November 4th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
I’m serving a special five-course meal to the intellectually challenged members of Congress who support Big Agribusiness and predatory insurance companies over the health and safety of the American people.
Let’s review the menu:
First Course: Double Cheeseburger
Sourced from: San Diego Meat Co. On Oct. 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared a Class I recall on 925 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli.
As a refresher, dear legislators, a Class I recall is defined as “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
Cases of ground beef patties and bulk ground beef were shipped to restaurants and caterers in San Diego. Fly to SoCal, and eat up, guys! You can barf later on Shamu.
Second Course: Beef Tongue
Sourced from: Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., Milwaukee. The affected 5,522 pounds, recalled Oct. 17, may include tonsils, which means the company failed to comply with USDA regulations. Tongue tissue may be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease).
No worries, guys. It’s a Class II recall, which means there’s a “remote probability of adverse consequences.” You like to gamble with people’s lives, so dig in!
Third Course: Chicken & Apple Sausage
Sourced from: Vatran’s Fine Foods, Inc., Tracy, Calif. Approximately 11,500 pounds of assorted meat and poultry products were recalled on Oct. 16 because they were produced without the benefit of federal inspection. It’s another high-risk Class I recall, affecting pork, chicken, turkey and lamb sausages, as well as veal frankfurters and other products. Chow down, wieners!
Fourth Course: Beef Butt Steak
Sourced from: Crocetti’s Oakdale Packing Co. (doing business as South Shore Meats, Inc.), Brockton, MA. Some 1,039 pounds of fresh ground beef patties derived from bench trim, as well as mechanically tenderized beef cuts, may be contaminated with E. coli. The USDA declared a Class I recall on Oct. 26. Hope that nice slab of butt is extra juicy!
Fifth Course: Meatballs
Sourced from: Fairbank Farms, Ashville, NY. This is a biggie: a Class I recall Oct. 31 of 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products. This one aggravates me even more because it includes Trader Joe’s Butcher Shop Fine Quality Meats and the Wild Harvest Natural brand. So far, 28 people have been sickened, and at least one person has died.
Diner Rules
You’re expected to clean your plates. Luckily, you have great health insurance—you know, the kind of coverage you refuse to provide to your constituents.
Tags: beef, E. coli, farming, food safety, mad cow disease, meat, Organic Food, recalls, USDA
Posted in Health, Organic Food | 2 Comments »
October 29th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
Can David Asper’s research help protect our global food and water supply?
A graduate student in veterinary microbiology at the University of Saskatchewan, Asper is working on a new cattle vaccine that may potentially stop E. coli at its source.
Asper’s research builds on the work of his supervisor, Andrew Potter, PhD. As director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization–International Vaccine Centre, Dr. Potter helped create the first cattle vaccine against E. coli O157, which prevents bacteria from attaching to, and colonizing in, a cow’s intestines.
Human illness occurs when meat becomes contaminated during slaughter or if feces mix with groundwater, thereby polluting drinking water, swimming water and/or food supplies. Infections can be mild, but some are severe to life-threatening.
“The E. coli O157 vaccine is the first of its kind worldwide and is expected to significantly lessen the amount of E. coli O157 present in food products and also in the environment,” Dr. Potter says.
But O157, while the most prevalent E. coli strain in North America, is one of hundreds of bacteria that cause disease by producing Shiga toxin (STEC). Even healthy cows can carry STEC bacteria, so identification of infected cattle can prove difficult.
“Right now, STEC bacteria is the No. 1 cause of renal [kidney] failure in children around the world,” Asper says. “It affects adults, too, but children are the most susceptible.”
Asper’s vaccine prototype could protect cattle against several non-O157 bacteria. It will be tested on mice and cattle over 3 to 5 years.
“We can protect humans by vaccinating animals before they come in contact with the pathogen,” he says. “I think that’s very important work that will lead to a lot fewer infections.”
Beef and dairy producers could also benefit from Asper’s work. When STEC is found in just one meat sample, beef processors are required to destroy the entire shipment—a significant cost to farmers.
