Last week, the New York Times published an in-depth article on how the flaws in our industrialized meat system can lead to devastating consequences, including death. It features the story of one woman who was paralyzed from the waist down by an E. coli contaminated hamburger.
“I ask myself every day, ‘Why me?’ and ‘Why from a hamburger?’ ”Ms. Smith said. In the simplest terms, she ran out of luck in a food-safety game of chance whose rules and risks are not widely known.
In 1994, an outbreak of E. coli spread through Jack & The Box hamburgers left 4 children dead. Yet, the food safety standards have not changed. Tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by tainted meat.
“I’ve had women tell me that E. coli is more painful than childbirth,” said Dr. Phillip I. Tarr, a pathogen expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Eating ground beef is a gamble
Neither the meat safety system, nor the meat itself, is what we have been led to believe.
Ground beef is NOT simply a chunk of meat run through a grinder! Instead, a single portion of hamburger includes not only various grades of meat from various parts of a cow, but also from various cows, and even various slaughterhouses. Plus, low-grade ingredients are cut from areas of the cow that are more likely to have come in contact with feces, which spreads E. coli.
For example, the hamburger that left Ms. Smith paralyzed was labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties,” but the confidential griding logs (tracked down during the investigation to determine what made her sick) show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together. The ingredients for this hamburger came from slaughterhouses in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas, South Dakota, and Uruguay. All in one single burger.
But here’s the real kicker: There is no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for E. coli. The USDA allow grinders to devise their own safety plans, most of which do not include testing the meat for E. coli prior to grinding. In fact, there are even large slaughterhouses that will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their meat!
Inside the slaughterhouses, contamination can happen at any step. First of all, the cows come in covered in feedlot feces (again, feces is what spreads E. coli). The hides must be very carefully removed to ensure that none of that feces touches the meat. This is especially difficult for trimmings (you know, the stuff that’s ground up in hamburgers), which are sliced from the outer surface of the carcass.
At the gutting station, where the intestines are removed, it is common for the intestines to spill, splattering the ground, the table, or even on to meat, with feces. (Ever seen the movie Fast Food Nation?)
And, if at any point one cutter’s knife comes in contact with the bacteria, they can spread it down the line to numerous pieces of meat.
In one plant inspection, inspectors had found “large amounts of patties on the floor,” grinders that were gnarly with old bits of meat, and a worker who routinely dumped inedible meat on the floor (where those “large amounts of patties” are sitting). Unsanitary conditions like these only spread bacteria more.
It’s all about the Benjamins, baby
How in the world can these corrupt and dangerous practices be allowed? Unfortunately, the USDA is operating under a conflicted goal: To ensure consumer safety, and to promote the agricultural industry. Since the majority of the USDA’s upper management comes from the agriculture industry, they protect their own.
Using a combination of sources (a practice followed by most hamburger producers) costs about 25% less than it would to use whole cuts of meat. And of course, recalls are a HUGE detriment to profits, so avoiding recalls is a major goal, and naturally, avoiding inspections is one way of avoiding recalls.
Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said that the department could mandate testing, but that it needed to consider the impact on companies as well as consumers. “I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health,” Dr. Petersen said.
Prevention?
Food scientists have registered increasing concern about the virulence of this pathogen since only a few stray cells can make someone sick, and they warn that federal guidance to cook meat thoroughly and to wash up afterward is not sufficient. A test by The Times found that the safe handling instructions are not enough to prevent the bacteria from spreading in the kitchen.
“Ground beef is not a completely safe product,” said Dr. Jeffrey Bender, a food safety expert at the University of Minnesota. He said that while outbreaks had been on the decline, “unfortunately it looks like we are going a bit in the opposite direction.”
“In a warm kitchen, E. coli cells will double every 45 minutes,” said Dr. Mansour Samadpour, a microbiologist. With help from his laboratories, The Times prepared three pounds of ground beef dosed with a strain of E. coli. Although the safety instructions on the package were followed, E. coli remained on the cutting board even after it was washed with soap. A towel picked up large amounts of bacteria from the meat.
Dr. James Marsden, a meat safety expert at Kansas State University, said the Department of Agriculture needed to issue better guidance on avoiding cross-contamination, like urging people to use bleach to sterilize cutting boards. “Even if you are a scientist, much less a housewife with a child, it’s very difficult,” Dr. Marsden said.
New York Times article: E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection
See also my posts on tainted meat & USDA regulations.
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Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Healthy Choice frozen meal with pumpkin ravioli (new seasonal item, I guess)
Dinner: Tofu scramble breakfast taco (with fakin’ bacon bits, soy cheese, and salsa)
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