One Person Dies; New York Producer Issues Recall of Ground Beef Products

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

One person died and at least two people were sickened after eating ground beef in New Hampshire that was possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Health officials said Saturday the products were packaged between Sept. 15-16 and may have been labeled with sell-by dates from Sept. 19-28, according to The Associated Press.

The contaminated meat may be related to the recall of almost 546,000 pounds of ground beef in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. That meat was sold by Fairbank Farms in Ashville, N.Y.

-----

To identify recalled products, consumers should check the package label and look for the product name, package weight and sell-by date. All labels will show an establishment number of "EST 492" inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection.

Recalled products include ground beef sold under various labels at B.J.'s Wholesale Club/Burris, Trader Joe's, ACME, Shaw's Supermarkets Inc., Price Chopper, Giant Food Stores and Ford Brothers. The products were sold in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/coli-contamination-fear-prompts-ground-beef-recall/story?id=8970713

[Romulox]

1. But...letting our corporations free to employ whomever they want,

(and under whatever conditions they want!) was supposed to unleash the "magic of the market!" What happened?

[Dreamer Tatum]

3. Epic fail

Meat packing is highly unionized, and the production of meat is supervised by the USDA. Epic fail.

[Romulox]

11. Err, you don't follow the news very closely, do you?

http://www.google.com/search?q=meat+packing+industry+illegal+aliens&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. That's not news, that's a Google search

And in any case, are you saying that illegals are shitting in the meat, what?

[Romulox]

21. "Google" is a search engine that aggregates many things, including news stories.

"And in any case, are you saying that illegals are shitting in the meat, what?"

I'm saying that I don't clown dance with you (apologies to RB LaTexas.) You didn't know about the problem with illegal immigrants and child labor in the meat packing industry because you're not interested, not because the stories aren't out there. :hi:

[Dreamer Tatum]

24. I'm sure that happens, absolutely. Now post a fact relevant to the issue at hand. nt

[zonkers]

32. Smackdown. Round 3.

[Romulox]

39. So...you're not a big follower of the news, either?

If you understand how google works, you're still ahead of the poster to whom I was responding. :hi:

[zonkers]

41. Duuude, you defended your point with 3 year old google news links. How lame is that?

[Romulox]

43. I take it back. You DON'T know how google works!

Here, I'll help you:

Agriprocessors charged with over 9,000 child labor law violations

http://iowaindependent.com/5235/agriprocessors-charged-with-9000-child-labor-law-violations

And, setting aside the bizarre notion that what happened 3 years ago is somehow not relevant to this discussion, are you aware of what the Statute of Limitations is for child endangerment in most states? Of course you're not. :hi:

[Occulus]

52. But those are child labor violations, not health code violations

Those are separate offenses. The one doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the other. You can have child labor violations in a clean room; you can have health code violations in the kitchen of a five-star restaurant. You can also have both, but having one doesn't mean you also have the other.

A total of 9,311 child labor violations, involving 32 minors under the age of 18, are included in the court documents. Seven of the 32 minors were under the age of 16. The alleged violations range from September 2007 to May 12 of this year — the date of the massive federal immigration raid on the plant. All violations are simple misdemeanors, each punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $65 to $625.

The article makes no mention of health code violations. This OP is about health code violations, not child labor law violations. IOW, this is about this, not about that, and that is about that, not about this. What you're doing is like someone raving about a society based in violence when you're trying to discuss crashing an inert probe into the moon.

That wasn't a nice moment in DU history. Let's not have a repeat, m'kay?

[Romulox]

64. My response was about the lack of gov't oversight in the meatpacking industry.

[The Stranger]

58. Fucking everyone uses Google. Why can't the poster respond?

[LanternWaste]

71. Podt hoc ergo prompter hoc.

Podt hoc ergo prompter hoc.

[RamboLiberal]

23. Did you forget a sarcasm tag?

Cause what you said was once true but sadly no longer.

[Romulox]

29. He's not the type who cares if he's right or wrong.

Arguments the thing.

[RamboLiberal]

61. Go read this and get back to us

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html

Hope you like your burgers well done!

[WriteDown]

2. I wonder what the source was...

Or at what stage the contamination occured.

[tinrobot]

4. Reaffirms my "one cow one burger" policy.

I buy whole cuts of meat and grind it myself. That way, I know exactly what's in the burger.

I've also started buying organic grass fed beef. Expensive, but we're supposed to eat less red meat, anyways, right?

[WriteDown]

5. What type of grinder do you use?

Hard finding a good one these days.

[Romulox]

13. There's a Kitchen Aid grinder attachment for their stand mixer that works great.

That's what I use.

