E. coli Blog - Surveillance & analysis on e. coli news & outbreaks

Meat recalled a month ago that could be contaminated with E. coli was found in seven northern New Jersey stores, state consumer safety officials said Tuesday.

Inspectors in the past week have seized 138 boxes of frozen hamburgers made by Topps Meat Co., which issued a nationwide recall on Sept. 29 for 21.7 million pounds of frozen patties.

Four of the stores, all in Jersey City, were located after a distributor was subpoenaed by the state Division of Consumer Affairs and provided shop names and locations. Inspectors found the other three while visiting nearly 200 stores in Hudson County

State authorities have not determined when the meat was delivered to the stores.
 

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced that in a joint investigation between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and FSIS, investigators had determined that Ranchers Beef, a Canadian company, had supplied E. coli-contaminated beef trimmings to Topps.

The agency also announced that Ranchers Beef, Ltd., has been "delisted" since October 20, meaning the company has not been eligible to export meat to the United States since that date.

Topps has expanded an earlier recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products for possible E. coli contamination. The recall was initiated after illnesses associated with the products were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, and several other states.  As of October 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 40 illnesses under investigation as being part of the outbreak.
 

Federal investigators are saying that they have recently learned that Topps Meat Company failed to require adequate testing on the raw beef it bought from its domestic suppliers, and it sometimes mixed tested and untested meat in its grinding machines.

The Agriculture Department acknowledged that its safety inspectors, who were in the Topps plant for an hour or two each day, never cited the company for these problems.

Additionally, Topps, like many other beef processors, had bought an increasing amount of meat from overseas. Some types of meat from foreign countries are not required to be tested for contamination.

There have been 15 E. coli O157:H7 recalls in beef this year, eight of which caused illnesses. The USDA now will test meat at large plants about 12 times a year, up from seven.
 

The Ithaca Journal's coverage of an E. coli lawsuit filed against Topps by Marler Clark highlights the firm's decision to ask the Court to award punitive damages to an 8-year-old child and his mother, who both became ill with E. coli infections after eating Topps ground beef patties at a barbecue.

According to the Associated Press, consumer groups, including the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America, are asking that the U.S. Department of Agriculture gain the authority to issue recalls.

While the FDA is a pro-consumer agency, it has no jurisdiction over meat and poultry.

“The USDA does not even have the statutory authority to force a recall. They cannot recall a product; they can only ask Topps to do so. In this case they didn't,” said Marler Clark Attorney David W. Babcock.
 

A lawsuit seeking punitive damages was filed today against Topps, the New Jersey beef supplier that recalled nearly a year's supply of frozen ground beef patties after its products were identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak in September.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Keith and Kristin Goodwin and their 8-year-old son, Lucas, by Seattle-based Marler Clark and Rochester-based Underberg & Kessler.

The lawsuit states that Topps had knowledge of consumer illness tied to its products and a positive E. coli sample from its ground beef patties no later than September 8th, seven days before Kristin and Lucas Goodwin ate Topps hamburgers.

Kristin was released from the hospital on September 26th, but Lucas developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and remained hospitalized for eight days. While they were hospitalized, Topps recalled 332,000 pounds of ground beef products.  The company later expanded the recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.
 

Seattle attorney William Marler called today on Cargill to front medical costs for victims of an E. coli outbreak traced to the company's frozen ground beef patties. Victims of the outbreak include families of children who have been hospitalized in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

“Without assistance in the form of monetary compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, many of the families with members in the hospital will face financial hardship in the coming months when the bills start coming in,” said Marler, who filed a lawsuit against Cargill on behalf of a Minnesota family yesterday. “Cargill should do the right thing and begin compensating victims of this outbreak for those most basic needs now. Of course, Cargill will still be responsible for the costs of long-term medical care for victims, but it is better to step up now.”

Federal regulators will be meeting to discuss the incidence of E. coli outbreaks and illnesses that can be attributed to E. coli strains that produce Shiga-toxins, but are not E. coli O157:H7.

For years, E. coli 0157:H7 has been the only strain being the focus of government oversight and has prompted massive nationwide food recalls. But evidence has been piling up in the past several years to show there are other forms of dangerous E. coli bacteria that may be just as deadly to humans.

While the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list just 501 cases of illness caused by these other dangerous E. coli bacteria in 2005, the number is probably much greater than that, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond said.
 

At least five Wisconsin residents have been diagnosed with E. coli, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Health officials are working to determine whether the Wisconsin cases have a link to earlier cases reported in Minnesota that were traced back to consumption of E. coli-contaminated hamburgers produced by Cargill and sold at Sam's Club.

One of the victims, an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman, has been confirmed to be suffering from an E. coli infection induced by the same strain of E. coli found in Minnesota children who ate Cargill-brand hamburgers and became ill. The 18-year-old woman linked to the Minnesota cases is the only Wisconsin person whom officials have described.

More tests are being conducted to determine whether any of the other Wisconsin cases share the same strain of E. coli as the Minnesota cases.
 

Marler Clark client Emily McDonald's mom Catherine is thankful that doctors did not treat her daughter with antibiotics without knowing whether she was suffering from E. coli or not. The administration of antibiotics is believed to be a potential contributing factor to children developing hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Antibiotics and painkillers can slow the expulsion of the bacteria from the body and cause more complications, said Josh Schaffzin, the state Department of Health's medical director of the regional epidemiology program.

Emily has been able to start school with her third-grade classmates at St. Pius X School in Loudonville. She's returned to her soccer team and is starting saxophone lessons.

Topps Meat Company, LLC, of Elizabeth, N.J., has voluntarily expanded its Sept. 25 recall to include a total of approximately 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
 

The Minnesota Department of Health have announced that ground beef patties purchased from Sam's Club stores in Minnesota have been identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak.

Hamburger patties purchased from Sam's Club stores in Eagan, Maple Grove and White Bear Lake have been implicated as the cause of 4 cases of E. coli infection.

All four cases were children. Two of the cases developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and were hospitalized. One case has been discharged and one remains hospitalized.

The brand name of the implicated frozen ground beef patties was “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.”
 

Two E. coli cases have been reported in Grayson County, Kentucky, according to the Grayson County News-Gazette.

Public health officials have not indicated that the cases are related to the Topps meat recall and E. coli outbreak or to the E. coli outbreak among children attending an Indiana school.

One of the cases being reported in Grayson County is school-based, whereas the other case is not, says Linda Sims, director for the Lincoln Trail District Health Department. She said the two cases do not seem to be related since the two patients do not have any contact with each other.
 

Public health officials and health care providers are trying to determine where a Seattle-area family picked up E. coli, but have not yet come up with any answers.

First, 16-month-old Adelido started to show symptoms of E. coli two weekends ago, according to KING 5 News. Then, 3-year-old Carlitos became ill a few days later. Right after both boys got out of the hospital, their grandmother who often babysits them checked into the hospital with the same symptoms.

 

A lawsuit has been filed against Topps Meat Company, the meat producer whose ground beef products have been identified as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, and who expanded a ground beef recall to include 21.7 million pounds of meat over the weekend.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Albany County, New York, residents Robert and Catherine McDonald and their young daughter, who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized after eating a hamburger made of Topps Meats ground beef