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…)

Although the exact origin of the historic E. coli outbreak linked to the Country Cottage Restaurant in Oklahoma remains unknown, a civil lawsuit has been filed against the Locust Grove restaurant and its owners, said the Pryor Daily Times.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health’s final report pointed to the ongoing spread of food borne bacteria throughout the restaurant, as opposed to one specific food or incident, as sparking the outbreak, according to a prior Associated Press (AP) report. The outbreak of the rare E. coli O111, is believed to be the largest in the history of that strain. One man died, 314 people fell ill, and scores were hospitalized, including a number of children requiring dialysis. (more…)

Tavares, Florida was subjected to a boil water alert this weekend when officials there found E. coli contamination during routine testing, reported WESH.com. The city water department manager said that it is hoping to correct the problem early this week.

Tavares city sent a reverse 911 call to its residents and, now, all 13,600 residents must boil water prior to drinking, bathing, cooking, or cleaning with city water, said WESH.com. According to Water Department Manager Burney Vaughn, “We have actually stepped up our chlorine in our facility and instituted a more aggressive flushing in those areas to get the water to move around and get new chlorine in to help eliminate the problem,” quoted WESH.com. (more…)

Even though refrigerated Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough has been returned to store shelves, the E. coli outbreak linked to the product is still taking a toll on some victims. According to a Washington Post report, some people allegedly sickened by the dough are still suffering, and at least one life hangs in the balance.

According to the Post, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) believes 80 people in 31 states became ill with E. coli after consuming raw refrigerated Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough. In June, Nestle recalled 3.6 million packages of the cookie dough. (more…)

An E. coli case we have been following has just seen yet another lawsuit. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a lawsuit has been filed against JBS Swift Beef Company by a Wisconsin family who allegedly fell ill after eating beef that was among what was recalled over E. coli concerns.

A Class I recall of potentially E. coli-tainted JBS Swift Beef Company beef products was expanded this June, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), to include approximately 380,000 pounds more of assorted beef primal products. A Class I recall is a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death. (more…)

Ground beef product made by Pasha Halal Poultry (DBA Marcacci Meats) of Vineland, N.J. have been recalled because of potential E. coli contamination. According to the recall notice, E. coli O157:H7 contamination was discovered through routine testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

E. coli O157:H7 causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. While most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a serious complication which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), E. coli 0157:H7 is responsible for sickening 73,000 people every year, and of those, 60 will die from the disease. (more…)

More than 3,000 pounds of ground beef is being recalled today by Sterling Pacific Meat Co., a City of Commerce, Calif. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the ground beef may be tainted with E. coli O157:H7.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician. (more…)

E. coli worries have prompted E. S. Miller Packing Co. of Montgomery, Ill. to recall some ground beef products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the recall involves around 219 lbs of ground meat that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician. (more…)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is completing its investigation of Nestlé USA’s cookie-dough plant, but is unable to determine the source of the E. coli outbreak linked to a package of cookie dough. The Wall Street Journal reported that the agency was unable to match the strain’s DNA fingerprint that resulted in over 70 illnesses in 30 states; over 30 people were hospitalized and at least nine developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

Extensive testing on samples, production lines, and ingredients were conducted and the Danville, Virginia plant has reopened and resumed production, said the Journal. FDA’s associate commissioner for foods, Dr. David Acheson, said the agency probably will not determine how the tainted dough became contaminated, saying, “This will be one of those situations where we won’t definitely know what went wrong,” quoted the Journal. (more…)