E. COLI O157, GROUND BEEF - USA (MULTISTATE) (02): EXPANDED RECALL
E. COLI O157, GROUND BEEF - USA (MULTISTATE) (02): EXPANDED RECALL
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A ProMED-mail post
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http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
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http://www.isid.org>
Date: Sun 30 Sep 2007
Source: The New York Times [edited]
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/nyregion/30meat.html?ref=nyregion>
A meat company issued a nationwide recall yesterday, 29 Sep 2007, for
21.7 million pounds (9843 tons) of ground beef products after reports
of up to 25 cases of illness caused by suspected _E. coli_ [O157:H7]
in 8 states, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, federal
officials reported.
The recall, by the Topps Meat Company of Elizabeth, NJ, covers a wide
range of frozen hamburger patties and other products manufactured
over the last year and bearing a "sell by" date or "best used by"
date between 25 Sep 2007 and 25 Sep 2008, along with the United
States Department of Agriculture designation EST 9748.
The voluntary recall, an expanded version of one issued last Tue 25
Sep 2007 for nearly 332 000 pounds (150.6 tons) of Topps beef, was
the 1st in the 67-year history of Topps, one of the nation's largest
meat processing concerns. It was also one of the larger meat recalls
of recent years, the Agriculture Department's Food Safety Inspection
Service said.
Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the service, said the expanded
recall was based on an additional sample of meat contaminated with
the _E. coli_ O157:H7 strain, as reported by the New York State
Health Department; by findings of an inspection service safety
assessment; and by new reports of illnesses under inquiry in New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Claudia S. Hutton, a New York State Health Department spokeswoman,
said that suspected cases of _E. coli_ linked to Topps dated to July
2007, but that none were confirmed until an Albany resident became
ill in September 2007 and a Topps patty in his refrigerator was found
by the Health Department to contain the _E. coli_ strain.
Geoffrey Livermore, Topps's vice president of operations, said the
recalled products were distributed to retail grocers and food service
institutions throughout the USA over the past year. Based on
consumption patterns, he said, the company believes most of the
products have already been consumed, but he urged people to check
their freezers and dispose of any meat covered by the recall.
[Byline: Robert D. McFadden]
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[The amount of ground beef recalled related to this cluster of _E.
coli_ O157:H7 in at this point 8 states, has grown considerably from
332 000 pounds to 21.7 million pounds, that is, 65 times more beef
recalled. - Mod.LL]
[see also:
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate): alert, recall
20070927.3201
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (NY): alert, recall
20070926.3190
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (WA, OR): alert
20070830.2855
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (NY)
20070725.2387
E. coli VTEC, prisoners - USA (CO) (02)
20070714.2263
E. coli VTEC, prisoners - USA (CO): RFI
20070712.2236
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (west) (03): expanded recall
20070611.1902
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (west): recall
20070606.1831
E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate): recall
20070514.1532
E. coli O157, steak - USA (PA): recall
20070426.1362
E. coli O157, restaurant - USA (CA) (03)
20070410.1204
E. coli O157, restaurant - USA (CA)
20070403.1131
E. coli O157, spinach - USA (multistate): 2006, FDA report
20070326.1051
E. coli O157, bagged salad greens - USA (multistate)
20070121.0288
E. coli O157, lettuce - USA (multistate): 2006
20070112.0158
2006
----
E. coli O157, fast food - USA (multistate) (05): lettuce
20061214.3516
E. coli O157, fast food - USA (IA, MN): lettuce
20061214.3515
E. coli O157, fast food - USA (multistate): green onions
20061206.3441
E. coli O157 - USA (NJ, NY)
20061205.3425
E. coli O157 - USA (NJ)
20061203.3415
E. coli O157 - USA (multistate): unknown source
20060410.1068
E. coli O157, unpasteurized milk - USA (OR, WA) (04)
20060121.0199]
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