Good to see USDA/FSIS and JBS Swift USA are working on the 4th. The list of retailers is now is 82 pages long. The E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses are at least 23 in nine states.
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A few days before many of us light up the barbeque, JBS Swift and the FSIS finally publish the list of retailers who received the tainted-meat (click on below).
Frankly, the retailer names had trickled out over the last few days as responsible stores alerted thier customers. Whats a bit odd, it that the location of the stores that received the meat do not seem to completely match up to where the illnesses are located. According to the CDC, twenty three persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular "DNA fingerprint" have been reported from 9 states. Of these, 17 have been confirmed by an advanced DNA test as having the outbreak strain; confirmatory tests are pending on others. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: California (4), Maine (1), Michigan (6), Minnesota (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (2), New Mexico (1), New York (1) and Wisconsin (6). So, begs the question? "Where is ALL of the beef?".png)
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The JBS Swift USA recall of 380,000 pounds of beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 also involves these retailers:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has so far been silent about the retailers involved in the recall. The retailers that have come forward have done so on their own.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency advises that meat recalled by JBS Swift USA was sold under the President's Choice brand (steaks, roasts and ground beef) in the following stores:
E. coli O157:H7 originates in the intestines of cattle. Cattle, as many as 6,000 a day, are killed, processed and packed at the Greeley Beef Plant owned by JBS Swift USA.
Yet JBS says the beef products it has recalled were contaminated outside their Colorado slaughtering plant because it was their customers that through trimming and grinding turned whole muscle cuts into ground beef.
“The ground beef that might have been associated with illness was produced by other companies, who often do not use the antimicrobial intervention steps we employ in our facility to reduce the risk of the beef products, JBS spokesman Chandler Keys told the Grand Island Independent.
“Nevertheless, we have agreed to expand our recall of whole muscle cuts out of an abundance of caution for consumers,” Keys said.
JBS upped its original June 24th beef recall to at least 380,000 pounds on June 28th after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked meat produced by the Greeley Beef Plant to a multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.
The attempt to shift blame to its wholesale customers who took possession of the meat produced by the JBS facility on April 21st is unusual to say the least. JBS is the third largest beef producer in the United States, and is owned by the world’s largest beef producer, Brazilian-based JBS SA.
Keys says its wholesale customers are being contacted by phone and mail. He says the company is “working closely with the USDA to ensure that product is removed from the marketplace and the recall is completed successfully.”
Chances are what’s left of this tainted meat is not in the marketplace,” but in somebody’s freezer. Unless and until it’s connected with a retail source, most people are clueless as to whether they bought the bad meat.
There’s a PDF file of the products JBS produced on April 21st that are included in the retail, but that does not help anyone much. Keys offers the fairly useless suggestion people go have a chat with the butcher at their local retail store. Lot's of luck with that one.
The solution to the problem is public release of the list of the meat-receiving retailers, something the Bush Administration began during last year’s E. coli season. Under the new Obama Administration, however, that new policy has seen spotty enforcement.
Almost a week after the JBS beef recall began, there has been no list of retailers issued by either USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service, nor JBS. Nothing, nada, zip.
At least when Nestles USA announced that it was recalling all its Toll House cookie products, the public knew which retailers were involved. Every retail grocery in the country provides generous space for Nestle products.
Nestle is currently at the center of the largest E. coli recall and largest E. coli outbreak in the country, and one-by-one the victims and their families are filing lawsuits against the cookie giant.
The deadly E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint has linked 69 people in 29 states with the apparent cookie dough contamination.
Getting far less public attention than the Nestle’s E. coli O157:H7 cookie dough recall are seven beef recalls announced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
When a meat processor recalls its beef, the information is not much use to consumers unless they are told which retailers and restaurants are selling the product. Time and time again, food safety advocates have found “recalled” items still on the shelves long after retailers were told to remove them.
A year ago, FSIS announced it would at least identify which retailers are involved in a recall within a three to ten day period. That new policy appears to be getting hit and miss attention this year by FSIS.
Andrew Shain at The State newspaper in South Carolina unsuccessfully attempted to get a list of retailers in that state who carry meat from JBS Swift Beef Company’s massive Greeley, CO processing plant, which has a recall out on 41,280 pounds of beef.
