BJ’s Wholesale Club Ground Beef Recall for E. coli 026
The only retailer identified so far as a distributor of recalled Cargill ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli 026 is BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in eight northeastern and eastern states.
USDA has associated the Cargill E. coli ground beef recall with three confirmed illnesses caused by the identical strain of E. coli 026. There are two cases in Maine and one in New York. The agency’s initial Cargill ground beef recall distribution list includes 26 BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in Maine, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.
An active E. coli ground beef investigation is continuing. The tainted Cargill ground beef was produced June 11 for use or freezing by July 1. People started to get sick June 24. Public health officials at the state and federal level are concerned that more outbreak cases could surface if consumers unknowingly pull recalled ground beef from their home freezers for meal preparation.
Cargill’s recalled ground beef was sold to BJ’s Wholesale Club in 42-pound cases. Fourteen-pound “chubs” inside the cases were for repackaging into trays of ground beef for sale in BJ’s Wholesale Club meat cases. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 9400″ inside the USDA mark of inspection. The Class I recall covers 8,500 pounds of Cargill ground beef.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E. coli O157:H7 causes 73,000 illnesses and 50 deaths every year in the United States. Another six E. coli strains – including O26 — are less pervasive but just as capable of causing severe illness, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Due to a gaping shortfall in federal law, only E. coli 0157:H7 is banned from ground beef as an adulterant. The prohibition hasn’t ended E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, but it has forced meatpackers to constantly test for it and it also calls for routine government testing of the products.
Maine E. coli Ground Beef Investigation
A Maine E. coli ground beef investigation traced E. coli 026 illnesses in Maine and New York to Cargill ground beef recalled early today in conjunction with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
An FSIS ground beef recall announcement said Cargill Meat Solutions Corp of Pennsylvania is recalling 8.500 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli 026, a potentially lethal human pathogen. The meat was produced June 11 and sold in 14-pound “chubs” to retailers who repackaged it for meat case display. The affected store brands haven’t been announced yet. The tainted ground beef was initially shipped to distribution centers in Connecticut and Maryland for further sale.
Two people from Maine and one from New York have been infected by the same identical strain of E. coli 026 and health investigators in the two states are continuing their efforts to learn the extent of this outbreak. Cargill is a large multi-national corporation that has been involved in E. coli ground beef recalls and outbreaks in the past. FSIS has found a convincing association between the Maine and New York E. coli cases and ground beef from Cargill.
Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The most prevalent type of STEC is O157:H7, but E. coli 026 also produces shiga toxin that attacks a person’s red blood cells. In 5 to 15 percent of STEC infections, patients develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a related condition.
HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure, worldwide, in children. It also can damage other parts of a person’s body, including the heart, brain and central nervous system. HUS in children is deadly in about 5 percent of cases.
Here is the Cargill E. coli ground beef recall announcement:
The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 9400″ inside the USDA mark of inspection. The recall includes 42-pound cases of “GROUND BEEF FINE 90/10,” containing three (3) – approximately 14 pound chubs each. These products have a “use/freeze by” date of “07/01/10,” and an identifying product code of “W69032.”
Three Children Who Attended Grand Traverse County Fair Contract E. coli Infections
Grand Traverse County health officials are investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections in three children who attended the Grand Traverse County Fair. The connection between the three children stops there, however. They did not eat food from the same vendors or tend the same animals.
The first two cases of E. coli O157 was reported to the health department last Friday. The third case was reported on Monday. Health officials have sent E. coli isolates taken from the three children to a lab for genetic testing to determine if they have the same genetic fingerprint. This would be evidence that all of the children were sickened by the same E. coli source.
Health officials have taken environmental samples throughout the fairgrounds, including water samples, to try to find the source of the outbreak. Extremely small amounts of E. coli bacteria can result in infection and serious illness, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure, brain damage, pancreatitis, blindness and death. The water was tested before the fair began, and E. coli bacterium were not found, but this does not mean it was free of the bacteria when the children visited.
The Grand Traverse County Health Department learned about two cases on Friday and a third on Monday, but officials haven’t been able to connect them except through the annual fair in Blair Township.
The children, who are not related, range from 5 to 15 years old. They did not work with the same livestock and did not eat from the same vendors, said Fred Keeslar, department health officer.
“We were hoping to find some common links, but didn’t,” he said.
Health officials have no positive proof the outbreak originated at the fair, but it remains the likeliest connection.
“There are lots of animals coming together and people touching animals that are kicking up dust,” Keeslar said.
Humans may be exposed to E. coli through contact with animal fecal matter. Symptoms include vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea, sometimes bloody diarrhea.
