Ground beef sickens one in Macoupin County, Illinois, according to a press release from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. A public health alert has been issued for ground beef sold at David B’s Custom Meats in Carlinville, Illinois. While officials found non-O157 E. coli bacteria in the meat, they did not state that the ill person is sick with any type of E. coli infection. The ground beef was prepared at that Type II facility, which is custom exempt, at the beginning of 2020 to the current date. Custom exempt meat products are not inspected and cannot be offered for sale to the public. So a recall of the ground beef was not requested. Instead, the DOH is issuing a public health alert about the problem. A resident of Macoupin County notified local public health officials … [Read more...]
USDA Will Expand non-O157 STEC Testing to Ground Beef
According to an announcement in the Federal Register, the USDA will expand non-O157 STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) testing to ground beef, bench trim, and other raw ground beef components. The non-O157 strains include what's called the "Big Six" E. coli strains: E. coli O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145. USDA first announced the decision to test raw, non-intact beef product and raw, intact beef product for those six strains on September 20, 2011. The decision was made because these strains have high pathogenicity, low infectious dose, transmissibility from person to person, and thermal resistance of the pathogens that is high enough to survive ordinary cooking. The estimated benefits of this new testing include reduced outbreak-related recalls, reduced illnesses and … [Read more...]
Pandemic Food Safety: Most Googled Recipes and Safety
We all know that during the coronavirus pandemic, more people are cooking at home out of necessity. Many people are cooking for themselves for the first time. And some of those people haven't been taught about food safety. CNBC's Make It section found the top 10 most-googled recipes during quarantine. And we are listing the food safety issues with some of those recipes. The top 10 recipes are for: banana bread, pancakes, chicken, pizza dough, brownie, Recette crepe, meatloaf, French toast, lasagna, and cheesecake. All of these recipes can make you sick if not prepared correctly. Baking Recipes The potential food safety issues with the baking recipes are with eggs and flour. Don't make any recipe that calls for eggs and isn't cooked or baked before eating. Eggs can be … [Read more...]
Learn Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures For Different Foods
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...]