[WriteDown]

14. Yeah, I've got that..

I've been looking for a heavy-duty hand grinder though.

[Romulox]

17. Wow. It's been years since I've seen one of those (and that one was an antique!) nt

[WriteDown]

18. Haha...

I've looked around but all the new ones are made in China.

[No Elephants]

22. My supermarket seems to find them. My mom was really old school, though,

She had a cast iron manual meat grinder that she clamped onto the edge of the kitchen table. But she was immaculate cleaning her hands and the grinder and everything else.

She also kept a dish of water and ice cubes beside her and dipped her hands into that before touching the meat, cleaning the dish and changing the water and ice periodically.

She was like a pioneer woman.

[WriteDown]

25. Very cool....

Yes, that's the kind I'm looking for. We had one when I was a kid. I don't think they make the cast-iron ones anymore though.

[No Elephants]

28. They do, but I don't know if they're made in china or not. you might

try googling, but here's one link to start you off.

http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/manual_meat_grinder.htm

[WriteDown]

83. Thanks! I'll have a look. nt

[tinrobot]

50. Got a reconditioned Waring for $50 online

I think I ordered it at Cabelea's.

Works great, I can grind up a 5 pound roast in under 10 minutes.

[WriteDown]

82. Thanks too! nt

[grumpy in StL]

77. Lehman's Hardware

http://www.lehmans.com/cgi-bin/lehmans/dyna/dynaJziPqD?page_number=1

This is a catalog of products that are sold to the Amish comunity.
They specialize in non-eletric gear.
They do have a website (I love it.)
They have many US made products.

[WriteDown]

81. Awesome! Thanks! nt

[gateley]

20. That's a great solution! There was a recent story about what really goes into

hamburger/ground round, and honestly, I'm surprised we're not all dead (the meat eaters, anyway). :hi:

[Altoid_Cyclist]

34. My Dad retired from the USDA as a Meat & Poultry Inspector.

I don't know how I can still eat any kind of meat after hearing his daily experiences.

I can still remember one of his supervisors screaming at my Dad on the phone because my Dad had refused to let one of the plants process one of their cows. My Dad grew up on a farm in Canada and was a Veterinarian before he joined the USDA so he knew that the cow was sick and wasn't safe to use for food. His supervisor disagreed but at least they didn't use the cow.

After testing the cow, it turned out that my Dad was 100% correct and it would have been dangerous to process it. The supervisor called that night to say that my Dad was right but that he was never to question his authority again because the supervisor is always right and that was more important than my Dad being right.

Hello...........? That cow would have ended up as a meal for a lot of people who would have then probably ended up sick at the very least.

http://www.themeatrix.com/

[WriteDown]

35. Ugh..

that doesn't speak very highly of the USDA.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

59. It really changed towards the end of his career.

There were days when he might have to cover plants that were so far apart that the processors knew that they just had to wait a little while.

It wasn't uncommon for him to put a few hundred miles on the car in one day. The processors just had to wait until he left and then it was anything goes. Twelve hour days (or more) were routine also.

That's one reason that they hired more Inspectors, but they didn't really screen all of them well enough. They discovered that some of them were taking bribes so that the cow mentioned above was allowed to be processed.

A lot of the plants weren't happy when my Dad showed up, but they knew that all they had to do was wait for him to leave or wait until a "friendlier Inspector" was assigned to cover them.

He pissed off one of the local plants by shutting them down due to unsanitary conditions on a few occasions. But the owner of that plant was about the only local owner who stopped to see him when he was Diagnosed with Alzheimers.

He said that he was glad that someone stood up to him and forced him to take health concerns seriously. Of course, after my Dad retired, he went right back to doing things the same way that he had done in the past.

[kestrel91316]

73. It doesn't speak very highly of that particular supervisor, that's all.

But it only takes a few like that to make everybody in the USDA look bad.

[kestrel91316]

72. Your approach is the safest. Grain-fed feedlot cattle are MUCH more

susceptible to E.coliO157H7 than grassfed because of the abnormally low rumen pH they get from the grain fermenting inside them.

I only buy roasts for ground beef, and grind them myself. And I only do it about once a year, maybe 5 lb total.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Corporate meat producers to consumers: Caveat Emptor!

[No Elephants]

7. Folks, buying steak or London broil on sale and asking the butcher to grind it

is often cheaper than buying lean ground beef.

It's not foolproof as far as bacteria, but is not much riskier than eating the steak. At least you know exactly what you are eating and who handled it.

I stock up when when nice steaks are on sale and freeze indiviual patties. Then, whether I want to make one burger, or ten, or combine a number of them to make meatloaf or whatever, I'm always prepared..

