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

According to a USDA Press Release issued on June 24, 2009, "JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colo., establishment is recalling approximately 41,280 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7."  The USDA Press Release can be found here: www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_034_2009_Release/index.asp

If the location of Greeley, Colorado sounds familar, that is because it has been the source of contaminated meat before, most notably in 2002, when the plant was still owned and operated by ConAgra.  At the time, the recall was the second biggest in U.S. history.  According to a news report at the time:

A report by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) inspector general blames both federal meat inspectors and ConAgra Beef Co. for errors that led to a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections and an 18 million–pound ground beef recall last year.

USDA meat inspectors and the company largely ignored evidence of E coli O157:H7 contamination that began cropping up at the Greeley, Colo., plant in January 2001, more than a year before the recall and illness outbreak in May and June of 2002, according to the report. The plant was later sold to Swift Foods Co.

"Our audit found that neither ConAgra nor FSIS [the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service] effectively fulfilled their responsibilities" under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, states the report from the office of Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong. HACCP has been the guiding strategy for the federal meat inspection program since 1998.

The report says the FSIS cited ConAgra for fecal contamination on beef carcasses many times before the recall but took no strong enforcement action and that most FSIS inspectors at the time of the recall were not competent to evaluate the plant's HACCP program. The inspector general also concluded that poor record-keeping and red tape made the recall slow and ineffective.

Of course, the current recall is nowhere near as large as the one in 2002. (It involved meat produced on April 21st and 22nd that was shipped to distributors and establishments in Colorado, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.) 

Moreover,  the fact of the discovery of this contaminated meat may show that the USDA is finally getting better at prevention instead of merely reacting.  But, seeing yet another recall linked to this Greeley plant, I can't help but to think of that famous French phrase: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.)

To see the list of recalled products, please clcik Continue Reading. 

• Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "21852."
• Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "21853."
• Boxes of "Swift, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "31852."
• Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "31853."
• Boxes of "Swift, USDA SELECT, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "33852."
• Boxes of "USDA SELECT, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "33853."
• Boxes of "BLACK ANGUS, Swift Premium, BEEF, USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "41853."
• Boxes of "BLACK ANGUS, Swift Premium, BEEF, USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "41853."
• Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, an identifying package date of "042109" and a case code of "79852."
• Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, an identifying package date of "042109" and a case code of "79853."
• Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "90853."

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Yesterday, the New York Times published an interesting, as well as disturbing, article on the continuing dangers of ConAgra frozen pot pies.  Specifically, despite the 2007 outbreak and all the serious illnesses it caused, the safety of the pot pies still depend on the customer cooking them correctly.  Apparently, the challenge of making the pot pies safe to eat, even if cooked to a temperature below what would constitute a "kill step," was simply too difficult.  Here is how the NY Times described the decision:

The frozen pot pies that sickened an estimated 15,000 people with salmonella in 2007 left federal inspectors mystified. At first they suspected the turkey. Then they considered the peas, carrots and potatoes.

The pie maker, ConAgra Foods, began spot-checking the vegetables for pathogens, but could not find the culprit. It also tried cooking the vegetables at high temperatures, a strategy the industry calls a “kill step,” to wipe out any lingering microbes. But the vegetables turned to mush in the process.

So ConAgra — which sold more than 100 million pot pies last year under its popular Banquet label — decided to make the consumer responsible for the kill step. The “food safety” instructions and four-step diagram on the 69-cent pies offer this guidance: “Internal temperature needs to reach 165° F as measured by a food thermometer in several spots.”

For the full article, see www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15ingredients.html

But getting a frozen-hard pot-pie to reach a uniform temperature of 165 degrees is by no means an easy thing to accomplish, as the Times article amply demonstrates. 

But attempts by The New York Times to follow the directions on several brands of frozen meals, including ConAgra’s Banquet pot pies, failed to achieve the required 165-degree temperature. Some spots in the pies heated to only 140 degrees even as parts of the crust were burnt.

A ConAgra consumer hotline operator said the claims by microwave-oven manufacturers about their wattage power could not be trusted, and that any pies not heated enough should not be eaten. “We definitely want it to reach that 165-degree temperature,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”

A safety issue indeed.  Because if that pot pie is contaminated with a deadly pathogen, and the cooking process does not essentially pasteurize the pot pie, then eating will could be the real "kill-step" here. 

For additional discussion, please click Continue Reading.

One of the issues really missed in the Times article--although it is one missed a lot, is the question of whether the real problem here is that ConAgra wants to be able to sell the pot pies, and do so profitably, for a price of 69 cents per pie. According to the article:

The company says the outbreak and management changes prompted it to undertake a broad range of safety initiatives, including testing for microbes in all of the pie ingredients. ConAgra said it was also trying to apply the kill step to as many ingredients as possible, but had not yet found a way to accomplish it without making the pies “unpalatable.”

Its Banquet pies now have some of the most graphic food safety instructions, complete with a depiction of a thermometer piercing the crust.

Pressed to say whether the meals are safe to eat if consumers disregard the instructions or make an error, Stephanie Childs, a company spokeswoman, said, “Our goal is to provide the consumer with as safe a product as possible, and we are doing everything within our ability to provide a safe product to them.”

Yes, they are going to do "everthing within [their] ability to provide a safe product" EXCEPT, that is, to raise the price to a point that would allow them to manufacture a product that did not require that consumers pasteurize the pot pie before eating it. So, yest the problem might be with the cooking instructions.  And the problem might be with consumers not microwaving something along enough to constitute a "kill step" for the pot pie.  But the REAL problem, that no one wants to talk about is this: You get what you pay for, including safety.

