Michigan meat firm recalls Beef over E. coli fears

Davis Creek Meats and Seafood, a meat company in Kalamazoo, Michigan is voluntarily recalling nearly 130000 pounds of beef products because of possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

The products were made for Gordon Food Service stores, and were shipped to 15 different states in United States, said USDA, whose purpose is to develop and execute policy on farming, agriculture, and food.

The USDA says the beef products were produced between March first and April 30th and were shipped to distribution centers and retailers in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The boxes of mechanically tenderized steaks and ground beef of different weights bearing the establishment code “Est. 1947A” and date code between “060” and “120” are subject to recall.

The Michigan Department of Community Health discovered the problem during its Escherichia coli O157:H7 illness investigation. No cases of illness associated with using the affected beef products have been officially reported.

Usually steaks are not considered a risky source of E. coli O157:H7, a potentially lethal bacterium. However, the steak products being recalled were mechanically tenderized and the USDA suspect bacteria may have been transferred from the surface to the inside of the meat.

Michigan meat firm’s voluntary recalls comes after a meat packing firm in Minnesota last week announced recall of 117,500 pounds of beef shipped to eight states in the U.S.

According to the USDA’s Food Safety and inspection Service, PM Beef Holdings LLC of Windom has voluntarily given the order for recalling the beef trim products sent to various distributors and retailers in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. The recall pertains to the beef trim produced on March 27th.

Seven people, including five adults and two children, were reported to have contracted E. coli after consuming ground beef bought from Lunds and Byerly’s grocery stores.

Last month, another meat firm, California-based Richwood Meet Company recalled 100,000 pounds of meat because of a possible E. coli contamination. The company launched recall after receiving three cases of E. coli illness. The company distributed meat in California, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington

One of the chief culprits behind food borne diseases, Escherichia coli O157:H7 was first discovered in 1982. E. coli is known to release a deadly toxin that causes the disease. It spreads through ground beef, bean sprouts and leafy vegetables and is characterized by the symptoms of stomach cramps, dehydration and bloody diarrhea. The infection generally clears up in 5 to 10 days time.

However serious infection is known to cause kidney failure and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that affects mostly children under the age of 10, but also may affect the elderly as well as persons with other illnesses.

The USDA recommends beef consumers to take a few precautions for preparing ground beef that would be safe for consumption. Consumers preparing ground beef products should heed the following advice:

• Cook ground beef throughout at a safe temperature of 160 ºF.
• Use an accurate food thermometer to check that beef is cooked at an appropriate temperature, as color is not a reliable indicator.
• Eating a pink or red ground beef without first verifying the cooking temperature of 160 ºF is a significant risk factor for acquiring E.Coli bacterium.

Person-to-person transmission is possible if we are not in the habit of washing our hands thoroughly. According to the Center for Disease Control, 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year.