Moes Carinos KRM Restaurants Received E coli Recall Steaks from National Steak and Poultry
The large steak E. coli recall by National Steak and Poultry is limited to beef products sold primarily to the Moe’s, Carino’s Italian Grill and KRM restaurants in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington.
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.
Where’s Restaurant List in Steak E coli Outbreak?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is helping to investigate an active steak E. coli outbreak apparently spread in at least six states through restaurants that purchased steak from Oklahoma-based National Steak and Poultry.
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.
Maker of E. coli Steaks Should Pay Medical Bills for Victims in 6 States CO IA KS MI SD WA
Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, which was acknowledged by Dr. Douglas Powell’s popular Barfblog as the first food safety group to publicly identify the steak E. coli outbreak that is now officially associated with blade-tenderized steaks, is calling on National Steak and Poultry company to immediately pay medical bills and lost wages for steak E. coli outbreak victims in six states.
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.
