Another E. coli scare... 844,812 pounds of frozen ground beef patties recalled

Consumers in the United States who are beginning to feel that the only food safe to eat is food they themselves have grown, should be forgiven.

In what has become an almost weekly event yet another food scare has again been announced, again over meat contaminated with a strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.

Cargill Meat Solutions has recalled more than 844,812 pounds of frozen ground beef patties, after the discovery that meat processed at a plant in Butler was contaminated with a strain of the bacteria.

Officials from the Health Department of the City of Milwaukee say a number of cases of people stricken with E. coli related illnesses are probably linked to the meat recall.

Cargill Meat Solutions, were made aware of the contamination when Department of Agriculture officials arrived at the Butler plant on Friday.

Preliminary test results on the products produced on Aug. 9, Aug. 10, Aug. 15, Aug. 16 and Aug. 17 indicate American Chef’s Selection of Angus Frozen Ground Beef Patties sold at Sam’s Clubs throughout the nation were contaminated with the E. coli strain.

The recall comes a day after the Topps Meat Co., a leading producer of frozen hamburgers, announced it was going out of business because it cannot bear the cost of a recent massive food recall.

The two events are just the latest in a series of ground beef recalls this year related to E. coli contamination and the rising number of incidents is a concern to health and industry officials because it questions the safety of food regulations and how they are monitored.

According to the USDA the Topps recall is the fifth largest involving ground beef and E. coli in U.S. history.

According to the UDSA, E. coli contamination has prompted 11 ground beef recalls so far this year; six were prompted by routine sampling by the company or the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and were not linked to any illnesses.

However, the other five recalls, including the ones by Topps and Cargill, were prompted by illness reports.

E. coli can cause diarrhea which is often bloody and abdominal cramps, but there is usually no fever; the illness usually resolves itself within 5 to 10 days, but it can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), potentially leading to kidney failure or death, in 2% to 7% of patients.

The CDC says it has identified 32 cases involving E. coli O157:H7 strains that match strains found in Topps ground beef patties; the outbreak sickened people in eight states, mostly in the Northeast.

Of the 23 patients afflicted, 15 were hospitalized and one developed HUS.

Consumers with questions about the latest recall should contact Cargill’s food safety line at (866) 567-7899.