The butchers in my supermarket are always very nice to me and don't seem to mind at all.

Lower cost, safer meat, no mystery meat.

[WriteDown]

10. Assuming you have an actual butcher...

Unfortunately, the new trend seems to be for grocery stores to not have an actual butcher counter anymore. And why would they? Most people know nothing about meat cuts anymore and less and less people know how to actually cook anything. Everything has to be prepackaged and precooked.

I dated a girl a few years ago who was 25 and had never cracked an egg. Seriously.

[wroberts189]

36. That is an excellent idea. I will try it thx. nt

[HereSince1628]

8. Interesting. the retailers are mentioned by name...

that usually didn't happen during the Bush Administration.


Grandma always told Gramps to cook the bloody hamburger until it wasn't. And she was right.

[WriteDown]

12. My mother and father like theres almost still mooing...

A different generation though. My father will still pay extra to places that will make it extra rare. I'm more of a medium guy myself though unless its flank or skirt steak.

[HereSince1628]

26. Steak tartar has always been popular in my family...

now it isn't so much.

[WriteDown]

27. Last time I ate steak tartar was in the Czech Republic last year..

Delicious, but did wonder if there would be repercussions.

[barbtries]

40. and were there?

just curious. i'm repulsed by the thought of eating raw beef, but that's just me.

[WriteDown]

42. Not yet...

:)

[Speck Tater]

9. Ha! Another diabolical plot.

The so-called "flu shot" was bad enough. Now the secret overlords have found another way to exterminate the unsuspecting masses.

"Do you want fries with that death burger?"

:sarcasm:

[gateley]

16. I was buying cat food yesterday (I'm far more concerned about what she eats

than what I eat) and the salesperson and I were talking about the sources for the 'meat' in pet foods. He told me that New Zealand is the only country that hasn't had e-coli, other bacterial outbreaks, recalls, etc., associated with its meat.

Just a thought. Maybe get NZ sourced meat if available?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

19. I know a good job stimulus - hire an army of new FSIS inspectors all across the country

and let's crack down on some of these food producers. I am sick to death of the weekly headlines about E.coli, salmonella, etc.

[Atman]

30. "Recalled products include ground beef sold under various labels..."

"... at B.J.'s Wholesale Club/Burris, Trader Joe's, ACME, Shaw's Supermarkets Inc., Price Chopper, Giant Food Stores and Ford Brothers. The products were sold in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia."

This is an indictment of the whole agri-business problem, only at another level. Consumers are duped into thinking that by shopping at one place or another that they're actually picking and choosing based upon some perceived level of quality and trust. Trader Joe's, a "boutique" and somewhat upscale brand name, is selling the same shitty contaminated meat as Price Chopper, a cheesy, lo-rent discount supermarket chain? WTF is the point? Just roll the dice, buy from anyone..the poison is all originating from the same source.

Or, of course, you could buy at a local farm. Easy for me to say, living in a rural, agricultural area -- there's farmer's markets and family owned farms stands all over the place.

.

[newspeak]

31. I thought under the * administration

USDA suffered a loss of inspectors and they were stretched thin? Maybe they should hire some more inspectors-plenty of people need work--just make sure they're good and honest.

[wroberts189]

37. Most farms around here in CT I live near are not allowed to butcher.

And I live in the middle of a farm belt. Cows, pigs, chickens... you have to have a regulated butcher.

A lot of good that has done. I believe it's all about keeping the small operators out of the market.

I once had ducks and had to get rid of them.. dropped them off at a local farm. Owner was slicing out some Deer venison.

I asked if I could buy some.. a rare treat... nope ...state regs. forbid-ed it.


Sad thing... I would rather take my chances with them. But the state says its not safe... when they cannot even justify it and articles like this prove the point.

[Kali]

47. a lot of it IS about keeping the small operator out of the market

but there are ways around it
you can buy shares with other people or buy a "live" animal and have it butchered custom - you do need some freezer space but if you go in on it with a friend or neighbor or two you don't need that much. You can pick up a brand new small chest freezer for a couple hundred bucks, used for much less.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

62. That brings back memories of when I lived in Middletown.

There was a place called (I think) Powder Ridge Farms or something like that in Middlefield.

I used to hate getting behind one of their trucks and trying to dodge the excrement flying off of it.

There was NO WAY to dodge the stench however. There was one guy who worked there and he used to stop at the Cumberland Farms in the little shopping plaza in Durham where I worked. He was a real nice guy, but the smell from his clothes was so bad that the Mgr. of CF had to ask him not to come in until he had changed and showered.

