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[1] Expanded recall
Date: Tue 20 May 2014
Source: NBC News [edited]
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/big-ground-beef-e-coli-recall-expands-nationwide-n110336
A recall of nearly 2 million pounds of ground beef potentially tainted with dangerous _Escherichia coli_ bacteria has expanded to include distributors to restaurants nationwide -- but don't expect to know which ones. Federal officials aren't required to say which restaurants served the tainted hamburger linked to the largest recall of its kind in 6 years. And they don't have to tell consumers what type of restaurant dished up meat recalled by Detroit's Wolverine Packing Co, either, whether it was a sit-down diner or a fast-food joint, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
That means no one knows exactly where the approximately 1.8 million pounds of beef covered by the 19 May 2014 voluntary recall went after it was produced between 31 Mar and 18 Apr 2014. FSIS [Food Safety and Inspection Service] officials first said that the Angus Steak burgers and ground beef patties were sent to 4 states, but now they've expanded the recall to at least 12 states, which counts as a nationwide recall. As of Tuesday night, 20 May 2014, FSIS officials had not yet named the rest of the states.
And it's not yet clear whether there are more illnesses linked to the ground beef potentially contaminated with _E. coli_ O157:H7, nasty bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and deadly kidney failure, particularly in children and the elderly. As of late Monday, 19 May 2014, 11 illnesses were reported in 4 states, including 5 in Michigan, 4 in Ohio, and 1 each in Massachusetts and Missouri, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. Illnesses began between 22 Apr and 2 May 2 2014, CDC officials said.
"This strain of _E. coli_ is one of the most hazardous," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of Food Safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's infrequent that we have a major outbreak from _E. coli_ these days but when it happens, it's very serious, and it can land quite a number of its victims in the hospital." So far, 6 of 10 victims interviewed by CDC were hospitalized, officials said.
CDC officials said they're scouring their PulseNet system, which tracks the genetic fingerprints of infections, for more cases that may have been tied to the Wolverine recall. The ground beef was not used in federal Department of Defense programs, the National School Lunch Program or in catalog or Internet sales, officials said. It's past its use-by date, so there's little chance it's still in commerce anyway.
In a statement, Wolverine officials said their products did not test positive for _E. coli_ O157, but CDC and FSIS epidemiological and traceback data indicate that meat from the firm was the likely source of illness. The incident underscores the importance of cooking ground beef thoroughly, which kills the bacteria, health officials said. Consumers should make sure to order well-done burgers when eating out.
This is the largest recall of ground beef tied to _E. coli_ O157:H7 since the early summer of 2008, when 5.3 million pounds of meat eventually traced to the firm Nebraska Beef were pulled, followed by another 1.36 million pounds that August. As many as 79 people were sickened, CDC reports showed.
In 2007, Topps Meat Company recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburgers, the second-largest ground beef recall in USA history. The largest ground beef recall in USA history was in 1997, when Hudson Foods pulled 25 million pounds of potentially tainted meat.
[byline: Jonel Aleccia]
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ProMED-mail
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ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
******
[1] Expanded recall
Date: Tue 20 May 2014
Source: NBC News [edited]
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/big-ground-beef-e-coli-recall-expands-nationwide-n110336
A recall of nearly 2 million pounds of ground beef potentially tainted with dangerous _Escherichia coli_ bacteria has expanded to include distributors to restaurants nationwide -- but don't expect to know which ones. Federal officials aren't required to say which restaurants served the tainted hamburger linked to the largest recall of its kind in 6 years. And they don't have to tell consumers what type of restaurant dished up meat recalled by Detroit's Wolverine Packing Co, either, whether it was a sit-down diner or a fast-food joint, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
That means no one knows exactly where the approximately 1.8 million pounds of beef covered by the 19 May 2014 voluntary recall went after it was produced between 31 Mar and 18 Apr 2014. FSIS [Food Safety and Inspection Service] officials first said that the Angus Steak burgers and ground beef patties were sent to 4 states, but now they've expanded the recall to at least 12 states, which counts as a nationwide recall. As of Tuesday night, 20 May 2014, FSIS officials had not yet named the rest of the states.
And it's not yet clear whether there are more illnesses linked to the ground beef potentially contaminated with _E. coli_ O157:H7, nasty bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and deadly kidney failure, particularly in children and the elderly. As of late Monday, 19 May 2014, 11 illnesses were reported in 4 states, including 5 in Michigan, 4 in Ohio, and 1 each in Massachusetts and Missouri, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. Illnesses began between 22 Apr and 2 May 2 2014, CDC officials said.
"This strain of _E. coli_ is one of the most hazardous," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of Food Safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's infrequent that we have a major outbreak from _E. coli_ these days but when it happens, it's very serious, and it can land quite a number of its victims in the hospital." So far, 6 of 10 victims interviewed by CDC were hospitalized, officials said.
CDC officials said they're scouring their PulseNet system, which tracks the genetic fingerprints of infections, for more cases that may have been tied to the Wolverine recall. The ground beef was not used in federal Department of Defense programs, the National School Lunch Program or in catalog or Internet sales, officials said. It's past its use-by date, so there's little chance it's still in commerce anyway.
In a statement, Wolverine officials said their products did not test positive for _E. coli_ O157, but CDC and FSIS epidemiological and traceback data indicate that meat from the firm was the likely source of illness. The incident underscores the importance of cooking ground beef thoroughly, which kills the bacteria, health officials said. Consumers should make sure to order well-done burgers when eating out.
This is the largest recall of ground beef tied to _E. coli_ O157:H7 since the early summer of 2008, when 5.3 million pounds of meat eventually traced to the firm Nebraska Beef were pulled, followed by another 1.36 million pounds that August. As many as 79 people were sickened, CDC reports showed.
In 2007, Topps Meat Company recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburgers, the second-largest ground beef recall in USA history. The largest ground beef recall in USA history was in 1997, when Hudson Foods pulled 25 million pounds of potentially tainted meat.
[byline: Jonel Aleccia]
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
http://promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20140521.2488217