E. Coli Death in Kentucky Possibly Linked to American Foods Group Ground Beef Recall

The American Foods Group ground beef recall was issue on November 24, 2007. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) deemed the recall a Class I action, with health risks listed as “high.” The American Foods Group recall involved ground beef distributed to stores in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. The E. coli contaminated ground beef was produced at the American Foods Group meat packing plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin on October 10. The products where distributed for further processing and repackaging, so the tainted ground beef will not bear the processor’s establishment number. As the use-by date for products subject to this recall may have expired, consumers can contact their retailers to ask if they received any of these products and if so, consumers are urged to look in their freezers for these products and return or discard them if found.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, E. coli is responsible for sickening 73,000 people every year, and of those, 60 will die from the disease. E. coli is marked by the sudden onset of stomach pain and severe cramps. This is followed by diarrhea that is watery and bloody. Sometimes there is vomiting, but there is no fever. While most people will recover completely, E. coli poisoning can be very dangerous for children, the elderly and anyone with a weak immune system. In some cases, E. coli will cause a disorder called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be life-threatening.

E. coli tainted meat has become a major health problem, as the number of outbreaks and meat recalls blamed on this deadly bacteria have reached record levels in recent months. So far this year, there have been dozens of recalls of E. coli contaminated meat, more than double what they where in 2006. Often, the slow action by meat processors, the USA and other agencies charged with protecting the US food supply allows E. coli contaminated foods to sicken thousands of people across the country.

E.coli: A common bacteria that can make you very sick

Eating contaminated meat (specifically beef) with the bacterium Escherichia coli (E.coli) could cause symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and even death.

More E Coli

[...]

Palm Harbor, Fla. (PRWEB) October 15, 2007 -- Anyone who has suffered recent severe fevers and diarrhea should be aware that one of the largest recalls of potentially contaminated beef in the past decade is currently under way nationally, Attorney Jeffrey Hensley warned today.

Anyone who believes they have become ill as a result of E. coli contamination should consult an attorney, he said.

Nearly 30 people from 27 states have become ill, some seriously, after eating ground beef that had been contaminated with the E.coli bacteria, according to the USDA. Federal food inspectors say the meat originated in a beef processing plant in Elizabeth, N.J.

Topps Meat, which owns the plant, has recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties from across the country. People became ill after eating the Topps Meat products in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Maine and Indiana, the USDA said.

"Those who get sick from E. coli contamination can suffer permanent kidney failure and can even die," Hensley said. "The danger now is that even though a recall is under way, contaminated meat can still be sitting in peoples' freezers."

[...]

Georgia Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products Due To Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

Arko Veal Co., a Forest Park, Ga., establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,900 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The product subject to recall includes:

-50-pound cases of "BEEF PATTIES MIX," "80/20." Each case bears the establishment number "Est. 20766" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a product code of "502250." Each case bears a production date of "07-Oct-07," "08-Oct-07" or "09-Oct-07."

The beef products were produced between Oct. 7 and Oct. 9, 2007, and were distributed to restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. There was no retail distribution of these products.
[...]

More Ecoli in the increasingly centralized and unregulated food supply.

The recalled products were shipped to stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. They were sold under the brand names Moran's All Natural, Miller Meat Company, Stater Bros., Trader Joe's Butcher Shop, Inter-American Products Inc. and Basha's.

The affected grocery stores included Albertson's, Basha's, Grocery Outlet, Fry's, "R" Ranch Markets, Save-A-Lot, Save-Mart, Scolari's Wholesale Markets, Smart and Final, Smith's, Stater Bros. and Superior Warehouse.