Florida Takes 3 Weeks To Recall Cheese With E coli

Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 16, 2008

Dr. John Fruin, chief of the Bureau of Food and Meat Inspection for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, admitted to the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper that the state has known that Santa Rosa Cheese, Naturally Aged White Cheese, may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Dr. Fruin told the newspaper that "the reason we did not put the press release out right away was because the firm was going to put out the press release and contact their buyers,” In the weeks that followed, however, “We didn’t feel the firm did an adequate job of notifying the public.”

Tennessee family recovering from E. coli

Posted by E. coli Attorney on January 16, 2008

Marti Davis of the Knoxville News Sentinel spoke with the McDonald family, whose two children became ill with E. coli infections last fall after eating Cargill ground beef patties.

Preschoolers John and Michaela McDonald shared a burger that led to a prolonged stay in intensive care and cost 4-year-old John part of his bowel and colon. The frozen hamburgers at Sam's Club near their West Knoxville home a few days before the patties were recalled.

Surgery to bypass John's digestive tract was reversed in December, and both children are well for now.

Only Jim McDonald, the children's father, has eaten ground beef since his children's illness. The rest of the family has not reintroduced ground beef into their diet.

The McDonald family, who is represented by Marler Clark, filed a lawsuit against Cargill last year, but has withdrawn the lawsuit in the hopes that Cargill will compensate the children for injuries they sustained through mediation instead of a jury trial.
 

Marler Demands Agencies Name Names in Recall

Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 15, 2008

Since last Saturday night when the federal Food Safety & Inspection Service went public with the recall of 188,000 pounds of ground beef from the Minnesota-based Rochester Meat Co., not much has happened.

Well, the profile of the California victim became known.  It was reported this way in the local San Diego media:

A local teen's illness has been linked to a national beef recall.
The 17-year-old girl was not hospitalized and has since recovered.
But her case has health officials worried that others could become 
sick, as well.
E. coli fears have led a Minnesota meat packer to recall nearly 
200,000 pounds of ground beef patties.
The company ships its products to distributors around the country for 
use in restaurants and other food service operations.
The recalled beef was not sold directly to consumers.

No, it was sold to restaurants, including perhaps just one national chain, who then sold it to consumers. 

Yesterday, food safety attorney Bill Marler went on the attack over the lack of information on this recall coming from the impacted states and federal officials.  From Marler:

Public health officials in Washington DC, California and Wisconsin are playing a dangerous game with American consumers by refusing to reveal the specific stores or restaurants that may have served meat contaminated by toxic E. coli, says the Seattle lawyer who represents victims of food-borne illness.

'The public needs to know who may have poisoned their kids,' said Bill Marler, managing partner of the Marler Clark law firm in Seattle.

Marler spoke up Sunday after health officials revealed that 188,000 pounds of ground beef was being recalled by the Rochester Meat Company, a Minnesota firm, because it has been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  This appears to be the first major recall of 2008.  2007 set a recent record for recalls - topping twenty recalls of over 33 million pounds of meat.

While announcing the nationwide recall, officials have refused to reveal the name of the restaurant or other outlets believed to have served the meat to consumers.  That, Marler says, means that consumers who may be at risk of contracting potentially fatal food-poisoning  have no way of knowing – until they get sick.

He called on Dr. Richard A. Raymond, head of Federal Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS), Kevin R. Hayden, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, and Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health, to immediately disclose the names and locations of retail outlets that have been associated with the contaminated meat.

The Federal Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) persuaded Rochester Meat Company to issue the recall after investigations revealed that at least six people have been sickened in Wisconsin and California.

'We are hearing from the environmental health community that a national chain restaurant, or restaurants are connected with this recall,' Marler said. 'If so, these public officials are playing a very dangerous game. They are betting that nobody else gets sick because they had no way of knowing they were at risk.'

Marler said there are indications that state officials know of one or more restaurants where contaminated meat has been served and where consumers already have been sickened.  'The public has a right to know the name of that establishment and its involved locations, ' said Marler. ' If more than one is involved, the public has a right to know that too.'

Well said Mr. Marler!  Maybe someone in the national media will light a fire under these agencies that are suppose to operate in the public interest.  

E coli making people sick prompts Recall

Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 12, 2008

Remember the old advertising slogan: "Weekends are Made for Michelob?"  But who can kick back and relax on another weekend with a nationwide beef recall due to e coli contamination?   This Saturday night special from our friends at the federal Food Safety & Inspection Service is a recall of 188,000 pounds of ground beef produced by the Rochester Meat Company and distributed all across the good Ole USA.

FSIS reports that:

The problem was discovered through an investigation initiated by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and the California Department of Public Health into five illnesses in Wisconsin and one illness in California. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

The ground beef products subject to recall were produced on Oct. 30, 2007, and Nov. 6, 2007. The products subject to recall were shipped to distributors nationwide for further distribution to restaurants and food service institutions. These products were not available for purchase by consumers in retail establishments.

