Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Food Poison Journal

When it comes to consuming beef manufactured and sold in the US, a new report by the USDA warns there are many more concerns for the consumer beyond the usual pathogens mentioned in this journal (ie, E. coli, Campylobacter, etc.).  As reported today by CNN, contained within the average cuts of meat available at the local butcher are a potential multitude of unappetizing components you may not suspect, like antibiotics, pesticides, and even heavy metals.

According to the USDA's inspector general, federal agencies have failed to set limits on many potentially harmful chemical residues, which "has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce."  When it comes to pesticide traces, only one type is tested for, according to the report. There are also no set limits for some heavy metals, like copper.

This should be of no small concern.

"Some of the residues that the inspector general cited could be carcinogenic, as they accumulate over a period of time in the body," he said.

The study focused on contamination by chemical residues, rather than bacteria. While bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella can cause an illness that is acute but brief, chemical residues are more like to build up over time, and no amount of cooking will destroy them.

in response to the report, the USDA pledged to "swiftly implement the corrective actions" recommended by the inspector, which including testing for more kinds of residue and setting limits on how much of each substance is allowable. A department spokesman pointed out that this kind of fix, which is expected to require coordination with the FDA and the EPA, was one of the main reasons President Obama created a Food Safety Working Group last year. 

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On February 12, 2010, Huntington Meat Packing, Inc., expanded its January 18, 2010 beef recall to include approximately 4.9 million pounds of beef and veal products that it produced in 2009 and the first few days of this year. This expanded recall brings the grand total of beef products recalled since November 2009 (just 3 and a half months) to 5,672,000 pounds.

Today, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service released a retail distribution list, which states that the recalled product was distributed to only two businesses nationally.  One is Castel and Cooke Cold Storage in Vernon, California, and the other is Rastelli Fine Foods in Swedesboro, New Jersey. 

It is unclear if these entities truly are the only businesses that received recalled product.  That would be a lot of beef and veal products--4.9 million pounds--for just two establishments.  More to come?

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On February 12, 2010, Huntington Meat Packing, Inc., expanded its January 18, 2010 beef recall to include approximately 4.9 million pounds of beef and veal products that it produced in 2009 and the first few days of this year. This expanded recall brings the grand total of beef products recalled since November 2009 (just 3 and a half months) to 5,672,000 pounds. 

The expansion of the Huntington Meat recall is remarkable for both its size and the fact that it occurred based on evidence gathered during an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) with assistance from FSIS. This evidence shows that the products subject to this recall expansion were produced in a manner that did not follow the establishment's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. A HACCP plan describes the process controls an establishment must take to prevent food safety hazards and create a safe and wholesome product. The investigation has uncovered evidence to show that the food safety records of the establishment cannot be relied upon to document compliance with the requirements.

This recall expansion continues the disturbing trend of major meat recalls over the last several months.  On February 4, West MissourI Beef, LLC, a Rockville, Missouri beef company, recalled 14,000 pounds of boneless beef products due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. 

On January 11, 2010, Adams Farm Slaughterhouse, LLC., an Athol, Mass., stablishment, recalled approximately 2,574 pounds of beef products due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall occurred in the wake of an epidemiological investigation into the E. coli illness of at least one Massachusetts resident.

On Christmas Eve 2009, National Steak and Poultry recalled at least 124 tons of mechanically tenderized beef products. The National Steak and Poultry outbreak caused at least 21 E. coli O157:H7 illness in 16 states, including nine hospitalizations and one case of HUS.

And in November 2009, ground beef from a New York ground beef company called Fairbank Farms was recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. That outbreak caused resulted in 26 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, nineteen hospitalizations, and five who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

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 Today's announcement by USDA-FSIS of another beef recall due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination bodes poorly for this new year.  Adams Farm Slaughterhouse, LLC., an Athol, Mass., establishment, is recalling approximately 2,574 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  The recall occurs in the wake of an epidemiological investigation into the E. coli illness of at least one Massachusetts resident.  The recall also marks the third beef recall in the last three months due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

In November 2009, ground beef from a New York ground beef company called Fairbank Farms was recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. That outbreak caused resulted in 26 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, nineteen hospitalizations, and five who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).   

And on Christmas Eve 2009, National Steak and Poultry recalled at least 124 tons of mechanically tenderized beef products.  The National Steak and Poultry outbreak caused at least 21 E. coli O157:H7 illness in 16 states, including nine hospitalizations and one case of HUS.   

Together, the recalls and outbreaks linked to beef from Adams Farm, National Steak and Poultry, and Fairbank Farms, has caused at least 48 illnesses in nationally.  At least 776,000 pounds of beef have been recalled in total in the three outbreaks.  

