Reuters says:
The U.S. Agriculture Department said it became aware the meat might be tainted by E. coli O157:H7 bacteria during an investigation of a cluster of food-borne illnesses in New England.
New Hampshire officials announced the death on Saturday but did not release information about the victim. Two other New Hampshire residents have been hospitalized, they said.
USDA said it worked with health officials and "determined that there is an association between the fresh ground beef products subject to recall and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts."
To see the official recall notice, click here. Here's a pdf of the product labels.
New York Firm Recalls Fresh Ground Beef Products Due To Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination [USDA]
New Englander dies as U.S. meat recalled [Reuters]
Like the flu?
]]>Just a thought. And there will always be someone who can afford it, regardless of the price. When you add the cost of subsidized corn, the resultant costs of feeding cattle antibiotics, the superbugs created by the cattle and us consuming mega doses of antibiotics and so on, perhaps that 'cheap ' beef isn't as cheap as it seems on first look?
]]>With mass production, something bad is bound to get through for whatever reason.
Although food safety/sanitation has come along way, it's still not 100% fool-proof.
I'll take my burger well done, please.
]]>1) Deadly* bacteria is floating in the air all around you.
2) I'm more worried about the recalls on contaminated veggies since I'm far more likely to eat veggies raw than meat.
/*: YMMV based on the strength of your immune system and the sice of the contamination.
]]>But let's be realistic. We have really good food safety in the US, and it is by no means easy to get food as safe as it is in the US.
]]>@floraposte: An industrial fan and a funnel wwould be so much more fun
]]>@suburbancowboy: What happens when the cows don't have enough grass to munch on and farmers can't afford to buy more land to rotate pastures? Doesn't the price of beef then skyrocket so that nobody can afford it?
]]>Didn't we just read about how the whole ground beef supply is generally tainted (except for the stuff from Costco)? I thought that was here, wasn't it?
]]>@Marshfield: Unless you don't get that grinder totally clean afterwards.
]]>...FFFF, I get all of my beef at Trader joe's. I'm going to have to rethink their meat department now. :(
]]>You don't have to eat meat to be at risk. All you have to do is share the same planet with animals. In fact, the risk is higher with vegetables, since most meat pathogens are killed by cooking ... whereas a lot of veggies are consumed raw. Washing with water is a sound practice, but is not typically sufficient to kill pathogens like these.
]]>@laurakeener: spinach kills too. well, it got people sick at least. e.coli could be on anything we eat, of course proper cooking and cleaning would prevent it.
]]>@nbs2: ah.
]]>@B: They don't always know it is tainted, plus the tainting could have happened at your grocer, in the truck, or any other place.
Ground beef should be cooked through, that has been known for some time now.
]]>@The Porkchop Express: Usually they charge less. It's that TJ presents itself as a higher quality alternative. It would be like if McDs and In-N-Out used the same beef for their burgers.
]]>Seriously, the article is less than a month old.
Personally, I grind my own beef, which eliminates the risk as described, plus I get better quality burgers for about the same price. It takes about 15 minutes to do 3 lbs of beef.
]]>someday the government will wisen up and stop subsidizing this garbage food so the REAL cost including environmental cleanup will be considered. then, maybe, people might not buy so much. There's no reason a quarter pounder should cost less than my bag of carrots; it;s insane!
]]>@Red-headed bookworm: H7...not Hf...mistype.
]]>@meg9: since I have neither in my area: Is it because trader Joe's charges more?
]]>@thesadtomato: It can also cause long-term effects such as kidney disease. E. coli O157:Hf contaminated beef is from fecal or intestinal matter getting into the beef at the time of slaughter. If the people working at a slaughterhouse or meat processing center aren't careful, contamination happens. That's why it's important to completely cook meat that is purchased already ground. If you want to eat it less than fully cooked and stay safe, buy steaks and grind them yourself or ask a butcher to do so.
]]>@Hoss: but he did, he must not have cooked it fully so his answer is: Nope, not gonna do it.
]]>Unless they LIKE guzzling pepto all day...
]]>I did recently buy a bunch of ground beef from a locally owned supermarket and they have their own packaging and label. Of course, there's nothing about where the meat came from so I guess I'll have to go be the worrywart customer and asking their manager if I need to toss it out.
]]>@Nick1693: The problem is we don't really have a recall system in place. The USDA currently does not have the power to issue a mandatory recall is the meat is contaminated.
The FDA and the USDS don't have enough authority or resources to inspect and recall tainted items quickly.
Producers should care about the safety of products so that these things don't happen but the USDA and FDA also need more so that the times things do happen, they can quickly recall items so that so many people don't get sick.
]]>@justagigilo85: I don't think the dead guy can answer
]]>@justagigilo85: my thought exactly despite the fact that I don't want to do it. I will though, just so I don't get in those numbers.
]]>I get that accidents happen. That's why we have a recall system in place, isn't it?
We're at the point where it seems like there's always a food recall in the news. Is it possible that people are becoming desensitized and not paying attention to these recalls?
]]>