A JBS official told The State processors and stores did not want their names released and would “contact the public as they see fit.”
The JBS recall due to contamination by E. coli O157:H7 is the seventh to occur since May 4th. It was announced on June 24th, and no list of retailers has yet been made available by FSIS.
It came just two days after Chicago’s International Meat Company on June 22nd recalled 6,152 pounds of ground beef products believed to be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7. That meat went to other distributors and restaurants in the Chicago area, so FSIS says there will be no list of retailers. (Restaurants must not be retailers, according to FSIS).
The 75 pounds of fresh beef trim products recalled on June 8th by Snow Creek Meat Processing in Seneca, SC all went to the Amazing Savings Stores in Asheville and Black Mountain, NC. The retailers were identified on the same day by FSIS.
It took two days after the June 2nd recall by Portland, OR-based SP Provisions of almost 40,000 pounds of E. coli-tainted ground products for FSIS to finger Riley’s Market in Bend, OR as the only retailer involved.
On May 21st, Coal Valley, IL-based Valley Meats LLC recalled 95,898 pounds of ground beef found contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 after an outbreak was discovered by the Ohio Health Department. Its by far the biggest recall of 2009, but FSIS claims no retailers are involved. It seems all the meat went to what FSIS said were “various consignees nationwide.”
The May 12th recall by Bob’s Food City in Hot Springs, AK of 375 pounds of ground beef products thought to be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 involved only that retail outlet and FSIS said so on the same day.
May 4th was the date of the first E. coli recall of both 2009 and the new Obama Administration. FSIS said none of the 4,663 pounds of ground beef products contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 went to retailers, only western New York restaurants. Alex & George Wholesale, Inc. of Rochester, NY issued the recall.
Seven beef recalls due to O157:H7 contamination so far in 2009 are for a total of 188,341 pounds. All seven are “Class 1, High Risk” recalls. At least one led to the outbreak in Ohio. And, the E coli beef season is just getting started.
The sixth beef recall over possible E. coli 0157:H7 contamination this season occurred Monday when Chicago's International Meat Company Inc. called back a total of 6,152 of ground beef products.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) scored the recall as a Class I event with high health risk.
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.
Here's the recall list:
For the fifth time since May 4th, the Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a "Class I, High Health Risk" recall due to contamination of beef by E. coli O157:H7.
The latest recall involves just 75 pounds of fresh beef trim products from Snow Creek Meat Processing in Seneca, SC. The bad meat was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling.
The Snow Creek recall brings the total amount of beef recalled so far this year to 140,909 pounds. The first E. coli-related recall of both 2009 and to occur during the Obama administration of FSIS came on May 4th when Alex & George Wholesale recalled 4,663 pounds of beef it had sold to western New York restaurants.
Routine FSIS testing was credited with discovering of the E. coli problem at Alex and George, and again in the second recall on May 12th when Bob's Food City in Hot Springs, AK sought return of 375 pounds.
However, the third recall of '09 and the biggest so far this year involving Illinois-based Valley Meats LLC was found through trace-backs after the Ohio Health Department identified a cluster of E. coli victims.
Last Tuesday's recall of almost 40,000 pounds of ground beef products with possible E. coli 0157:H7 contamination by Portland, OR-based SP Provisions also came about due to FSIS testing.
Today's recall by Snow Creek is for various sizes of Cryovac bags of "BEEF TRIMMINGS, BEEF ITEM" packed in boxes. Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 20478" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a "Sell By" date of "06/02/09."
These fresh beef trim products were produced on June 2, 2009, and were distributed to retail establishments for further processing in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Portland, OR-based SP Provisions is recalling approximately 39,973 pounds of 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:
Cascade Natural Beef Brand:
SP Provisions Brand:
Each identifying case code is preceded by the date code "040809" through "052809," signifying the production date in "month/date/year" format, i.e. April 8, 2009 through May 28, 2009. Additionally, each product bears the establishment number "EST. 2866" inside the USDA mark of inspection.
These ground beef products were produced on various dates from April 8, 2009 through May 28, 2009, and were distributed to retail establishments as well as hotels, restaurants and institutions in Oregon and Washington. The products, produced from the same source material, were sent into commerce prior to May 29, 2009.
The E. coli contamination 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.
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