the expense of vulnerable people who patronize these for-profit institutions.  Therefore, our law firm calls upon FSIS and the CDC  to immediately release the names of all the restaurants at which these recalled steaks were served.

Restaurants are liable for E. coli infections caused by the food they serve. In this case, the restaurants associated with the illnesses are liable along with the steak processor for the harm suffered by those sickened. We are aware of at least one nationally advertised restaurant chain involved in this outbreak, but it is not known which locations received the recalled steaks.

Studies have shown that mechanical tenderization of steak with blades or needles drives surface E. coli into the center of the meat, where it can survive the grilling process — especially if the steak is served rare or medium rare. This danger prompted the USDA years ago to ban the sale of so-called non-intact steaks if tests show they are contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. But testing is never 100 percent reliable and restaurants don’t warn customers that the medium-rare steak they just ordered was blade-tenderized or injected with brine or other flavoring to improve texture and taste.

If you have information about this outbreak or a loved one has been sickened after eating steak at a restaurant, contact Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 or by completing the contact form on the side of this web page. An E. coli attorney will provide you with a free case consultation and answer any questions you might have about your legal rights.

This outbreak was preventable and Pritzker Olsen actively supports prevention efforts related to all types of foodborne illness. Our frustration with the non-release of restaurant names associated with this outbreak is shared by the larger food safety community.

Firm Founder and President Fred Pritzker also called on the Oklahoma company to identify which restaurants received steaks potentially contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 that were packaged in October and shipped to restaurants nationwide. The National Steak and Poultry recall covers 248,000 pounds of beef products and at least one large national chain is believed to be a recipient of some of those steaks. The restaurants, too, should identify themselves.

The food safety team at Pritzker Olsen believes the public deserves to know all restaurant locations affected by the recall. The USDA regularly publishes a retail distribution list for all high-risk E. coli recalls, but the National Steak and Poultry outbreak is still active and there is no official listing of where the potentially contaminated steaks were delivered.

A wide variety of National Steak and Poultry steaks currently are associated with a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington and the investigation is continuing. Several state health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are involved. Health officials have not yet said how many individuals in each state have been sickened in this steak E. coli outbreak.

These health officials are advising people who have signs or symptoms of E. coli poisoning to contact a physician. E. coli O157:H7 causes extremely painful and often bloody diarrhea, which can be followed by the onset of life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) (the leading cause of kidney failure in children) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).

This outbreak could have been prevented. For legal information or to assist Pritzker Olsen with its ongoing investigation, contact our firm at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact and information form on the side of this web page. An E. coli lawyer will provide you with a free case consultation. We are one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have recovered tens of millions for our clients while also actively supporting many measures to prevent the spread of these diseases.

Click here to see the full list of steak sizes and varieties involved  in the National Steak and Poultry recall.

The danger of this restaurant steak E. coli outbreak is that many customers like their steak cooked rare or medium rare. Those choices are safe when the steak is intact and unprocessed. But studies have shown that mechanical tenderizing of steak with blades and needles pushes surface E. coli into the meat, where it can be insulated from flames and heat that normally kill the pathogens.

This outbreak should teach the meat and restaurant industries to label tenderized, non-intact steaks as dangerous and inform all customers of the risk of undercooking these cuts of beef. The needle-tenderized and injected steaks should be handled more like ground beef, which is required to be cooked to 160 degrees throughout to kill E. coli O157:H7. This human pathogen can cause life-long damage and health consequences in a significant subset of patients.