He wasn't even offended. Like a lot of things that other people find objectionable, he was so used to the smell that he didn't even notice it anymore. He really felt bad that he had upset the other customers.

[Kali]

33. posted this in another thread a minute ago

don't buy bulk ground beef or premade patties

you will notice if you look that virtually all beef recalls are for mass produced ground beef. Have the inexpensive sale of the week cuts ground, or do it yourself. Better yet find a CSA or other local source and buy from a small farmer/rancher that you can get to know.

Yes the beef is generally safe (as any natural product - LIFE has its risks). Processing tons of mixed source carcasses is more risky. If you must buy that garbage, practice very safe handling and cooking techniques.

[CountAllVotes]

38. that is what is is alright - garbage

:puke:

Don't eat ground beef! You never know what is in it.

Really want a burger? Try a Garden Burger or a veggie burger. If you doctor one up with enough stuff you'll likely never know the difference. :)

:kick:

[nc4bo]

44. Why do we even have a USDA? The inspection label is meaningless.

In fact, the entire governmental agency itself is meaningless.

When will this Admin. do something about ensuring the safety of our food?

geez.

[Kali]

46. despite the problems (and there is no denying they exist)

the fact is we have pretty damn safe food.

[nc4bo]

49. Safe until there's a recall of spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, chicken, eggs, beef, yogurt

or chocolate chip cookie dough sometimes weeks or months after the food was first processed and sometimes it takes weeks or months to even find out where the stuff actually came from in the first place.

Safe until we see some disgusting hidden camera slaughter house video (we aren't meant to see) of half dead, diseased cows moved into the slaughter house with front end loaders because its so sick or crippled to walk on its own.

Won't even get into all the antibiotics and junk they stuff these animals with to keep them healthy in unhealthy conditions and then toss their meat into styrofoam packs and sell it at the grocery stores as "wholesome" and Inspected by the USDA.

How do we even know if the meds given to our food animals isn't causing cancer, birth defects or fertility problems inside of us?

It's a corporate free-for-all and not nearly enough personnel to monitor what goes into our food stock.

[aquart]

56. Yes, hiring strict inspectors is a necessity and should be a priority.

But we still successfully feed millions of people who live long lives.

We have standards. We need to repopulate our inspector divisions in EVERY area, not just food safety. That's job creation and common sense.

[SOS]

68. The statistics are actually quite grim

Foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 9,000 deaths per year.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no5/mead.htm

[Kali]

70. you didn't read the report you linked to (bold highlight mine)

Deaths

Like illnesses and hospitalizations, deaths are also underreported. Precise information on food-related deaths is especially difficult to obtain because pathogen-specific surveillance systems rarely collect information on illness outcome, and outcome-specific surveillance systems (e.g., death certificates) grossly underreport many pathogen-specific conditions. To estimate the number of deaths due to bacterial pathogens, we used the same approach described for hospitalizations: first calculating the number of deaths among reported cases, then doubling this figure to account for unreported deaths, and finally multiplying by the percentage of infections attributable to foodborne transmission. As with hospitalization, this approach could not be used for some parasitic and viral diseases.

Overall, the specified pathogens cause an estimated 2,718 deaths each year, of which 1,809 are attributable to foodborne transmission (Table 3). Excluding death due to Listeria, Toxoplasma, and hepatitis A virus, the number of deaths due to pathogens that cause acute gastroenteritis is 1,381, of which 931 (67%) are attributable to foodborne transmission. Bacteria account for 72% of deaths associated with foodborne transmission, parasites for 21%, and viruses for 7%. Five pathogens account for over 90% of estimated food-related deaths: Salmonella (31%), Listeria (28%), Toxoplasma (21%), Norwalk-like viruses (7%), Campylobacter (5%), and E. coli O157:H7 (3%).

[SOS]

80. Yes I did

Bennett et al. computed incidence figures for all known infectious diseases and determined the proportion of each due to various modes of transmission. Summing these figures, they concluded that foodborne transmission of known pathogens caused up to 9,000 deaths each year.

Bennett J, Holmberg S, Rogers M, Solomon S. Infectious and parasitic diseases. In: Amler R, Dull H, editors. Closing the gap: the burden of unnecessary illness.

CDC chart shows a death toll of 5,200:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no5/meadG.htm

Table 3 (your citation) includes only specified pathogens.

[Kali]

86. the citation you originally posted estimates 5,200 from all causes

known and unknown. Not 9000. It corrects/refutes that number.

