E. Coli Infection Claims 7-Year Old's Life as Valley Meats in IL Recalls 95,890 Pounds of Beef

[babsbunny]

http://blog.buzzflash.com/alerts/666

Submitted by christine on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 11:08am.

* Alerts

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Christine Bowman

The inadequacy of the nation's food safety protection system is front and center again on the eve of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. A cluster of E. coli infections has prompted the recall of 95,890 pounds of ground beef by Valley Meats, LCC, a meatpacker based in western Illinois. The suspect meat was sold to "institutional distributors," potentially impacting 11 states.

A seven-year-old child in Cleveland died Sunday, and three other Ohioans were reported ill but then recovered from the infection. An unspecified number of people in Illinois and Pennsylvania also have been reported sick from the same E. coli bacteria.

[Kali]

1. something is wrong when a batch of hamburger

runs to 5 tons and much more

and they want to have the growers id every animal on the farm, yet the packers are grinding up what? 100's, 1000's at a time and it all gets distributed to multiple states

[kestrel91316]

3. The only ground beef I eat anymore is what I grind at home myself

from chuck roast.

I have degrees in microbiology and veterinary medicine. Ask me what I know that makes me cautious like this, lol.

[DeschutesRiver]

6. We raise our own beef now

but still have it cut into steaks, roasts, typically no ground meat, although I did finally get some hamburger from the last butchered beef, because I was tired of grinding chucks in the cuisinart to make our dogs' food. The already made stuff was just easier for the dogs, and we used the sirloins/roasts to grind our own here at home.

I figure that the same contamination in the processing could happen with my local guys just like with the big commerical guys. We did watch one of the two local outfits do our entire first beef, and it seemed pretty clean and meticulous, but if their standards slip, how would I know? Too many variables, too, which could up the risk with them grinding my meat. And with the whole roasts, I minimize that risk. In fact, I planned to skip hamburger on our next butcher, because maybe there is some risk in just handling the stuff as well?

Was looking online at various home meat grinders today, as I am beating the heck out of my cuisinart doing this and the new ones aren't made very well (my old bowl broke, and to replace it ends up costing more than the new one did on sale, go figure). Do you use a dedicated grinder or cuisinart or ??? Do you wash the outside of the roasts (or I've heard some people blanch first), etc first to prevent any existing surface contaminant from ending up in your grind?

[kestrel91316]

8. Are you strictly grass-fed? It's the grain at finishing that specifically

alters rumen pH so the bad E coli can get a foothold.

[kestrel91316]

9. I use a little hand-cranked meat grinder that I found in an antique shop, lol.

I don't use my food processor (don't want a puree, lol). The big KitchenAid mixers have a meat grinder attachment that is better suited for quantity. It's just me, so I don't grind much.

Lehman's has hand crank grinders and sausage stuffers, too. http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Home_Butchering___Meat_Grinders?Args=&view_all=&sort_by=

I just rinse off the outside of the roast and pat dry. I suppose you could do a dilute vinegar rinse, not sure what dilution is best though. Parboiling the outside seems like overkill.

[DeschutesRiver]

11. Thx for the link, and yep, ours are strictly grass fed, no grains to finish

They graze 6-8 months of the year on high desert native grasses, free ranging over hundreds of acres, and are fed hay when the snow flies. I prefer the leanness and the flavor we get this way. Your grain comment reminded me of an article by Michael Pollan I read awhile back re feedlot beef, and what the grain does to the cattle's systems (need to re-read it, because I am foggy in recalling the specifics at the moment!). At our butchering facility, individual beef is cut up separately, then frozen, so no mixing with the other individual beefs there as far as I could tell (some that come in are strictly grass; others bring in grain finished).

Oh yes, I have accidently mushed roast pieces in that thing (and liver goes liquid in half-seconds), but thankfully, the dogs don't care as much as I do:) I do have a kitchen aid, but from what I hear, doing my quantity might burn out the motor (dogs are 50# and 80#!) I still may check out the KA attachment again & think about trying it first - KA for us, cuisinart for larger dog food amounts.

Hand cranked grinder!! - I admire your use of that, because using hand cranked equipment is getting tougher at my age, as my upper body strength shrinks and my hands get more arthritic. Nowdays, I am such a creaky jointed old wimp that I try to attach a motor to darn near everything I use, lol...

[kestrel91316]

2. The media needs to specify that this is due to shiga-toxic E coli, aka STEC,

aka E coli O157H7. We have enough germ phobia already without making people terrified of their own best friend (normal E coli).

[Kali]

4. I think the vast majority of the science-illiterate population of this country

have no clue they harbor bacteria, much less how critical they are to their very existence.

edit to spell illiterate correctly:rofl:

[DeSwiss]

5. It's more like the.....

...bacteria harbor's us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVfmUfr8VPA">Bonnie Bassler: The secret, social lives of bacteria

[flvegan]

7. "One source online reports that much of the meat has already been consumed."

It seems obvious that we need a better way to test and report on the safety of our meat supply for those that choose to eat it. My heart goes out to that child's family.

[Kali]

10. that isn't the problem

the problem is wanting/expecting $1/pound hamburger
the procedures/tests/and whathaveyou are all there, but they cost money