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Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year.  In fact, they are the second most common type of bodily infection, accounting for about 8.3 million doctor visits annually.  Escherichia coli--a family of bacteria that includes E. coli O157 and other shiga-toxin producing strains, as well as certain generic strains that can reside quite peacefully in the human colon--is the most common cause of urinary tract infections.  New research suggests that, even for strains associated with UTI rather than gastrointestinal disease, meat may be the ultimate reservoir. 

Researchers from Denmark conducted the study, and will soon publish the results in the publication "Foodborne Pathogens and Disease."  In the study, abstract available here, researchers studied the serogroups and antimicrobial resistance characteristics of E. coli isolates (pure bacteria examined for genetic characteristics and uniqueness) from various sources, including community-dwelling humans, broiler chicken meat, broiler chickens, pork, and pigs.

A total of 964 geographically and temporally matched E. coli isolates from UTI patients (n=102), community-dwelling humans (n=109), Danish (n=197) and imported broiler chicken meat (n=86), Danish broiler chickens (n=138), Danish (n=177) and imported pork (n=10), and Danish pigs (n=145) were tested for phylogroups (A, B1, B2, D, and nontypeable [NT] isolates) and antimicrobial susceptibility. Phylogroup A, B1, B2, D, and NT isolates were detected among all groups of isolates except for imported pork isolates. Antimicrobial resistance to three (for B2 isolates) or five antimicrobial agents (for A, B1, D, and NT isolates) was shared among isolates regardless of origin.

Using cluster analysis to investigate antimicrobial resistance data, the researchers found that UTI isolates always grouped with isolates from meat and/or animals. Researchers detected B2 and D isolates, that are associated to UTI, among isolates from broiler chicken meat, broiler chickens, pork, and pigs. Although B2 isolates were found in low prevalences in animals and meat, these sources could still pose a risk for acquiring uropathogenic E. coli. Further, E. coli from animals and meat were very similar to UTI isolates with respect to their antimicrobial resistance phenotype. The researchers believe that the study provides support for the hypothesis that a food animal and meat reservoir might exist for UTI-causing E. coli.

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The latest CDC summary on the ongoing E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Fairbank Farms ground beef says that there are 28 confirmed cases in 12 states.  The USDA-FSIS's latest outbreak summary, which is where you would expect to find information on the retailers who have received recalled product, seems a little slow on the uptake.  As we posted yesterday, the FSIS statement is limited to Price Chopper and Shaws' stores in just 8 states.  So what about the other 4 states with sick people in them?  Isn't there some missing information here?

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More than a week after JBS Swift initiated a nationwide recall of E. coli-tainted meat, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and JBS Swift have taken the necessary steps of alerting consumers as to which retail outlets received the beef. After an initial recall of 41,280 pounds on June 24, JBS Swift expanded the recall to include an additional 380,000 pounds on June 28. Now the entire April 21 production run of beef primal from the JBS Swift Greeley, Colorado plant is being recalled. The retail outlets listed by FSIS and JBS Swift are:

• Price Chopper stores
• Hannaford stores in ME, NH, VT, MA, and NY
• Stop & Shop stores in ME, MA, RI, CT, NH, northern KY, Southeastern IN, western TN, and AR
• Kroger stores in MS and IL
• Food 4 Less stores in the Chicago area
• Fry’s stores in AZ
• Smith’s stores in AZ, UT, and other Western states
• Costco

The CDC announced on July 1 that 23 people in 9 states had been infected with the genetic fingerprint of E. coli O157:H7 associated with the outbreak. Twelve people were hospitalized and two suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that can lead to kidney failure. Illnesses have been reported in the following states: California (4), Maine (1), Michigan (6), Minnesota (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (2), New Mexico (1), New York (1) and Wisconsin (6).

Consumers need to know that the meat they have in their homes may be contaminated with a deadly pathogen. Following is a list to date of individual store recalls that came out before the FSIS/JBS Swift release. Our hope is that you will help us spread the word.

• BJ's Wholesale Clubs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island – beef cuts and vacuum-packed primal cuts
• Bloom and Food Lion Stores in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia – beef cuts and ground beef
• Costco – steaks, ribs, ground beef (PDF)
• Food 4 Less – ground beef, 15% (PDF)
• Fry's Food and Drug Stores – ground beef (PDF)
• Hannaford Bros. Co. – beef cuts and ground beef (PDF)
• Kroger – ground beef (PDF)
• Price Chopper – ground beef and beef loin bottom sirloin steaks
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., including Pick 'n Save, Copps and Rainbow stores – beef cuts and fresh ground beef
• Smith's Food and Drug Stores – ground beef (PDF)
• Smith's Food and Drug Stores in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – beef cuts and ground beef (PDF)
• Stop & Shop Supermarket Company – ground beef
• WinCo Foods, LLC Stores in Idaho and Oregon – boneless bottom round roast, steak, carne asada, ground beef

Additional Consumer Resources: List of Recalled JBS Swift Beef Products (PDF), Downloadable Family Health Guide on E. coli (PDF)

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Elliotte Bowerman of Lean Trimmings reports that the nation's largest grocery chain - including Fred Meyer, QFC, Fry's, Smith's and Ralph's stores - announced last Tuesday that it will no longer carry ground beef products packaged with carbon monoxide (CO). The decision resulted from uncertainty over the benefits and detriments of using the gas, which the FDA has approved since 1980.