“It can lead to, in the worst case, renal failure and death,” Keeslar said.
Further testing is under way to pinpoint the specific type of E. coli. The best preventative measure is frequent hand-washing when in contact with barnyard animals.
Fair President Dana Cederquist could not be reached for comment.
Nancy Schroeder, secretary for the Northwest Michigan 4-H Livestock Council, said sanitation and hand-washing is part of annual plans at the fair.
“We have five hand-washing stations with running water and antibacterial soap. We also have hand sanitizer at the petting zoo,” she said.
Schroeder said fair-goers are encouraged to wash their hands before and after contacting animals, with warnings on banners hung at the fairgrounds, as well as signs posted at all barn entrances and in the restrooms.
“We try to make the public aware and we try to provide them with what they need on the grounds,” she said.
Darrel Robinson, president of the livestock council, said the bacteria associated with the ill children is a known risk with livestock and the reason warnings are prominently displayed across the fairgrounds. Additionally, fair planners participate in annual biohazard training in preparation for the fair, he said.
At least two of the stricken children are not involved with 4-H, though the third could have handled livestock, Keeslar said.
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, also called STEC infections, can affect people of any age, though the very young and elderly are the most susceptible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
STEC live in the guts of cud-chewing hoofed animals, including cattle, goats and sheep, though the primary source for human illnesses is cattle. Other kinds of animals, including pigs and birds, sometimes pick up STEC from the environment and may spread it, according to the CDC.
Keeslar said all three infected Grand Traverse area children are expected to fully recover, though the 5-year-old remained hospitalized on Tuesday. The other two children were treated and released.
Officials tested water sources at the fairgrounds before the week-long event and on Tuesday took new samples to verify whether water became contaminated. Results are expected in several days, Keeslar said.
Health officials notified area doctors to watch for STEC symptoms in their patients because those who came into contact with the bacteria but didn’t become ill could still spread the infection to others, particularly those with weakened immune systems.
Child E. coli HUS case Prompts Look at County Fair
Three children aged 5 through 15 were all sickened by shiga toxin-producing E. coli after attending the Northwestern Michigan County Fair. If the cause of the illnesses came from the fair, officials say the most likely source of transmission was contact with animals that carried the bacteria.
The cluster of E. coli is being investigated by the Michigan state health authority and the Grand Traverse County Health Department. 9 & 10 News reported tonight that one of the children remains hospitalized. Children under 5 are in the age group most susceptible to developing a complication of E. coli infection known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can keep children hospitalized for lengthy periods with kidney failure and many other impairments caused by the toxin.
Michigan health officials are taking the opportunity of the outbreak to remind families to practice strict hand hygiene at county fairs and other animal exhibits. Cattle and other animals shed E. coli from their feces and it can survive on the hides of cattle and other animals.
Canadian E. coli Outbreak Associated With Festival
At least 26 people have fallen sick from a suspected E. coli outbreak in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canadian health officials have associated the majority of cases with food eaten at the Russsian pavilion of the annual Folklorama multicultural festivals, CBC News-Radio Canada reports. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority issued a warning last week after 15 suspected cases had surfaced since the beginning of August.
Of those who have become sick, 14 have been confirmed to have E. coli, including two children who are still recovering in hospital, according to the CBC report. Folklorama ended August 14, but there is a risk of secondary infection. Once someone has eaten contaminated food, the infection can be passed person to person, by hand-to-mouth contact.
Valley Meat E. coli Recall Amended
USDA has ammended its recall announcement regarding Valley Meat Company, Modesto, California, a meatpacker that recalled about 1 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties and other ground beef due to possible E. coli 0157:H7 contamination. 
The meat has been associated with a cluster of 7 E. coli infections in people who live in California.
The recall announcement is being amended to revise the geographic distribution and to note that some of the recalled products were distributed to a firm in California for further processing. The further-processing facility is not named. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 8268″ inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a production code of 27509 through 01210. These products were produced on various dates between Oct. 2, 2009 and Jan. 12, 2010. They were distributed to retail outlets and institutional foodservice providers in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, and to a firm in California for further processing, the amended recall said.
USDA became aware of the problem on July 15 when the agency was notified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of a small E. coli O157:H7 cluster of illnesses with a rare strain as determined by DNA fingerprinting. A total of six patients with illness onset dates between April 8 and June 18, 2010 were reported at that time. After further review, CDPH added another patient from February to the case count, bringing the count to seven.
FSIS is continuing to work with the CDPH and the company on the investigation. Anyone with signs or symptoms of foodborne illness should contact a health care provider.
