Topps E. coli-tainted hamburger recall tops 21,700,000 pounds

Topps Meat Company LLC, of Elizabeth, NJ, has voluntarily expanded its recall announced on September 25 to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. This represents all products produced by Topps with a "sell by date" or "best if used by date" that falls between September 25, 2007 and September 25, 2008.

This information may be found on the back panel of the package. All recalled products will have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is located on the back panel of the package and/or in the USDA legend.  So far nearly 30 people had been confirmed ill in at least 8 states.

This recall tops the Con Agra recall of 19,000,000 pounds in 2002 that sickened over forty and killed one and is just under the 25,000,000 pounds recalled by now-bankrupt Hudson Foods in 1997.  Here are a few examples of E. coli illnesses and outbreaks occurring in 2007:

  1. At least thirteen people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating ground beef produced by United Food Group sold in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Montana. Over 5,700,000 pound of meat were recalled.

  2. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. recalled 40,440 pounds of ground beef products due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. No illnesses yet reported.
  3. Seven Minnesotans were confirmed as part of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that prompted PM Beef Holdings to recall 117,500 pounds of beef trim products that was ground and sold at Lunds and Byerly’s stores.
  4. Twenty-seven people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Fresno County. The Fresno County Department of Community Health inspected the “Meat Market” in Northwest Fresno, the source of the outbreak.
  5. At least two people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Michigan after eating ground beef produced by Davis Creek Meats and Seafood of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The E. coli outbreak prompted Davis Creek Meats and Seafood to recall approximately 129,000 pounds of beef products that were distributed in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
  6. Following reports of three Napa Valley children who became sick from hamburger patties sold at a St. Helena Little League snack shack, 100,000 pounds of hamburger (that was a year old) was recalled.
  7. Several people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Pennsylvania after eating E. coli-contaminated meat products at Hoss’s Family Steak and Sea Restaurants, a Pennsylvania-based restaurant chain that purchased its meat from HFX, Inc., of South Claysburg, Pennsylvania. As a result of the outbreak, HFX recalled approximately 4,900 pounds of meat products.


 

E. coli outbreak at Clackamas County Fair

The Oregonian today reported on an E. coli outbreak at the Clackamas County Fair in August. According to the story, the Clackamas fair board will put up more signs regarding hand washing for next year's fair.

Health investigators said today the outbreak spread to one additional person but is now contained. E. coli infections can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps and kidney failure. Those who became sick in August have recovered or are recovering.



This year's outbreak is larger than the one from the Clackamas County Fair in 2006, when the bacteria infected four people, sending one to the hospital, said William Keene, an epidemiologist for the Oregon Public Health Division.

E. coli cases up to 21 in Topps outbreak

A Topps Meats, of Elizabeth, New Jersey press release reported that at least 21 people in eight states could be part of an E. coli outbreak that has been traced back to consumption of ground beef products produced by their company.  The CDC has confirmed three cases linked to Topps, and is waiting on lab testing for confirmation of an additional 18 cases, according to the Associated Press.

Health officials found contaminated burgers in one New York victim's home freezer.  The boxes recalled carry the number "Est. 9748" inside the USDA mark and were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23.



The recalled products include certain 10-pound boxes of Butcher's Best 100% All Beef Patties; certain 10-pound boxes of Kohler Foods burgers; certain 10-pound boxes of Sand Castle Fine Meat; some 2-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers; and some 3-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers.

E. coli recall by Topps after outbreak

The United States Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that Topps is recalling 331,582 pounds of frozen ground beef.  The recall was announced after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak investigation identified Topps ground beef products as the source of an E. coli outbreak.

According to the Albany Times/Union, the E. coli outbreak was discovered by the New York Department of Agriculture, which was investigating several E. coli cases among New York residents. 

Information about the recall, supplied by the USDA, is as follows:  Each package also bears the establishment number “Est. 9748” inside the USDA mark of inspection.



The frozen ground beef products were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23 and were distributed to food service institutions in the New York metropolitan area and to retail establishments nationwide.

An investigation into a cluster of illnesses in the Northeast region carried out by the New York State Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led to a positive product sample collected by the New York Department of Health.



In August, 2005, an eight-year-old Albany, New York girl became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection after eating a hamburger purchased from Price Chopper. The ground beef used in the hamburger had been supplied to Price Chopper by Topps Meats.

 

Illinois child with E. coli infection hospitalized with HUS

A six-year-old first grade student at Galena Elementary School in Indiana has been hospitalized with kidney failure after she developed hemolytic uremic syndrome following an E. coli infection, according to WLKY news. 

