Ground beef recall linked to cluster of E. coli O157 illnesses in New England
USDA FSIS has announced a recall of 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and distributed in seven states. According to FSIS, the product has been linked to a cluster of illnesses in New England.
There are quite a few recalls going on most of the time; this one is notable because this product has been linked to an outbreak of illnesses at a camp in Massachusetts. It's also notable because bulk amounts of the product were shipped down the East Coast for further processing. Retail outlets receiving some of this product include Shaw, Giant, Price Chopper,Trader Joe's, BJs and others.
From the press release:
"Products for further processing:
Cases of 10-pound "FAIRBANK FARMS FRESH GROUND BEEF CHUBS."
Each case bears the establishment number "EST. 492" inside the USDA mark of inspection; has package dates of "09.14.09," "09.15.09," or "09.16.09;" and sell-by dates of "10.3.09," "10.4.09," or "10.5.09. These products were distributed to retail establishments in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia for further processing. However, these products at retail will likely not bear the package dates and sell-by dates listed above. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase."(2).jpg)
It is unlikely that any of the product is still being sold fresh at retail stores (the best-if-sold-before dates range from mid-September to early October) but it's likely that the affected beef is still around in freezers. The meat juices from thawing can provide a nice vehicle for pathogen transfer.
Stick it in with a tip-sensitive digital thermometer (in multiple spots) to ensure that ground beef has reached a safe temperature and be vigilant in containing meat juices when thawing frozen meats. Juicy is good, nasty meat juice spread around the kitchen isn't.
UK: Extra special cooking sauce contains mouse
Amoung my favourite foods are the Indian dishes aloo-gobi and channa. I can’t say I’ve ever successfully cooked these dishes, but they are a personal take-out favourite. In most grocery stores the less-talented chef can purchase pre-made Indian sauces to try and re-create their favourite dish.
According to the UK Daily Mail online, Cate Barret purchased Extra Special brand Tikka Masala sauce at a local grocery store, hoping to create a delicious dinner. Instead, she found a dead mouse (pictured right, from the source).
Barret explained her finding, saying,
“I stirred the sauce around and thought it looked a little bit more lumpy than usual and wondered if we had too many vegetables in the pan. Then as the sauce spread out, I saw whiskers, legs, and a tail. I shouted out to Nigel [her boyfriend] to come to see if it was what I thought it was. Then I fished it out.”
The couple took the dead animal and the jar of Asda Extra Special sauce back to the shop where a manager apologized and said it would be sent for examination. Barrett said the seal of the jar was firmly in place as the button on the top of the lid was not popped out, which would indicate it had already been opened.
She continued,
“It was a really big shock to see it plop out of the jar. It's going to be a while until I get another one of those tikka masala sauces.”
Bracelet found in chicken after 25 years
Associated Press explains that Giles had lived in Fairmont as a child and played hide-and-seek and other games with his brothers in their grandfather's barn near Sherburn.
The 31-year-old Giles said,"I would spend most of my time out at his farm, and that's the only place I can think of that I would have lost it."
Giles figures the bracelet was lost when he was 4 or 5.
The barn was dismantled a few years ago, and Giles thinks his bracelet was imbedded in materials used to construct another barn in Elmore, about 45 miles away.
The bracelet was found in a chicken that came from an Elmore farm.
Poop in the field
Monterey County, California's, Agricultural Field Toilet Inspection Program requires clean toilets, hand-washing stations and drinking water for Monterey County's workers, enforcing long-standing state laws with new resolve.The increased inspections are meant to encourage good hygiene among workers and to prevent crops from being contaminated.
Lourdes Bosquez, Salinas office supervisor of Consumer Health Protection Services, said,
"We used to do this in the '80s and '90s. Now, with the E. coli outbreaks, we thought it was important that we brought the program back."
Farmers will need Health Department permits for their field toilets by Jan. 1.
Our video for Poop in the Field is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL8iXUbTqgI.
U.S. has safest meat in the world; outbreaks increase
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I don't know much about farm bills and state versus federal inspection. But claims that,
"U.S. consumers enjoy the safest meat and poultry products in the world,"
especially as E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the U.S. appear on the rise and more sick people are identified in Wisconsin, seems to be the height of hubris.
But that's what Ron de Yong, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture, wrote in the Montana Billings Gazette this morning.
An outdated federal law prohibits state-inspected plants from selling products across state lines despite a provision in the law that requires these plants to have safety standards that equal or exceed those of USDA-inspected facilities. …
There are many reasons to abolish the 1967 prohibition on interstate shipments of state-inspected meat. … Enabling interstate sales of state-inspected meat and poultry will provide economic fairness and open markets. New marketing opportunities not only will benefit producers, processors and small businesses, but also will give consumers more choices at the supermarket. This change is common sense and it's the right thing to do.
Maybe. But spouting off about the safest anything in the world without the comparative data to back up such claims seems like a bad way to sell an idea.
China GM: Our food is the safest in the world
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Those Chinese learn fast. No sooner had I posted about a USDA official proclaiming that the U.S. had the safest meat supply in the world as 25 were barfing from E. coli O157:H7, then China jumped into the fray, borrowing a page from the US, Canadian, British and Kiwi (and lots of other countries) playbook.
Zhong Yuhua, the general manager, Fusheng Food Co., was quoted as telling reporters who were invited on a government-organized tour of three food exporters in Shandong province, southeast of Beijing that,
"I am very confident in saying our food is excellent and the safest in the world."
The story says that Fusheng is part of a Chinese food industry elite of export-oriented companies that, often with foreign help, have improved quality to meet import standards in Japan, the United States and elsewhere.
I don't believe any of youse. How about a moratorium on, "We have the safest food in the world," until someone publishes some meaningful comparative data in a peer reviewed journal. Or at least back the statement up with some data. Anything. Bland blanket statements serve only to amplify rather than mollify consumer concerns.
U.S. official says meat supply safest in world; 25 react by barfing
Dr. Richard Raymond, the Agriculture Department's undersecretary of food Safety, said on CBS's ""The Early Show'' this morning that,
"I think the American meat supply is the safest in the world. A recall like this does show that we are on the job, we are doing our inspections, our investigation, and we respond when we find problems to make sure that supply is safe.''
Raymond joins the Brits, Canadians and Kiwis, who all apparently have the safest food supply in the world.
They can't all be right.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press story notes cited a Topps official as saying over the weekend that the company has now augmented its procedures with microbiologists and food-safety experts.
I'm sure all this is a tremendous relief to the at least 25 individuals who have been barfing with E. coli O157:H7 in eight states.
