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

According to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, recent U.S. Dept. of Agriculture reports indicate nearly one in 300 samples of ground beef contains E. coli.

Contaminated food kills 5,700 Americans each year and the nation's food safety laws have not been overhauled in a century, she adds.

As the first New York senator to sit on the senate agriculture committee in 40 years, she announced the introduction of the E. coli Eradication Act, legislation she authored that would, for the first time, federally mandate testing of all ground beef for E. coli.

"The annual number of national recalls of ground beef and other beef products contaminated with E. coli is in the double digits - at least 12 this year so far this year," the senator said.

She went on to say it is time for a fundamentally new approach to food safety that catches contaminated food before it ever comes close to a kitchen table.

"The E. coli Eradication Act is an important step towards ensuring that the food going straight to kitchens, school cafeterias and restaurants is property tested and safe," Sen. Gillibrand said.

Ground beef is particularly vulnerable to E. coli because its source material is not from a single cut of meat but instead it is a compilation of trimmings from many parts, including fat that lies near surfaces of possibly contaminated hides.

While some grinders that process ground beef voluntarily test the meat before and after grinding, there is currently no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for E. coli.

Several state health departments, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. On October 31, 2009, FSIS issued a notice about a recall of approximately 545,699 pounds of ground beef products from Fairbank Farms that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Health officials in several states who were investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, with isolates that match by “DNA fingerprinting” analyses, found that most ill persons had consumed ground beef, with several purchasing the same or similar product from a common retail chain. A number of the illnesses appear to be associated with products subject to these recalls. Two samples from opened packages of ground beef recovered from a patient's homes were tested by the Massachusetts and Connecticut Departments of Health and yielded an E. coli O157:H7 isolates that matched the patient isolates by DNA analysis.

The cluster includes 26 persons from 8 states infected with matching strains of E. coli O157:H7. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: California (1), Connecticut (6), Massachusetts (8), Maryland (1), Maine (4), New Hampshire (4), New York (1), and Vermont (1). Of these, the genetic associations of 24 human isolates and both of the product isolates have been confirmed by an advanced secondary DNA test; secondary tests are pending on others. Depending on the results of continuing laboratory testing and ongoing case finding, the number of persons determined to be in this cluster may increase or decrease.

The first reported illness began on September 17, 2009, and the last began on November 6, 2009. Nineteen patients are reported to have been hospitalized and 5 developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Two deaths have been reported. Fifty percent of patients are male and 38% are less than 18 years old (range 1 to 88 years).

Most of the beef packages in the recall bear the establishment number "Est. 492" inside the USDA mark of inspection and have identifying package dates of "091409", "091509" or "091609". Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and freezers for beef products produced by this firm and purchased on or after September 15, 2009 and discard or return the recalled beef products to the place of purchase for a refund. Customers with questions about the source of a package of beef should contact the place where they purchased it (e.g., grocery store, club store, or meat market).

Fairbury Steaks, Inc. a Fairbury, Neb., establishment, is recalling approximately 90 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

* 10-pound packages of "BULK FRESH GROUND BEEF."

The packages were placed in boxes and bear the establishment number "EST. 5726" inside the USDA mark of inspection on a label. The products were produced on November 16, 2009, and were distributed to a restaurant in Ruskin, Neb.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

Michael Moss breaks yet another concerning E. coli story - "E. Coli Outbreak Traced to Company That Halted Testing of Ground Beef."  Apparently, Fairbank Farms purchased incoming trim to add to its hamburger and failed to test it for E. coli - Why?

A deadly outbreak of E. coli has been traced to a large producer of ground beef that stopped testing its ingredients years ago under pressure from beef suppliers.

AFA Foods has defended its testing protocols, saying they meet the beef industry’s “best practices” guidelines. Company officials said that their plants, including the one in New York, a subsidiary known as Fairbank Farms, require slaughterhouses to test their trim and that the company then tests samples of its finished ground beef as frequently as every 10 minutes.

“During the relevant production period, all such tests were negative,” Fairbank Farms said in written answers to questions from The Times.

However, the company added on Thursday that it was re-evaluating its testing procedures. “In addition to those controls, Fairbank is evaluating the addition of another firewall such as additional testing of incoming product,” the company said.

Well, better late than never.