Eight Washington state and Oregon residents have been confirmed ill with E. coli infections since eating E. coli-contaminated ground beef sold by Interstate Meat Dist., Inc. of Clackmas, Oregon, under the Northwest Finest brand.  The ground beef was sold in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington between July 19 and July 30, 2007.  Health officials believe consumers could still have the product in their freezers.

On July 21, E. coli attorney Bill Marler posted about this summer’s meat recalls and outbreaks due to E. coli contamination.  Yesterday, one of the victims of an outbreak in Huntsville, Alabama, passed away. 

E. coli contamination in our food supply is a serious issue, as are other concerns such as contamination with Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens.  A post from earlier today highlights the downturn in consumer confidence since last year’s E. coli outbreak traced to spinach.