Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bacteria could have tainted beef in many U freezers

August 30, 2001

The recall of more than 530,000 pounds of possible E. coli-tainted beef by the American Foods Group on Monday may worry some Lansing residents, but there are many precautions they can take to ensure infected meat is not eaten.

The recalled beef, which was found to have E. coli bacteria of the strain 0157:H7 in a sample, was sent to 17 states, including Michigan, but it is not possible to trace the cities and stores the meat reached.

“We’re not able to tell you that because American Foods sells to wholesalers and distributors who resell meat to their stores or their customers, so we don’t actually know specifically what cities or stores,” said American Foods spokeswoman Susan Finco.

Elliot Ryser, an assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, noted the severity of symptoms victims could experience if they ate E. coli 0157:H7-tainted meat.

“Most strains of E. coli bacteria are completely harmless,” he said. “Only a handful are responsible for human illness.”

Symptoms of infection occur 44 to 48 hours after eating the infected meat. They include abdominal pain and diarrhea. Ryser added that with this particular strain of bacteria, victims might notice bloody diarrhea and more severe abdominal pain.

Associate law professor Elizabeth Foley said the 0157:H7 bacteria is responsible for the most hospitalizations per year. Ninety thousand people are hospitalized with that particular strain every year out of a total of 200,000 E. coli infections per year, she said.

“The impact on the body is much more severe than a typical E. coli strain,” she said. “Even healthy people can be devastated by the strain of E. coli. It’s a nasty bug.”

Bob Dudgeon, a spokesman for Meijer, Inc., said consumers shouldn’t worry about finding any American Foods tainted meat there.

“We definitely do not get any product from the American Foods company,” he said. “All of our ground meat comes prepackaged and is (U.S. Department of Agriculture)-certified for quality and freshness.”

Kroger Food & Pharmacy stores and The Country Markett, 1367 E. Grand River Ave., are among grocers in the Lansing area that do not carry American Foods Group products. However, no comments were available from these stores.

Although the recall of possibly tainted meat can be a dangerous situation, Foley said the American Foods Group has done a good job of informing the public.

“One of the interesting things legally is that the (Food and Drug Administration) has no legal authority to force a recall, including E. coli,” she said. “All they can do is ask the manufacturers to voluntarily recall. In that way, they’ve done a good job, and jumped on the band wagon.”

However, Finco said no illnesses had been reported and suggested ways for consumers to find out if they bought any of the recalled beef.

“We stress that the important thing for consumers is to look at the sell-by-date on the ground beef, which is Aug. 19, and to look for USDA establishment number 410. Those two things should be on all of the ground beef and that’s one way consumers can tell,” she said.

Finco also said consumers worried about tainted meat should cook the beef at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature at which all E. coli is eliminated.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Bacteria could have tainted beef in many U freezers” on social media.