"We just didn't have enough information to feel like it had to be in our meat," a Fred Meyer spokeswoman told The Oregonian.

Kalsec Foods, a Michigan maker of natural food extracts, petitioned the FDA to ban the use of CO, saying the color preservative deceives consumers. Kalsec has raised questions about the use of CO, even at minute amounts, in its effort to capture market share for its packaging technology.

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Marian Burros of The New York Times reports that if some of the meat in supermarkets is looking rosier than it used to, the reason is that a growing number of markets are selling it in airtight packages treated with a touch of carbon monoxide to help the product stay red for weeks.

This form of "modified atmosphere packaging," a technique in which other gases replace oxygen, has become more widely used as supermarkets eliminate their butchers and buy precut, "case-ready" meat from processing plants.

The reason for its popularity in the industry is clear. One study, conducted at Oklahoma State University for the Cattlemen's Beef Board in 2003, said retailers lost at least $1 billion a year as meat turned brown from exposure to oxygen, because, though it might still be fairly fresh and perfectly safe, consumers simply judged meat's freshness by its color.

The carbon monoxide is itself harmless at the levels being used in the treated packaging. But opponents say that the process, which is also used to keep tuna rosy, allows stores to sell meat that is no longer fresh, and that consumers would not know until they opened the package at home and smelled it. Labels do not note whether meat has been laced with carbon monoxide.

The Food and Drug Administration approved use of the process in 2004. The Washington Post reported in its Monday editions that Kalsec, a Michigan producer of a natural food extract that helps slow the discoloring of the meat but does not "fix" it in the same way as carbon monoxide, had petitioned the agency to reverse that decision.

The Consumer Federation of America and the advocacy group Safe Tables Our Priority have written a letter to the agency in support of the petition because, they say, the bright red color could mask spoilage and dangerous bacteria in older meat or meat that has not been kept at the proper temperature.

Supermarket chains including A.&P. and Pathmark do not carry the treated meat, but it is showing up with increasing frequency elsewhere. In New York City, it is sold at 30 Gristede's stores, at D'Agostino markets under the labels Laura's Lean Beef and Creekstone's, and at the Morton Williams stores in the Associated chain. A spokeswoman for Safeway did not respond to phone calls and e-mail messages about sale of the treated meat there, but it was available at a Safeway market in Bethesda, Md., earlier this month. SuperTarget stores are also selling it, and Wal-Mart reports carrying it in 150 stores.

"This is what is going to happen in the meat business," said John A. Catsimatidis, chairman and chief executive of Gristede's. "The meat looks great. It looks as red as the day it was cut."

Processors say treated ground meat can be sold for 28 days after leaving the plant, and solid cuts for 35 days. The agribusiness company Cargill says it has sold 100 million packages in the last year.

Randy Huffman of the American Meat Institute Foundation, an industry group, said, "The primary benefit in providing this product to consumers is the red color they have grown to expect."

In a firsthand look at the treated meat, a package of a conventionally wrapped rib steak and one with the carbon monoxide were both red when bought on Feb. 3 near Washington. They were then kept refrigerated. By Feb. 16, when they were photographed for the pictures that appear with this article, the conventional meat was brown, but the treated meat was still rosy. And as of yesterday, other treated meat bought at the same time was still red despite having been left unrefrigerated on a kitchen counter since Feb. 14.

Some food scientists who approve of other forms of modified atmosphere packaging as a way of extending a product's life say this form of it can be unsafe. Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, says one study found that when meat in modified packages that included carbon monoxide was stored at 10 degrees above the proper temperature, salmonella grew more easily.

Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has asked the F.D.A. to explain its approval of the process.

"It's just common sense that when consumers buy meat, they use color as an important indicator of its freshness," Mr. Dingell said in an e-mail message to a reporter. "For F.D.A. to rely on a promise of some stamp on the package that says 'use or freeze by' is just naive."

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Several people have been hospitalised after eating beef from Mascot Hotel owned by the government. Many top officials who took part in the lunch organised by a public sector had to bear this.

It has been reported that the beef was imported from Denmark. Even though chief minister and public works minister attended the function, they skipped the lunch. The officials are now in many private hospitals in the city.

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