CALIFORNIA GROUND BEEF RECALLED

Let's hope you haven't been eating undercooked hamburgers or chili or meat tacos at a California or Nevada restaurant lately. The restaurant just may have received some E. coli O157:H7-contaminated ground beef products from Commercial Meat Company of Los Angeles, California.

The USDA/FSIS announced today that their testing had turned up this dangerous bacteria in the eat. Nearly 400,000 of ground beef products are being recalled by the company. They were supposed to hold the beef until the test results came in, and now they are paying the price for rushing. Just about all of it went in bulk cases to California and Nevada restaurants - as far as we know, that is.

By the way, the recalled burger meat, taco filling and chili products subject were produced between Sept. 7, 2011 and Oct. 6, 2011, which means..yes, that probably most of it has already been eaten. Notifications are being sent out anyway.

If the meat was cooked to 160° F that should have killed any of the harmful bacteria. But I really wonder how many restaurants use food thermometers to measure the internal temperature of your burger or taco filling.

Eating home is safer.

To your good health,
TSF

E.COLI O157:H7 CONTAMINATED BEEF MEANT FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES

This has been a fairly typical week in terms of food safety in the U.S. In addition to all kinds of allergens in a variety of foods, we have had announcements of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in fresh cheese produced by Del Bueno of Grandview, WA, undercooked (and therefore dangerous) breaded chicken breasts sold at Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc., uneviscerated (and potentially contaminated) Smoked Spilt Herring originating at World Wide Fish Products, Inc. of the Bronx, NY and bits of thin wire in Naturals Sesame Sticks, made for Pepperidge Farm.

Just to round out the week, we now have another recall of contaminated beef. Palo Duro Meat, an Amarillo, Texas, firm, is recalling 40,000 pounds of frozen fine ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. It wasn't sold by retailers (as far as we know). Just sent to warehouses in Georgia for distribution to institutions.

And the worst part of it was that these institutions include six school districts in Georgia, with the meat intended for children's lunches as part of the National School Lunch Program.

The only good news is that the USDA believes that most of the product has not left the warehouses (they don't say how much has gone out). And so far USDA/ FSIS is not aware of the contaminated meat having actually been served as part of school lunches in these Georgia districts.

So much for healthy school lunch!

To your good health,
TSF