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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced that Topps Meat LLC is expanding last week's recall of frozen patties to approximately 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef product for the fear that it might be contaminated by E. coli O157:H7.
The company said that the recall was being expanded because of another positive product sample reported by the New York Health Department. Last week the company had recalled 300,000 pounds of frozen ground beef on the suspicion that it was contaminated with E.coli.
Escherichia coli or (E. coli) is a bacterium normally found in the gut of human beings. Under normal circumstances, the bacteria play an important role in waste processing, vitamin K production, and food absorption from the large intestine.
However the E. coli strain O157:H7 is associated with a host of illnesses in man. Prime among these diseases are food poisoning, urinary tract infections, peritonitis, meningitis and septicemia.
The O157:H7 strain of E.coli was linked to the outbreak caused by fresh bagged spinach in late 2006. In the very young and the very old, E.coli can prove to be a fatal infection. E.coli is also found in raw and undercooked beef, infected water and milk.
Symptoms of E.coli infection include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Most E.coli infections are linked to consuming undercooked, contaminated ground beef, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Consumers can prevent E. coli O157:H7 infection by cooking ground beef thoroughly and by avoiding drinking unpasteurized milk. Additionally washing hands carefully before preparing or eating food is also advised.
In the current case, the FSIS confirmed that 25 cases of suspected E.coli infections are being probed in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
According to Topps:
* The frozen ground beef products were produced on various dates between Sept. 25, 2006, and Sept. 25, 2007.
* Each package bears the establishment number “Est. 9748” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a sell-by date between “SEP 25 07” and “SEP 25 08.”
Consumers having the suspected product are advised to throw it away or return it to their retailers. This is the biggest beef recall since 1997 when Hudson Foods issued a recall of 25 million pounds of ground beef.
Consumers wanting full refund must remove the sell-by date and UPC code and send them to Topps at the following address: Attention: Recall Coordinator, Topps Meat Company LLC, P.O. Box 219, 1161 E. Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207.
For more information on the ground beef recall, call Topps' consumer hotline at (888) 734-0451 or visit www.toppsmeat.com
The USDA has the following points to make ground beef safe for consumption
* Consumers should only eat ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe temperature of 160 ºF. When a ground beef patty is cooked to 160 ºF throughout, it can be safe and juicy, regardless of color.
* The only way to be sure a ground beef patty is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use an accurate food thermometer.
* Color is not a reliable indicator that ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.
* Eating a pink or red ground beef patty without first verifying that the safe temperature of 160 ºF has been reached is a significant risk factor for food borne illness.
* Thermometer use to ensure proper cooking temperature is especially important for those who cook or serve ground beef patties to people most at risk for food borne illness because E. coli O157:H7 can lead to serious illness or even death. Those most at risk include young children, seniors, and those with compromised immune systems.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE - Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.
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