Two meat packing firms have been named in lawsuits filed by the families of two New England children stricken with E. coli infections.

The first lawsuit names Fairbank Farms of Ashville, New York as a defendant. The complaint, which was filed on behalf of a 12-year-old Massachusetts girl, claims she became ill as a result of eating E. coli-tainted meat that came from Fairbank Farms in September. (more…)

Twenty-eight people have been sickened in an E. coli outbreak that spans a dozen states. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), two deaths may be linked to the E. coli outbreak, and a number of victims have been hospitalized.

E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. (more…)

More than a half million pounds of potentially E. coli tainted ground beef have been recalled by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, New York. Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said that there was an association between the fresh ground beef products subject to recall and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.

According to a Reuters report, a death in New Hampshire may also be connected to tainted Fairbank Farms ground beef. New Hampshire officials announced the death on Saturday but did not release information about the victim. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also said a New York adult with underlying medical conditions had died. (more…)

Tainted beef implicated in an E. coli outbreak is being recalled by South Shore Meats, Inc. of Brockton, Mass. The recalled ground beef has been blamed for sickening 20 schoolchildren and adults from Rhode Island. They became ill after visiting Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, Mass. earlier this month.

The recall involves approximately 1,039 pounds of fresh ground beef patties derived from bench trim as well as mechanically tenderized beef cuts that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said. The products subject to the recall include: (more…)

Another recall of beef over potential E. coli contamination has been announced. The Culebra Meat Market, reported WOAI.com, has recalled three beef cuts that were sold earlier this month over concerns that the meat might be contaminated with the dangerous, sometimes deadly, E. coli pathogen. No reports of illness connected to this recall have yet been announced.

The beef involved in the recall includes 4,000 pounds of stew meat, carne asada, and ground beef all produced by the Culebra Meat Market from October 2 through October 17, said WOAI.com. The beef was sold to some San Antonio, Texas area restaurants and was also sold in the Culebra Meat Market’s retail store at 2800 Culebra Road, reported WOAI.com. (more…)

San Diego Meat Company, of San Diego, California is recalling approximately 925 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with the E. coli O157:H7 pathogen, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) just announced.

The ground beef products subject to this recall include:

* 15-pound cases of “SAN DIEGO MEAT, GROUND BEEF PATTIES.”
* 10-pound bags of “SAN DIEGO MEAT, BULK GROUND BEEF.” (more…)

In the ongoing cases involving E. coli contamination linked to Cargill Meat Solutions, a settlement in one lawsuit has been reached. According to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the parents of a girl who was hospitalized for over one month as a result of eating E. coli contaminated hamburger meat, reached a settlement last week with Cargill.

The 11-year-old fell ill in 2007 after she ate a contaminated hamburger from Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, said MPR, that contamination led to a massive—845,000 pound—recall of frozen ground beef parties. The girl spent three weeks on kidney dialysis and her family racked up about $350,000 in medical bills, said MPR. It seems that the young girl developed a serious kidney disease that can lead to renal failure and long-term kidney problems. (more…)

Costco and Tyson Foods have struck an agreement that will allow the retailer to test Tyson’s beef trimmings for E. coli prior to grinding and mixing. The agreement comes just days after The New York Times published an expose detailing gaps in the way ground beef is tested for E. coli.

As we reported earlier this week, the Times reported on Sunday that much of the ground beef consumed in the U.S is made from beef trimmings. These ingredients come from parts of the cow that are most likely to be tainted with E. coli bacteria. Despite this, most meat processors test their ground beef only after trimmings from multiple slaughterhouses have been mixed and ground together. This practice makes it difficult to determine the original source of E. coli should it be found during later testing, or if an outbreak occurs. (more…)

United States Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, told Minnesota Public Radio News that the Obama administration is hard at work improving U.S. food safety and plans on seeking Congressional legislation to allow mandatory tainted food recalls. It seems, said Minnesota Public Radio, that a large New York Times report published this weekend, pointed to some food safety system issues, citing cases in Minnesota.

Vilsack delivered his speech at the University of Minnesota. “If there’s a problem we’d like to be able to respond quickly, rather than rely on a voluntary recall that may not be either timely or fully implemented,” Vilsack said, quoted Minnesota Public Radio. “We’d like to have the power to get the product off the market and out of the market as quickly as possible,” Vilsack added. (more…)

The New York Times has published an interesting report detailing flaws in the U.S. beef inspection system. Because of these flaws, consumers nationwide may face a serious risk from E. coli and other food borne illnesses every time they bite into a hamburger.

The New York Times report uses the case of a 22-year-old woman who developed a severe E. coli infection in 2007 after eating a frozen hamburger patty made by Cargill that was labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” In October 2007 Cargill recalled over 840,000 pounds of these and other ground beef patties after they were linked to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened more than 900 people. Today, the young woman is paralyzed from the waist down due to her bout with E. coli. (more…)