Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer - E. Coli

Nation's Food Safety System Set for New Rules

Jamie Sheller — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:09:05 GMT

Both the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are taking steps to improve the safety of our food. The Department of Agriculture is set to conduct regular tests of "bench trim," the meat trimmings added to other meat to make ground beef, in order to prevent E. coli contamination of beef sold to consumers. The FDA is seeking more extensive "mandatory standards for growing, harvesting and processing fruits and vegetables." The House of Representatives already passed legislation strengthening the FDA's food safety oversight powers. Similar legislation is scheduled for Senate consideration in the fall.

Most meat used in ground beef has been tested for E. coli, but inspectors had not been testing the bench trim. Recently, there have been several outbreaks of a virulent strain of E. coli, leading to recalls of tainted ground beef. This particular E. coli strain, O157:H7, can cause fatal illness, and it may survive cooking. According to the American Meat Institute, the industry supports additional government testing of meat.

There have also been several cases of illnesses from tainted produce, primarily tomatoes, leafy greens and melons. The FDA recently issued voluntary guidelines to improve the safety of these crops. Eventually these guidelines will lead to mandatory regulations for handling produce. Enforceable standards and requirements should be complete in two years.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jamie Sheller

Recall of Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough Products

Jamie Sheller — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:14:50 GMT

Recently, Nestle USA voluntarily recalled its Toll House packaged raw cookie dough products, due to concerns about E. coli. E. coli can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and kidney failure. It can be deadly. The Centers for Disease Control have found a "strong association" between the cookie dough and the E. coli sickness suffered by 65 people who have tested positive for the bacterium since March. The identified sick people live in 29 states, and while some of them have been hospitalized with their illness, none have died.

The FDA advised consumers to discard any Toll House cookie dough products that they have, and requested that restaurants, retailers and food service providers not sell any of the refrigerated cookie dough products. According to the FDA, consumers should not try to cook the Toll House cookie dough products, because even though the cooked cookies may be safe to eat, the E. coli could be spread by the consumer's hands. The recall affects about 300,000 cases of cookie dough, including refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tubes, and cookie dough tubs. However, Toll House ice cream containing raw cookie dough is not affected by the recall. Nestle USA has said that it is temporarily halting production of the cookie dough products, while its Ohio factory is investigated by the FDA.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jamie Sheller

Ground Beef Subject of Another Recall

Jamie Sheller — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:32:51 GMT

A Coal Valley, Ill. company recently recalled almost 96,000 pounds of ground beef products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that the beef, from Valley Meats LLC, may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The recalled beef was sold under various brand names, including 3S Brand Products, Grillmaster Brand Products, J & B Brand Products, Klub Brand Products, Thick 'N Savory Brand Products, and Ultimate Brand Products. In addition, some of the beef was sold with no specific brand name. Each of the recalled beef products has the number "EST. 5712" under the USDA mark of inspection. March 10, 2009 is the date that these beef products were produced. The strain of E. coli involved in the recalled beef is dangerous, and can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and kidney failure. E. coli O157:H7 can be fatal. There have been reports of illness in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jamie Sheller