Personal Injury Law

E. Coli Beef Recall Of 96,000 Pounds

By Jane Akre

Class One Recall

A high alert beef recall has an Illinois meat producer at the center of an E. coli 0157:H7 inspection. Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois has recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef contaminated with the potentially deadly bacteria.

Illnesses have been reported in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio since May 13. E. coli can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and kidney failure.  Most susceptible are children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.  

E. coli is a common bacterium normally found in humans but some strains such as E. coli 0157:H7 causes food-borne illnesses affecting some 73,000 Americans every year and killing about 61.

Since this is designated a "Class One" recall by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the health risk associated with consuming the meat is high.   

Valley Meats LLC makes ground beef products that are distributed under various labels. The contaminated lot was produced on March 10.  

Look for the following brands - The 3S Brand;  Grillmaster Brand Products;  J & B Brand Products;  Klub Brand Products;  Thick 'N Savory Brand Products; Ultimate Brand Products along with some products with no particular brand name. 

Additionally, each product bears the establishment number "EST. 5712" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The (2-1), (3-1), (4-1), (5-1) and (6-1) markings refer to the number of portions per one-pound.

WQAD-TV reports this is not the first time Valley Meats has been involved in an E. coli recall.  In 2007, the company recalled more than 100,000 pounds of ground beef. 

The product was traced to the Illinois plant after the Ohio Department of Health reported a cluster of similar E. coli illnesses.  

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is a public health agency operating within the U.S. Department of Agriculture which is responsible for the safety of the nation's supply of meat, poultry and eggs.  

The Big Picture

With the massive agribusiness centers that process, transport, and distribute food, inspections are a huge undertaking for an underfunded agency.

The problem is complicated by the emergence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli which appears to be spreading and can reappear months after the original illness.  

Both Center for Science in the Public Interest and CDC have called for a public health plan to eliminate medically-significant antibiotics from use in animal feed as a growth promoter which is linked to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

It is recommended you wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds after handling raw meat and poultry and wash dishes, cutting boards, and utensils that come in contact with the meat or juices.

And meat should be cooked through as determined by using a meat thermometer. #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on May 22, 2009 (boomark / email).