The child is one of six students at the school who have been confirmed as suffering E. coli infections, with five cases unconfirmed but possibly linked to the outbreak.  The state health department has joined the outbreak investigation, and is sending three additional investigators to help determine the source of the outbreak.  The school has been thoroughly cleaned but parents are still concerned about the safety of their kids.



State Health Officials said they are sending three more specialists to Floyd County to help track down the source of an E. coli infection.  Two food specialists and a second epidemiologist are scheduled to inspect the school Tuesday.

 

E. coli outbreaks in Maine, Illinois, Indiana

The Maine Centers for Disease Control is investigating six cases of E. coli infection, and is working to determine the source of a potential outbreak, according to a story posted on the Bangor Daily News website. Four of the six cases in Kennebec, Androscoggin, Lincoln and Franklin counties have been confirmed positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 by the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, state epidemiologist Dr. Kathleen F. Gensheimer confirmed Friday.

Two other cases are pending and one other suspected case is under investigation, according to the health advisory issued by the CDC. Those afflicted, including one who was hospitalized, had bloody diarrhea, one of the common symptoms.

Gensheimer said Friday that two of the three cases are unrelated, a fact revealed through genetic testing. No place, event or food has been identified as a link in the investigation, she said.

Elsewhere, an E. coli outbreak has been traced to a restaurant, according to WAND TV.com.  The El Rancherito restaurant in Effingham, Illinois, has been identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak that has resulted in at least six confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 among customers who ate at the El Rancherito restaurant in Effingham between September 11th and September 13th. 

The health department says it has six confirmed cases of E. coli 0157. They are all linked to eating at El Rancherito restaurant in Effingham at I-57 and I-70. The health department says the restaurant is cooperating and has been closed since Thursday.

The people affected ate there between September 11th and the 13th. Their illnesses started between the 14th and 17th. There is no word on their conditions.

An investigation into two E. coli-infected students from Galena Elementary School in Indiana is ongoing.  The News and Tribune reported that a second has been hospitalized with similar symptoms, school officials confirmed Friday afternoon.

“We don’t know the details, but we can say that the health department is investigating one confirmed and one suspected of E. coli,” said Bill Briscoe, assistant superintendent of operations and administration for the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp.

Both students, who were not identified, were hospitalized on Thursday. The Floyd County Department of Health confirmed in a news release at least one case of E. coli on Friday morning and said it suspected the other, but didn’t reveal further details.

E. coli outbreak one year later

USA Today featured a detailed timeline of last year's spinach outbreak - from the first death to the discovery that spinach was the source of the outbreak to the fifth death and how the spinach industry and federal investigators and regulators responded during the crises and beyond. 

Marler Clark client Jillian Kohl stated in the article:  "By the time I am 40 to 45 years old, I could be laying in a bed hooked up to dialysis machines again. I know death is inevitable, but sometimes it feels like quite a load to carry, knowing a rough timeline has potentially been put on my life."

 

Kindergarteners hospitalized with E. coli

Health officials in Russelville, Kentucky warn that two kindergarten students have been diagnosed with E. coli infections.  It is unclear how the students became infected with E. coli, but an investigation is underway and the school sent letters home with students last week to notify parents about the girls' illness, according to The News-Democrat & Leader.

“When we had the first student become sick we were concerned but didn't do anything because we weren't sure where she had gotten it,” said Logan County Superintendent Marshall Kemp. “But when you have two that get sick you start looking at things differently.”



Kemp said the school has been disinfected in several areas including the kindergarten classes, primary grade classrooms, the restrooms and busses. He said the school notified each parent by letter and attempted to call each kindergarten parent.
 

Lettuce from Salinas part of Dole product recalled for E. coli contamination

Dole Fresh Vegetables president Eric Schwartz has confirmed that the romaine and green leaf lettuce in its Hearts Delight salad mix was produced locally in the Salinas Valley and mixed with butter lettuce from Ohio and romaine from growers in Colorado.

The lettuces were processed at Dole's plant in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 6, said Schwartz. Eighty-eight cases — or 528 bags — were distributed in Canada and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags in the U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Dole Food Co, the parent company of Dole Fresh Vegetables, issued a voluntary recall Monday, one day after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued its own advisory in Canada.

Dole did confirm that the lettuce products had been shipped to several provinces in Canada as well as to Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

 

New York Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

Fairbank Reconstruction Corp., doing business as Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y., is voluntarily recalling approximately 884 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The products subject to recall include 1.33-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND ROUND BEEF PATTIES, 85/15.”



The ground beef products were produced on Aug. 31, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermon