Salmonella outbreak strikes 27, prompts beef recall

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - At least 27 people, most of them in Colorado, have fallen ill from a salmonella outbreak that prompted the recall of more than 800,000 pounds (360,000 kg) of ground beef in 12 states, federal and state officials said on Friday.

Raw hamburger associated with 21 confirmed salmonella poisoning cases in Colorado was traced to Beef Packers Inc in Fresno, California, a unit of Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc, officials said.

At least four more cases in California and two in Wyoming have surfaced but are not definitively linked to Beef Packers, said Bryn Burkard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Public health authorities in eight additional states -- Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas -- have identified samples taken from an unspecified number of people infected by the same salmonella strain as the others.

But Burkard added, "we do not have information about them being associated with the recall to date."

Beef Packers' voluntary recall of nearly 826,000 pounds (375,000 kg) of ground beef was announced on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The company said the recalled meat, which was produced from June 5 to June 23, was shipped to retail outlets in 12 Western states, including Safeway stores, Sam's Club stores and United Grocers stores.

<snip>

Burkard said the latest outbreak was caused by the so-called Newport strain of salmonella bacteria, which is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics and more frequently results in hospitalization.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5765FS20090808?sp=true

[valerief]

1. I'm glad I stopped eating beef years ago. nt

[crim son]

2. I'm glad I live in Maine. We are rarely affected by such recalls.

I wonder why.

[valerief]

3. Yeah, not many in Massachusetts either. I wonder why, too. nt

[gtar100]

4. This isn't 'normal' in Colorado either.

[UpInArms]

5. "a unit of Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc"

a mid-America problem, I guess

:sigh:

[glinda]

10. Cargill is into poison. Chem city.

[marybourg]

6. Bacteria doesn't grow well in cold weather. nt.

[du_grad]

9. That's not necessarily true.

I am a clinical microbiology technologist. True, it doesn't grow WELL, but it just grows more slowly in colder weather. Heating to >140 degrees is the only thing that will get rid of it.

The organism Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause Listeriosis, thrives at refrigerator temperatures. Indeed, "cold enrichment" actually enhances recovery of Listeria.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1904765

It all depends on the growth requirements of the particular organism.

[marybourg]

12. I really meant it to be funny. Guess I should have used a

:D

[pipoman]

8. If you eat you are at risk for salmonella

Vegetarians are likely more at risk than meat eaters who cook their meat properly...lettuce isn't too good cooked to 165 degrees..

[pipoman]

7. Who eats under cooked grocery store hamburger?

Cook hamburger to 165 and don't get sick, simple.

[Ian David]

11. Invite your Republican neighbors over for hamburgers on the grill. Done rare. n/t

[depakid]

13. The pattern continues

Mass shooting/major food recall Mass shooting/major food recall-