Each box in the recall bears the establishment number “Est. 8999” inside the USDA mark of inspection.   Here's the recall list:

  • 10-pound boxes of “SEASONED BEEF BULK” bearing a product number of “09068,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “730314.”
  • 10-pound boxes of “100% PURE BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “09071,” as well as an eight-digit a lot number beginning with “731013.”
  • 15-pound boxes of “CHEYENNE SEASONED BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “12017” or “12018,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “730314.”
  • 10-, 15- and 20-pound boxes of “100% PURE GROUND BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “1340,” “127533,” “135724,” “158843” or “158852,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “731013” or “731014.”
  • 10-pound boxes of “100% PURE GROUND CHUCK BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “158898,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “731014.”
  • 10-, 15- and 25-pound boxes of “100% PURE GROUND BEEF CHUCK PATTIES” bearing a product number of “85227,” “227806,” “407823,” “407830,” “407840,” “417841” or “437531,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “730314,” “731013,” or “731014.”
  • 10-pound boxes of “OUR HOMESTYLE 100% PURE GROUND BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “208033,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “731014.”
  • 15-pound boxes of “SEASONED BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “357835,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “730314.”
  • 15- and 15.3-pound boxes of “USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER 100% PURE GROUND BEEF PATTIES” bearing a product number of “437507” or “437521,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “730314,” “731013,” or “731014.”
  • 15-pound boxes of “USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER GROUND BEEF CHUCK PATTIES” bearing a product number of “437822,” as well as an eight-digit lot number beginning with “731014


    • Beef With E coli Sold On Streets of Dallas

    Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 09, 2008

    Health officials in Dallas now say they confiscated beef sold off the street to owners of the Chicken Shack, which is located in the 6000 block of Lamar Street, before it could be cooked or sold to anyone else.

    The suspected source of the beef is the stolen trailer, which was taken from the parking lot of  the Texas American Food Service on Dec. 19.   The trailer contained nearly 15,000 pounds of beef that was contaminated with e coli.  The beef has been missing since the mostly empty trailer was recovered on Dec. 27.

    Since Monday, when the City of Dallas issued a press release, local health officials and inspectors from USDA's Food Service & Inspection Service have been fanning out over north Dallas in hopes of recovering the stolen beef before it makes anyone sick.  They are talking to businesses and inspecting restaurants.
     

    Was A Beef Deal Made to Barber Shop Employee?

    Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 08, 2008

    According to a Texas health department division manager, recalled beef is finding its way into back alley transactions in places as surprising as barber shops, reports the Dallas Business Journal.

    14,800 pounds of E. coli-contaminated beef was stolen from a Texas American Food Service truck, and the health department has fanned out across North Dallas to speak with businesses and inspect restaurants.

    Ahsan Khan, division manager of the food protection and education division of the Dallas Health Department, said an employee of a barber shop in northeast Dallas reported that a suspicious person attempted to sell him ground beef last week. Seven other businesses -- mostly restaurants -- also said they had been solicited by a suspicious individual peddling ground beef, Khan said.

    Dallas restaurant inspectors are also handing out fliers warning against the threat of the tainted meat.
     

    Michigan Firm, Mark's Quality Meats, Inc., Recalls Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

    Posted by E. coli Attorney on January 05, 2008

    Mark's Quality Meats, Inc., a Detroit, Michigan firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 13,150 pounds of various cuts of steaks and ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

    These products were not available for purchase by consumers in retail establishments, but were distributed to restaurants in the metropolitan Detroit area.

    The following products are subject to recall:
     

    • Boxes of Ball Tip Steaks
    • Boxes of Beef NY Strips
    • Boxes of Beef T-Bone Steak
    • Boxes of Beef Porterhouse Steak
    • Boxes of Beef Top Sirloin Steaks
    • Boxes of Bulk Ground Beef
    • Boxes of Ground Beef Patties

    Food Safety Infosheet Focus: E. coli O157:H7

    Posted by E. coli Attorney on January 03, 2008
    E. coli InfosheetThis week's Food Safety Infosheet from the International Food Safety Network (iFSN) out of Kansas State University and the University of Guelph addresses concerns about E. coli O157:H7 - a potentially deadly foodborne pathogen.  From the infosheet:
    E. coli O157:H7 can cause vomiting, diarrhea and can lead to kidney damage and is most dangerous for children and the elderly.

    Foods that have been associated with E. coli O157:H7 include ground beef, fruits and vegetables, sprouts and unpasteurized juices.

    When meat is ground, E. coli O157:H7 can be mixed from the surface into the middle of a patty or meatball. The only way to ensure that the dangerous
    bacterium is killed is to use a digital tip-sensitive thermometer.
    All three E. coli victims in the infosheet were hospitalized with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157:H7 infection. Although most people recover from the symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection, about 5-10% of infected individuals develop (HUS).  The essence of the syndrome is described by its three central features: destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), destruction of platelets (those blood cells responsible for clotting, resulting in low platelet counts, or thrombocytopenia), and acute renal failure.

    E. coli victim out of coma, recovering

    Posted by E. coli Lawyer on January 02, 2008

    20-year-old Stephanie Smith has woken from nine weeks in a medically-induced coma shortly before Christmas. Smith became ill with an E. coli infection in September after eating a contaminated hamburger, and has since been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

    On October 6, 2007, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation announced that it was recalling approximately 845,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall was initiated after three people in Minnesota tested positive for E. coli and a joint investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture identified the Cargill hamburger patties as the source of the illnesses.

    The Cargill products were sold at retail establishments and to restaurants and other institutions. Sam’s Club announced that it was pulling the potentially E. coli-contaminated ground beef patties produced by Cargill from its store shelves nationwide on October 5th.