As part of our series on helping beginning cooks learn about food safety during the coronavirus pandemic, the safe minimum cooking temperatures for many foods is critical. These risky foods have to be handled carefully and cooked thoroughly to avoid the risk of a serious foodborne illness. These foods include beef, pork, seafood, chicken, turkey, shellfish, and foods made with eggs. All of these foods have been linked to multistate food poisoning outbreaks in the past. When you handle these foods, make sure to avoid cross-contamination between them and foods that are eaten uncooked. Meat juices dripping on other foods in the fridge is a main source of contamination. Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures First of all, the only way to tell if these foods are safe to eat is by using … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know About Ground Beef Food Safety
In our new series helping beginning cooks learn how to prepare food safety, we have been focusing on foods that may be inherently risky; that is, foods that are commonly contaminated with pathogens. This is what you need to know about ground beef food safety. For years, food safety experts have been telling consumers to stop cooking ground beef less than well done, or 160°F as measured with a food thermometer. There. have been many Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks over the years linked to raw and undercooked ground beef. Consumer Reports issued a report in 2015 about the risks of rare ground beef. They found that up to 28% of Americans eat rare and raw ground beef. Between 2002 and 2012, there were 80 E. coli outbreaks linked to ground beef that killed five people. Since then, … [Read more...]
Amity Packing Pre Ground Beef Recalled For Foreign Material
Amity Packing Pre ground beef is being recalled for foreign material contamination, more specifically clear, thin pliable plastic. This can present a choking hazard. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to the consumption of this product. Two consumer complaints about finding the plastic in the raw ground beef prompted the recall. The raw ground beef item was produced on January 6, 2020. The recalled item is 1 pound vacuum packed packages containing "Pre 95% lean/5% fat ground beef." The lot code on the product is 0060, the case code is 11402, and the use by/freeze by date marked on the product label is 01/31/2020. The ground beef has the establishment number "EST. 6916" printed on the right, front side of the package. The ground beef was shipped to retail … [Read more...]
Stater Bros Ground Beef Salmonella Outbreak Ends With 13 Sick
The Stater Bros ground beef Salmonella Dublin outbreak has ended with 13 sick in 8 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nine people were hospitalized, and one person who lived in California died. Since the last update on November 17, 2019, two more ill persons from Colorado and New Mexico were added to the outbreak total. The case count by state is: California (2), Colorado (4), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), New Mexico (1), Oklahoma (1), Texas (1), and Washington (1). Illness onset dates range from August 8, 2019 to October 22, 2019. The patient age range was from 39 to 74 years. The hospitalization rate, given that 11 people talked to public health officials, was 82%, which is four times the average hospitalization rate for a Salmonella outbreak. In … [Read more...]
Top 10 Multistate Food Poisoning Outbreaks For 2019
These top 10 multistate food poisoning outbreaks for 2019 sickened thousands of people, hospitalized hundreds, and killed some people. They ranged from multiple cyclospora outbreaks to outbreaks linked to ground beef, turkey and chicken, pig ear dog treats, and romaine lettuce. Many lawsuits were filed in response to these outbreaks. Cyclospora Outbreaks. This collection of individual and multistate outbreaks sickened more than 2400 people in 2019. This number represents a substantial increase over the cyclospora outbreaks in 2017 and 2018. JBS Tolleson ground beef Salmonella Newport outbreak. This outbreak sickened more than 400 people and hospitalized 117. Several recalls were issued, since the ground beef was sold under many different brand names. Raw Turkey Salmonella … [Read more...]
JBS Tolleson Ground Beef Salmonella Outbreak Was #2 of 2019
The JBS Tolleson ground beef Salmonella outbreak was the #2 multistate food poisoning outbreak of 2019, sickening at least 403 people in 30 states. There were 117 hospitalizations and no deaths. The patient case count by state was: Arizona (54), California (143), Colorado (60), Connecticut (1), Hawaii (5), Idaho (3), Iowa (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (5), Michigan (1), Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (2), Missouri (3), Montana (10), New Mexico (23), New York (1), Nevada (14), Ohio (9), Oklahoma (10), Oregon (1), South Dakota (10), Texas (19), Utah (11), Washington (3), West Virginia (1), Wyoming (5). Illnesses started on dates ranging from August 5, 2018 to February 8, 2019. Thirty-four percent of patients were hospitalized, which … [Read more...]
Multistate Outbreak #5 For 2019: Ground Beef E. coli O103
The multistate outbreak in the number 5 position for 2019 is the ground beef E. coli O103 outbreak that sickened at least 209 people in 10 states. Twenty-nine people were hospitalized. Two people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure. As has happened so often this, year, no single source of contamination was identified. But two processors did recall ground beef that may have been contaminated with E. coli O103. The case count by state is: Florida (5), Georgia (51), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Kentucky (76), Minnesota (1), Mississippi (1), Ohio (12), Tennessee (59), and Virginia (2). Illness onset dates range from March 1, 2019 to May 1, 2019. The patient age range was less than 1 year to 84 years. Patients told investigators that they ate … [Read more...]
Stater Bros. Ground Beef Salmonella Dublin Outbreak Grows to 11 Sick
The Stater Bros. ground beef Salmonella Dublin outbreak has grown by one more person, making a total of 11 sick in 7 states so far in this multistate outbreak. Eight of those patients have been hospitalized because they are so sick. One person in California has died. The case count by state is: California (2), Colorado (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Oklahoma (1), Texas (1), and Washington (1). Illness onset dates range from August 8, 2019 to October 20, 2019. The patient age range is from 39 to 74 years. Of nine people who gave information about their illness to public health officials, eight (89%) were hospitalized. That is a very high hospitalization rate for a Salmonella outbreak, which is normally around 20%. In five ill persons, Salmonella was found in their blood, which means … [Read more...]
Stater Bros. Ground Beef Linked to Salmonella Dublin Outbreak
The USDA has posted a recall notice for Central Valley Meat Co.'s Stater Bros. ground beef that links that product to a deadly Salmonella Dublin outbreak that has sickened at least 10 people in 6 states. The notice states, "Working in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health partners, FSIS determined that there is a link between ground beef products from Central Valley Meat Co., Inc., and this illness cluster." The company is recalling about 34,222 ponds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with Salmonella Dublin. These ground beef items were produced on July 13, 2019. They include: 1 pound chub packages of “STATER BROS. 100% PURE GROUND BEEF 96% LEAN 4% FAT” with lot 2049 on the retail label, lot 19204 … [Read more...]
New Seasons Ground Beef E. coli O157 Recall Expands: One More Case
New Seasons Market has expanded its recall of fresh ground beef sold at its Portland, Oregon stores for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination after new tests show that some of the potentially contaminated meat was available for sale as recently as November 8, 2019. In addition, one more illness case that is closely associated with one of the three confirmed cases has been identified. The first recall notice and notice of the outbreak was posted on November 10, 2019 and stated that the ground beef in question was sold from October 13 to October 23, 2019. At that time, three patients had been identified and their illnesses had been confirmed via lab tests. There is no word about any hospitalizations or hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) development. That means that four people may … [Read more...]
