In 1999, the USDA-FSIS asked the National Advisory Comittee for Microbiological for Foods whether tenderized beef presented increased risks of contamination by E. coli O157:H7.  The answer, of course, was that it does, and that risks to consumer health increased correspondingly.  See Recommendations

This is not surprising, of course, nor is it particularly newsworthy

Certain circumstances surrounding the National Steak and Poultry E. coli O157:H7 outbreak have me worried.  The pathogen is incredibly dangerous; the vehicle (non-ground beef products) is often not cooked to a high enough temperature to kill E. coli; many of the beef products recalled are frozen, thus extending the shelf-life, putting more people at risk

E. coli O157:H7 strikes again, this time stealing some of Santa’s thunder and delivering a pile of bad news (for the meat industry, the consumer, everybody) on Christmas Eve.  The outbreak linked to National Steak and Poultry, an Oklahoma-based purveyor of pre-portioned beef products, has sickened people in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota, and

Earlier today, the CDC posted the following update on the E. coli O157:H7 ground beef outbreak and recall on its website:

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