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390 Tons of Ground Beef Recalled- Huntington Meat Packing Inc

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:27:11 +0000

Some 390 tons of U.S. ground beef recalled
Mon Jan 18, 4:46 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some 390 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer, some of it nearly two years ago, is being recalled for fear of potentially deadly E. coli bacterium tainting, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The beef was produced by Huntington Meat Packing Inc of Montebello, California, and shipped mainly to California outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food safety arm said.

An initial problem, in ground beef shipped by the plant from January 5 to January 15, was discovered during a regular safety check, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

It said it had received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of the recalled products.

During a follow-up review of the company’s records, government inspectors determined additional products produced and shipped in 2008 to be of concern because they may have been contaminated with E.coli, the service said in a notice on its web site.

This batch was produced from February 19, 2008, to May 15, 2008. It also had been shipped to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels within California, the notice said.

“While these products are normally used fresh, the establishment is taking this action out of concern that some product may still be frozen and in commerce,” it said.

E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause kidney failure in the most serious cases.

The service said it routinely conducts checks to verify that recalling firms notify customers, including restaurants, of the recall and that steps are taken to make sure the product is no longer available to consumers.

Two deaths linked to ecoli outbreak in beef, northwest area, usa

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:21:16 +0000

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – An outbreak of food-borne illness, linked to dangerous bacteria in ground beef, sickened 28 people and caused at least one death, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

The CDC said a New York adult with underlying medical conditions had died and another possibly related death in New Hampshire was under investigation. State officials attribute the New Hampshire death to the O157:H7 E. coli bacteria.

All but three of the 28 cases listed by the CDC were in the U.S. Northeast and 18 were in the New England states. Sixteen hospitalizations were reported, said a CDC spokeswoman. The bacteria involved were from a common strain, so tests were under way to see if all of the reported cases were related.

Over the weekend, Fairbank Farms of Ashville, New York, recalled 545,699 lbs (248,450 kg) of ground beef products.

The Agriculture Department, which oversees meat safety, said an investigation led it to conclude “there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.” USDA worked with state and federal officials in examining a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses.

A potentially deadly bacteria, E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

A string of food-borne safety scares led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation this summer to require more inspections and oversight of food manufacturers and would give the government new authority to order recalls.

Fairbank Farms announced the recall on Saturday. The beef was produced in mid-September and probably was labeled for sale before the end of the month, said USDA.

It went to retailers including Trader Joe’s, Price Chopper, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Shaw’s, a unit of Supervalu (SVU.N), BJ’s (BJ.N), Ford Brothers and Giant, a unit of Ahold (AHLN.AS), in eight states — Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

A complete list of products is available at:

link.reuters.com/vyx27f

The beef was produced Sept. 14 to 16, and the company urged consumers to check their freezers for products listed in the recall. Labels of the recalled packages will say EST 492 inside the USDA

Raw Cookie Dough cause of E. Coli outbreak?

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:57:20 +0000

By dan.mitchell

It’s not known for sure yet whether Nestle Toll House cookies are to blame for an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened at least 66 people in 28 states, but it seems likely. “Many” of the afflicted people had eaten raw Toll House cookie dough, according to ABC News.

Nestle has recalled the refrigerated product and warned people against eating it raw, as incredibly delicious as it might be. They shouldn’t eat it cooked either, the company said, until the source of the outbreak has been discovered. Cooking would normally kill the bacteria, but, of course, Nestle is taking no chances.


The E. coli strain "has not been detected in our product," Nestle said in a statement announcing the recall. But people "who have purchased these products should not consume them. Instead, we are asking that consumers return these products to their local grocer for a full refund."
Raw cookie dough is, to many of us, tastier than the cookies themselves, but Nestle advises on its packages that people shouldn't eat it raw.
Usually, though, it's OK to do so (or at least so we thought) with one exception: homemade raw cookie dough. As the people at WiseGeek point out, the homemade stuff contains raw eggs, which can pose a real danger.
The outbreak "points to the need for better funding for health surveillance," said lawyer Bill Marler, who sues food companies for a living. Oddly quoting himself on his blog, Marler wrote that the " 'fact that this outbreak was not detected until more than sixty people were ill in 28 states is precisely why we urgently need increased funding for the agencies responsible for public health,' said Marler. 'From the CDC to state and local health agencies, many dedicated people are working hard to protect consumers from tainted food, but they just don't have enough resources to do the job we ask of them.' "
Marler also posted a list of the particular products that have been recalled.