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The return of Banquet pot pies after a Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds was the subject of an article by Julie Schmidt in USA Today.  The article focuses on ConAgra's new packaging and cooking instructions:

Most people know to check the Thanksgiving turkey with a thermometer to make sure it's fully cooked and safe to eat. But a microwaveable pot pie?

That's what the maker of Banquet frozen pies is telling consumers to do after salmonella bacteria in some pies led to a $30 million recall in October. The episode was linked to reports of 272 illnesses in 35 states.

ConAgra Foods, which earlier said sickness was likely related to undercooked pies, now says its previous cooking directions were confusing and that Banquet pies should be cooked to 165 degrees, a temperature high enough to kill bacteria.

Food safety expert Doug Powell of the International Food Safety Network did a cooking experiment with a pot pie that he purchased just after the recall was announced in October - following ConAgra's cooking instructions exactly to see whether he could cook a pot pie in the microwave to a temperature hot enough to kill Salmonella.  He conducted the same experiment again, this time following the new cooking instructions on a Banquet pot pie's box, then wrote about his second experience:

I bought some of the new and improved pot pies and did the same cooking experiment, following what ConAgra called " redesigned easy-to-follow cooking instructions … to help eliminate any potential confusion regarding cooking times."

After four minutes in a 1150 Watt microwave, the interior of the pot pie registered at about 50F. After letting it sit for an additional three minutes -- as per label instructions - the temperature varied anywhere from 75 - 190 F.

I decided to cook an additional two minutes.

After six minutes of cooking, and the previous three minutes of resting, the pot pie had tremendous variation in temperature: anywhere from 200F down to 100F. 165 F is required to kill Salmonella.

I wouldn't want my kids popping these in the microwave after school.

Maybe pot pies shouldn't be microwaved at all.

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This week's food safety infosheet from the International Food Safety Network focuses on proper cooking temperatures for food. 

We've learned more about proper cooking temperatures in recent weeks since ConAgra recalled chicken and turkey pot pies for Salmonella contamination.  Microwave temperatures vary, and using a food thermometer to measure a food's internal temperature and determine food safety is important since consumers are the last line of defense when cooking at home.

The iFSN "barf blog" post titled, "Cooking a Frozen Pot Pie in a Microwave" is a good demonstration of why food thermometers are useful tools in the kitchen.

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The ConAgra plant that produces the company's Banquet pot pies was closed yesterday among concerns of Salmonella contamination in Banquet chicken pot pies that had been manufactured in the plant.  The Associated Press reported on the closure today:

ConAgra Foods Inc. voluntarily stopped production Tuesday at the Missouri plant that makes its Banquet pot pies after health officials said the pies may be linked to 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states.

ConAgra officials believe the company's pies are safe if they're cooked properly, but the Omaha-based company told consumers Tuesday not to eat its pot pies until the government and company investigations are complete.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also issued a health alert Tuesday afternoon to warn consumers about the link between the company's product and the salmonella cases.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking reports of the salmonella cases since Wednesday. A CDC spokeswoman said the largest numbers of salmonella cases had been reported in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Missouri. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement about the pot pie Salmonella outbreak, encouraging consumers to avoid any ConAgra-brand pot pies with a code of P-9, since they were produced in the same facility as the Banquet pot pies.

At this time, CDC recommends that people do not eat any Banquet pot pies or pot pies made by ConAgra Foods that have a printed code ending in “P9.” Other brands of pot pies made in the ConAgra Foods factory that makes Banquet brand pot pies and sold under other brand names may also be contaminated with Salmonella. These other pot pie boxes also have a printed code ending in “P9”. If you have any of these products at home, the safest thing to do is to discard them.

This information conflicts with what ConAgra has been telling the public, maintaining that if the pot pies are cooked properly they will be safe for human consumption.  The AP article stated included a few sentences on ConAgra's take on the outbreak:

[ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie] Childs said ConAgra is confident in the safety of its chicken and turkey pot pies when all the cooking instructions on the package are followed. It is especially important to follow the directions when the pies are cooked in a microwave."

And on the International Food Safety Network's Barf Blog, Dr. Doug Powell wrote his family's experience with purchasing ConAgra-brand Banquet chicken pot pies and their attempt to get proper cooking information from ConAgra:

So Amy and I went to the local supermarket after dinner. We found the products in question, with the P-9 on the side, and on sale, 2-for-$1.

I called the number suggested by ConAgra (see above). After listening to a recorded message, I spoke with a human, who wanted to know my name, zip code, state, and when she got to address, I said, I just want to know how to properly cook these in the microwave, cause the press release says they're safe if cooked properly.

The human hung up.

Amy and I then examined the ingredient list, which included cooked chicken, and mechanically deboned chicken -- but did not specify whether the meat was coked or not. So maybe there is raw poultry in the pot pies, which could be a source of salmonella, or maybe it's all cooked but there was a failure in reaching 165F. Don't know at this point.

With the CDC reporting at least 139 cases of Salmonella epidemiologically linked to the ConAgra outbreak in 30 states - and that number growing - more information certainly will be available for Dr. Powell and others concerned about food safety very soon.

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ConAgra announced today that the company will re-open the plant where Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter was produced.  The plant was closed in February after it was identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that had sickened hundreds of people who ate contaminated Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.  From Forbes.com:

The Omaha-based company said it was planning to reopen its Sylvester, Ga., plant after spending at least $15 million on renovations that include repairing the roof, installing new equipment and creating a design to better separate raw materials and the finished product.

"Right now we're in the final stages of getting everything ready to produce Peter Pan peanut butter there," said Stephanie Childs, a company spokeswoman.

The plant was shut down in February after health officials linked the Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter to a salmonella outbreak. More than 600 people in 47 states reported becoming ill, and the company faces lawsuits in several states.

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