Photo by Scott Bell
Tags: beef, cattle, cows, E. coli, farming, food safety, Organic Food
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
October 8th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
Last Sunday, the New York Times published E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection, in which reporter Michael Moss informs us that “eating ground beef is still a gamble.”
The newspaper obtained corporate records that indict our broken food-safety system. E. coli remains an ever-present threat, which is bad news for a nation that loves its burgers.
”The majority of E. coli comes into processing plants on the hides of grain-fed feedlot cattle and in their guts,” says Allen Williams, PhD, chief operating officer at Tallgrass Beef, a producer of grass-fed meats. “Most beef in the United States comes from cattle that are fattened on grain in feedlots. Grain diets alter the rumen pH in the gut to allow the acid-resistant bacteria, such as pathogenic E. coli bacteria, to grow and thrive.
“Grass-fed cattle are much less prone to the pathogenic forms of E. coli that usually lead to sickness and recalls,” he adds. “Since 100% of grass-fed cattle are fed only forage diets and raised in the pasture, they are clean inside and out.”
If you enjoy a good burger and haven’t yet switched to grass-fed organic beef, now’s the time. Burger lovers can follow my mom’s example.
Tags: beef, E. coli, food safety, meat, Organic Food
Posted in Organic Food | 2 Comments »
October 6th, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
 Forget about swine flu, leafy green vegetables pose the greatest risk to public health, by way of foodborne illnesses like salmonella and E. coli.
It seems pathogens usually linked to meat have made the leap to vegetables, a result of outdated safety laws, mass-production, and global food markets.
Using data from the CDC, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has compiled a list of the 10 most dangerous foods.
Leafy greens, such as lettuce and spinach, topped a list which includes: eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries.
As the “winner” green vegetables reported 363 outbreaks with 13,568 cases of illness from 1990 to 2006. At the bottom of the list, berries got off easy with 25 outbreaks with 3,397 reported cases of illness.
So the CSPI lauds the new Food Safety Enhancement Act, passed by the House of Representatives in July, granting the FDA more authority to crackdown on food production and growing facilities.
I think within the next 10 years food safety will be greatly improved. It is becoming too obvious that a big food system requires a lot more checks and balances.
Via HealthDay News.
Image credit: Fruit Today
Tags: E. coli, salmonella, vegetables
Posted in Health, Political Action | 7 Comments »
August 17th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner
They call it “bench trim”—remnants from steaks and other cuts of meat that are used to make ground beef.
In an attempt to prevent E. coli outbreaks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service has issued a guidance that amps up inspection efforts. Inspectors would begin taking samples of bench trim, which is not routinely tested, during site visits.
According to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, the guidance—which would apply to mainstream and organic meat producers—represents a shift from a reactive (dealing with outbreaks) to a proactive (preventing contamination) agenda.
In recent years, E. coli has been responsible for numerous outbreaks. The bacterium can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and kidney failure. Most susceptible to infection are children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Consumer groups, lawmakers and the Obama administration have demanded FDA reforms and an overhaul of our antiquated food safety system.
Tags: beef, E. coli, FDA, food safety, meat, Organic Food, recalls
Posted in Health, Organic Food | 2 Comments »
August 9th, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
 Food safety in the United States is messy. Think about it. In recent years, we’ve had more than a few national scares.
Off the top of my head, I can list the peanut butter and cookie dough salmonella outbreak, E. coli contaminated spinach and peppers, and countless red meat recalls.
But a new bill passed by the House aims to stop all this, giving the FDA more power to keep tabs on things. President Obama gave it a glowing endorsement.
He called it a major step towards modernizing our food safety systems and protecting Americans from tainted food.
The FDA now has more ability to order food recalls, grants increased access to company records, conduct more food inspections and requires all facilities to have a food safety plan in place—makes you wonder what the heck they were doing before!
Via Reuters.
Tags: E. coli, food safety, salmonella
Posted in Political Action | 1 Comment »
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