"Whereas our estimates of illness are generally higher than those of previous studies, our estimates of death are generally lower. We estimate that foodborne illness causes 5,020 deaths annually (1,810 deaths due to known pathogens and 3,210 deaths due to unknown agents), a total that is slightly more than half the 9,000 deaths estimated by Bennett et al. (3). The Bennett estimate includes 2,100 deaths due to campylobacteriosis, 1,200 deaths due to staphylococcal food poisoning, and 1,000 deaths due to trichinosis: our total for all three of these diseases is 101 deaths. Our estimated case-fatality rates for several other diseases are also lower than those used in the Bennett report, either because better data are available or perhaps because treatment has improved."

[KamaAina]

55. Oh come now. It's not meaningless at all. It gives you peace of mind!

You might still get sick, but until you do, the label gives you peace of mind!

:sarcasm:

(adapted from a friend's rant about the equaly useless insurance industry)

[FVZA_Colonel]

45. How the hell do these companies keep fucking up like this?

[Xenotime]

48. Easy. They are run by the carless capitalists. Greed takes priority.

[slackmaster]

51. Even ones who have cars often give in to greed

In fact, when I was a kid growing up in a wealthy suburb of San Diego, I learned that one of the best ways to identify the biggest crooks in town was to look for the most expensive cars. Other identifiers include the most expensive shoes and suits.

[WriteDown]

54. Why dont' these capitalists have cars?

:shrug:

[defendandprotect]

69. We permit 17% fecal matter on carcasses to begin with!!

Smaller the animal is cut up, the more chance to be covered in filth/germs -- whatever.

[Kali]

74. bullshit (no pun, calling out a blatent example of it)

source for your 17% claim? that is utterly ridiculous - there is zero tolerance for visible, no way for meat to contain 17% of ANY adulterant/contaminant/additives. Even a soaking, marinade-processed cut can't have more than 10% extra.

[defendandprotect]

75. Probably under Bush is was even more . . .

Check the internet -- or Congress --

but that's what I've heard and read going back to Clinton.

[Kali]

76. maybe you should try finding the facts yourself before spouting off

insane statistics that have NO bearing in reality, repuke admin or not

[defendandprotect]

85. Those are the facts . . . do you think the government posts that on their website?

Try C-span . . . it's where you will hear info like that from time to time.

Disgusting as it is, it's sadly the truth.

[Kali]

87. you have nothing

nothing but government conspiracy?
might as well tell people to try Fox News if you are into claiming something with no evidence


try simple common sense: 17% is an amount equivilant to having nearly 3 ounces (that would be almost 1/4 cup) in a lb of meat. Get real, its just not there.

[WriteDown]

88. 17% is so laughable...

Man, I'm still chuckling about it.

[WriteDown]

84. Haha....

I think its like .0017% or something like that. Thanks for playing though.

[aquart]

53. Trader Joe????? I eat that stuff!

[RamboLiberal]

57. Update: Two deaths possible in ground beef recall

ASHVILLE, N.Y. - 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. 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.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33585209/ns/health-food_safety/

[RamboLiberal]

60. If you missed this recent NY Times article on Ground Beef

Check it out.

E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection

Stephanie Smith, a children’s dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes.

Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks. When she emerged, she could no longer walk. The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed.

Ms. Smith, 22, was found to have a severe form of food-borne illness caused by E. coli, which Minnesota officials traced to the hamburger that her mother had grilled for their Sunday dinner in early fall 2007.

“I ask myself every day, ‘Why me?’ and ‘Why from a hamburger?’ ”Ms. Smith said. In the simplest terms, she ran out of luck in a food-safety game of chance whose rules and risks are not widely known.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html

[Blue_Tires]

67. a very, very chilling story...

[Lorien]

79. It won't matter if stories like this one happen on a daily basis

it doesn't matter how many studies come out proving that meat is the #1 cause of climate change either. Some people are so addicted to the taste of beef and pork they they would rather die than go without.

[daggahead]

63. What a fucking waste ...

All those slaughtered animals (not to mention the wasted resources to raise them).

Fuck meat.

[xc8mip]

66. meat will be feed to pets

after rendering plants reprocess it all.Unbelievable waste , question is why there are such poor sanitary condition in meat packing industry? Recall of this magnitude happens too often

[Lorien]

78. True, which is why my pets are only fed USDA human grade food

which isn't sold at grocery stores. There's a reason so many pets die of cancer and kidney failure these days. They are literally fed toxic garbage under the names "Purina" "Hills Science Diet" "Friskies" "Iams" "Eukanuba" etc.

I no longer eat meat, but cats don't have a choice about that (dogs can go veggie and live long healthy lives. The oldest dog on record was a life long vegetarian).

[kimmerspixelated]

65. I just bought some steak chops ,

Nature's Promise in Martin's in Va. Hope it's okay-not ground beef.