2007 E. coli recalls total more than 33.3 million pounds

The year 2007 is going to be remembered for the big beef recalls due to E. coli returning with a vengeance. All totaled meat producers were forced to recall over 33.3 million pounds of beef products.

Topping the list was the 21.7 million pound recall due to E. coli that sent the New Jersey-based Topps Foods into bankruptcy. When United Food Group in June was forced to recall 5.7 million pounds of E. coli-laced ground beef, no one would have guessed it was going to lead to a second half of 2007 that found E. coli in beef just like the bad old days.

E. coli forced the recall of 3.3 million pounds of Totino’s and Jeno’s frozen meat pizzas. In two separate recalls, Cargill had to recall over 1.9 million pounds of beef they had contaminated with the deadly E. coli pathogen.

Most of the big recalls of 2007 remain on the active case list of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The percentage of recalled products actually returned to manufacturers is often pretty low.

FSIS ALERT: Public Health Alert for Ground Beef Products Due To Salmonella Contamination in Safeway supermarkets in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico - 38 sickened.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert due to illnesses from Salmonella Newport associated with fresh ground beef products contaminated with multi-drug resistant Salmonella that may have been ground and sold at Safeway supermarkets in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico between Sept. 19 and Nov. 5, 2007.

This public health alert was initiated after epidemiological investigations and a case control study conducted by the California Department of Public Health, Arizona Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, determined that there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and 38 illnesses reported in Arizona (16), California (18), Idaho (1) and Nevada (3). The illnesses were linked through the epidemiological investigation by their rare PFGE pattern found in PulseNet, a database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another E. coli Recall

Snapps Ferry Packing has announced that they are recalling hamburger patties and bulk ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The problem was discovered through routine testing.

The products subject to recall are:
 

  • 4-pound packages of "GROUND BEEF PATTIES."
  • Various weight bulk packages of "GROUND BEEF."
     


No illnesses have been reported.
 

Lawyers negotiate spinach E. coli cases

Lawyers for parties involved in claims that arose from the 2006 E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach from California's Salinas Valley are meeting this week in the hopes of resolving claims brought by several Marler Clark clients.  Dawn Withers, a reporter with the Salinas Californian, interviewed attorney Bill Marler about the cases he is negotiating this week in a story that appeared in today's paper. 
Spinach E. coli outbreakThe cases under negotiation this week involve people sickened in Utah, New York and Wisconsin, Marler said.

The lawyer is negotiating settlements with Dole, Natural Selection Foods and Mission Organics.

Cases involving deaths have been settled, Marler said, while cases involving people who were sickened, but not gravely, are also almost settled. What remains are cases involving people who suffered extreme illness, usually kidney failure or complications, he said.
During the 2006 spinach outbreak, 205 people were confirmed ill with the strain of E. coli responsible for the outbreak, and five people died. Public health agencies ultimately identified the source of the outbreak as Dole-brand baby spinach that was processed at Natural Selections Foods and grown by Mission Organics

Leafy Green Safety Generates Discussion

The Western Growers Association said there should be no exemptions from uniform steps that growers and handlers should have to follow to certify the safety of lettuce, spinach, endive, kale, cabbage and other greens.

At a congressional hearing in May, Joseph Pezzini, an executive with Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, Calif., and the chairman overseeing California's Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement, said industry is best suited to define best practices for handling the covered vegetables.

The Consumers Union's Odabashian opposed the marketing-agreement plan in comments, saying the Agriculture Department idea isn't appropriate for addressing safety concerns. She said in an interview that the California agreement, which went into effect in July, didn't prevent two recent recalls.
 

The effects of a cow's diet on E. coli levels

Researchers from Kansas State University have concluded that cattle that are fed distiller's grain, a byproduct of ethanol production, have an increased incidence of E. coli O157:H7.

T.G. Nagaraja, a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Jim Drouillard, a professor of animal sciences at Kansas State, conducted research to determine whether diet influences the number of bacteria in an animal's gut.

“Feeding cattle distiller's grain is a big economic advantage for ethanol plants," Nagaraja said. "We realize we can't tell cattle producers, 'Don't feed distiller's grain.' What we want to do is not only understand the reasons why 0157 increases, but also find a way to prevent that from happening."

 

Kansas 5-year-old released from hospital

Five-year-old Aubrey Anderson from Hutchinson, Kansas, was released from Wesley Medical Center after being hospitalized for a month with hemolytic uremic syndrome. Aubrey was released from the hospital to recover at home because her mother is a registered nurse.

Public health officials have yet to identify the source of Aubrey's illness, and she will continue medical follow-up for months to years.

Initial indications were that her kidneys were functioning, so the family is optimistic she'll make a full recovery.

Kentucky Woman Dies from E. coli Infection

Vickie Shelton, a Knox County resident, passed away on Monday, November 26th at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington after being admitted. Ms. Shelton had eaten ground beef before becoming ill, and public health officials are conducting tests to determine whether that ground beef was contaminated with E. coli.

American Foods Group of Green Bay, Wisc. issued the recall on products produced in October and reportedly shipped to retailers and distributors in seven states including Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.