12-Year Old HUS Victim Rebecca Gosla Reaches Settlement With United Foods
A confidential settlement was reached July 30th on behalf of twelve-year-old Rebecca Gosla, who was sickened in a 2007 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to contaminated ground beef that were manufactured by United Foods. Rebecca’s illness stands apart from most E. coli O157:H7 infections, even for children who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). She was hospitalized for over a month, suffered weeks of dialysis, and her medical bills were nearly $200,000.
The severity and duration of her HUS-related complications, including the complete failure of kidney function as indicated by the lack of urine-production, makes Rebecca’s prognosis concerning. It is possible that her kidney-function will decline over time to a point that kidney transplantation or maintenance-dialysis will be necessary for her survival.
Rebecca’s Illness was a result of E. coli O157:H7-tainted hamburger that was part of a recall announced on June 3, 2007 by United Food Group, LLC (“United Foods”). 75,000 pounds of ground beef products was recalled after testing conducted by health departments in California and Colorado revealed contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The company reported that the ground beef had been produced on April 20, 2007 and shipped to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah. Three days later, on June 6, 2007, United Foods expanded its recall to 370,000 pounds of ground beef. Investigation by the CDC and state health department had uncovered a link between United Foods’ ground beef and illnesses “in several states.” The expanded recall included products produced on April 13, in addition to April 20, 2007. Additional states were now also involved, including Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming.
Three days later, on June 9, 2007, United Foods was again forced to expand its recall, this time dramatically enlarging its scope. More United foods fresh ground beef, not originally included in the recall, had tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 in Arizona. The strain of E. coli O157:H7 isolated was genetically indistinguishable from the strain that had led to the original recall. The newly recalled ground beef tested in the Arizona had been sold under a major grocery store label as opposed to a pre-packaged chub shipped from United Foods. At this time, United expanded its recall to include 5.7 million pounds of its ground beef. The recall now extended to both fresh and frozen ground beef. By this time, United Foods ground beef had been linked to fourteen culture-confirmed E. coli O157:H7 infections in the following states: Arizona (6); California, (3); Colorado (2); Idaho (1); Utah (1); and Wyoming (1).
It is time to prevent the next Rebecca.
the safest way to progress is to assume any meat product is infected. hamburger is insidious because the bacteria which normally would be on the surface of the meat get incorporated into the entire food product during the grinding process. making sure your meat is totally cooked can prevent this disease from happening.
This is something I wrote several years ago:
Response to the Meat Industry
"It is not the failure of the Meat Industry in not keeping cattle feces out of hamburger that sickened the child, but it is the fault of the parent who handled and cooked the hamburger that was fed to the child."
This is a typical response to a sickened child by the meat industry and their lawyers.
At first I calmly tried to respond that the Meat Industry that makes a profit off of selling "USDA Inspected Meat" can not blame the consumer if the product actually contains a pathogen that can severely sicken or kill a child. What other product in the United States would a manufacturer expect consumers to fix themselves before they used it?
The reply to my calm response was "the consumer should know that meat may contain bacteria and they are told to cook it."
My calmness has now faded. Think about the little labels on meat that you buy in the store - the ones that tell you to cook the meat to 160 degrees - of course they also say USDA inspected too. However, the labels do not say "THE USDA INSPECTION MEANS NOTHING. THIS PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN A PATHOGENIC BACTERIA THAT CAN SEVERELY SICKEN OR KILL YOU AND/OR YOUR CHILD. HANDLE THIS PRODUCT WITH EXTREME CARE." I wonder why the Meat Industry does not want a label like that on your pound of hamburger. It knows that the label is truthful. Do you think it might be concerned that Moms and Dads would stop buying it? The day the industry puts a similar label on hamburger is the day that I will go work for them.
The reality is that the Meat Industry can not assure the public that the meat we buy is not contaminated. So, instead of finding a way to get cattle feces out of our meat, they blame parents (and presumably all the teenagers that work at all the burger joints in America) when children get sick.
Consumers can always do better. However, study after study shows that, despite the CDC estimated 76 million people getting sick every year from food borne illnesses, the American public still has misconceptions and overconfidence in our Nation's food supply.
According to a study by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, fewer than half of the respondents knew that fresh vegetables and fruits could contain harmful bacteria, and only 25% thought that eggs and dairy products could be contaminated. Most consumers believe that food safety hazards can be seen or smelled. Only 25% of consumers surveyed knew that cooking temperatures were critical to food safety, and even fewer knew that foods should be refrigerated promptly after cooking. Consumers do not expect that things that you can not see in your food can kill you.
Consumers are being blamed, but most lack the knowledge or tools to properly protect themselves and their children. The FDA has stated that "unlike other pathogens, E. coli O157:H7 has no margin for error. It takes only a microscopic amount to cause serious illness or even death." Over the last few years our Government and the Meat Industry have repeatedly told the consumer to cook hamburger until there is no pink. Yet, recent university and USDA studies show meat can turn brown before it is actually "done." Now the consumer is urged to use a thermometer to test the internal temperature of the meat. However, how do you use one, and who really has one?
Many consumers wrongly believe the Government is protecting the food supply. How many times have we heard our Government officials spout "The US food supply is the safest in the world." Remember, however, that it was the USDA that sat on positive E. coli tests for over a week that allowed this recent ConAgra E. coli outbreak to spiral out of control.
Where is the multi-million dollar ad campaign to convince us of the dangers of hamburger, like we do for tobacco? The USDA's FightBAC and Thermy education programs are limited, and there are no studies to suggest that they are effective. Most consumers learn about food safety from TV and family members - If your TV viewing habits and family are like mine, these are highly suspect sources of good information.
The bottom line is that you can not leave the last bacteria "Kill Step" to a parent or to a kid in a fast food joint. The industry that makes billions off of selling meat must step up and clean up their mess. They can, and someday will, if I have anything to say about it. That day will come much faster if they start working on it now, and stop blaming the victims.