> E. COLI O157 - USA (09): TENDERIZED, NON-INTACT STEAK
> *****************************************************
> A ProMED-mail post
>
> ProMED-mail is a program of the
> International Society for Infectious Diseases
>
>
> [1]
> Date: Thu 24 Dec 2009
> Source: CNN [edited]
>
>
>
> A beef recall is under way in a half-dozen states involving possibly
> contaminated products from the Oklahoma company National Steak and
> Poultry, according to the firm and federal inspectors.
>
> The USA Agriculture Department officials said a cluster of illnesses
> involving the _E. coli_ [O157:H7] bacterium was reported in Colorado,
> Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington state. The cases
> then were linked with beef the Owasso, Oklahoma, company produced in
> October, prompting the government to direct a Class I recall,
> indicating the highest risk of illness if the products are consumed.
>
> On Thursday [24 Dec 2009], National Steak and Poultry began a
> voluntary recall of 248 000 pounds of beef products marketed under
> its name as well as under names that include Carino's Boneless Beef
> and Moe's Beef Steak. A consumer hotline at the company carries a
> recorded message noting "this is the 1st recall in our company's
> nearly 30-year history." National Steak and Poultry did not
> acknowledge any contaminationin its beef processing or packaging
> facilities, but the recording said the firm "will err on the side of
> being cautious" with the recall.
>
> [Byline: Paul Courson]
>
> --
> Communicated by:
> ProMED-mail
>
>
> *****
> [2]
> Date: Mon 28 Dec 2009
> Source: ABC News [edited]
>
>
>
> National Steak and Poultry is voluntarily recalling about 248 000
> pounds of beef it said might be contaminated with a strain of _E.
> coli_ [O157:H7]. The company said the meat could be linked to
> illnesses in 6 states.
>
> The Owasso-based company and the USA Agriculture Department announced
> the recall on Thursday [24 Dec 2009]. National Steak and Poultry says
> on its Web site the beef products "could potentially be implicated in
> an outbreak" of illnesses related to _E. coli_.
>
> The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service became aware of the
> problem while investigating a cluster of illnesses and determined
> there is an association between non-intact steaks, which have been
> blade tenderized prior to further processing, and illnesses in
> Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington.
>
> The products being recalled include various sizes of the company's
> "Boneless Beef Sirloin Steak," "Boneless Beef Tips," "Savory Sirloin
> Tips," "Bacon Wrapped Beef Fillet," "Beef Shoulder Marinated Tender
> Medallions," "75 percent Boneless Beef Trimmings," "Beef Trimmings"
> and "Beef Sirloin Philly Steak."
>
> Also being recalled are various sizes of "EGN Boneless Beef Sirloin
> Steak," "EGN Boneless Beef Sirloin Tri Tip Steak," "KRM Boneless Beef
> Sirloin Steak," "Carino's Boneless Beef Outside Skirt Steak,"
> "Carino's Boneless Beef Outside Skirt Steak Pieces" and "Moe's Beef
> Steak."
>
> National Steak and Poultry said the recalled products are in packages
> bearing a label with the establishment number "EST. 6010T" inside the
> USDA mark of inspection and packaging dates of "10/12/2009,"
> "10/13/2009," "10/14/2009," or "10/21/2009." The company said the
> products were shipped to restaurants nationwide.
>
> The company said in a statement that the recalled beef was produced
> at its Owasso facility. It said the recall is limited to beef
> products sold primarily to the Moe's, Carino's Italian Grill, and KRM
> restaurants in the 6 states.
>
> --
> Communicated by:
> ProMED-mail
>
>
> *****
> [3]
> Date: 30 Dec 2009
> Source: Washington Post [Edited]
>
>
> E. coli-tainted beef infects 21 people in 16 states
> ------------------------------------
> Twenty-one people in 16 states have been infected in recent days with
> a potentially lethal strain of E. coli bacteria, after consuming beef
> in restaurants supplied by the same Oklahoma meat company, federal
> officials said.
>
> The outbreak spurred the company, National Steak and Poultry, to
> voluntarily recall 248,000 pounds of beef Dec. 24. The products,
> which range from steaks to sirloin tips, were packaged in October and
> shipped to restaurants, hotels and institutions nationwide, according
> to the company.
>
> The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection
> Service has only a partial list of restaurants that received the
> potentially tainted beef, including two chains, Moe's and Carino's
> Italian Grill, primarily in the West and Midwest.
>
> The recall is considered a "class 1" or a "high health risk" by the
> USDA, which regulates the meat industry, because among the pathogens
> that can harm human health, E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most
> lethal. Even for those who survive, there can be long-term health
> effects.
>
> Nine of the 21 sickened have been hospitalized, the USDA reported.
> The department has identified cases in six states -- Colorado, Iowa,
> Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington
>
> The agency said the contamination appears to have begun with tainted
> beef used for chopped steak that was "co-mingled" with other products
> in the plant. Jerry Mande, the USDA's deputy undersecretary for food
> safety, said the investigation is continuing. A telephone message
> left for the company was not returned.
>
> The outbreak is considered by the Centers for Disease Control and
> Prevention, the agency that tracks national illness outbreaks, to be
> relatively small. But it is significant because it is at least the
> fourth associated with mechanically tenderized beef since 2000.
>
> Mechanical tenderization softens tough cuts of beef by hammering the
> meat with metal needles or blades that break up muscle fibers and
> connective tissue. It is often used to improve the tenderness of
> roasts and steaks that are cooked at a processing plant before being
> sent to restaurants. In the meat industry, it is referred to as
> "needled" meat.
>
> Consumer advocates say mechanical tenderization poses contamination
> risks in meats that are served rare, such as steaks, because it can
> bring bacteria from the surface of meat to the center of the cut. A
> rare steak may be cooked enough so that bacteria on the surface are
> killed but those inside the meat survive.
>
> "This is something that's been coming along. It's not an overnight
> problem," said Carol L. Tucker-Foreman of Consumer Federation of
> America, part of a coalition that wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom
> Vilsack in June to express concern about mechanically tenderized
> meat. "The USDA has been looking at this for a long time. . . .
> People have proposed ways to address it and nothing was done about it
> in the Clinton administration, the Bush administration and now the
> Obama administration."
>
> At a minimum, the government should issue guidelines to consumers and
> the restaurant industry that specifically address mechanically
> tenderized meat, and the products should be labeled because consumers
> cannot detect whether a cut of meat has been "needled," she said.
> "Retailers should have to label mechanically tenderized meat and say
> 'Don't eat this product rare.' "
>
> Mande said the USDA agrees that the public needs better information
> about the risks of mechanically tenderized beef, and the agency is
> considering labeling and education efforts.
>
> But James H. Hodges, executive vice president of the American Meat
> Institute, said in a statement that mechanically tenderized beef
> carries no greater risk than other meat and that special labels are
> unnecessary.
>
> [Byline: Lyndsey Layton]
>
> --
> Communicated by:
> ProMED-mail
>
>
>
> [The following is a discussion regarding the issue of non-intact
> steaks and roasts, pieces of meat that have be tenderized by needle
> or blade which can introduce pathogens (especially _E. coli_ O157:H7)
> to the internal aspect of the meat where it may survive better than
> its "surface" cousins.
>
> In 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety
> and Inspection Service (FSIS)
> (
> asked the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria
> for Foods (NACMCF) whether non-intact, blade tenderized beef and beef
> roasts presented a greater risk to consumers from _E. coli_ 0157:H7
> compared to intact beef steaks if prepared similarly. Based on a
> Kansas State University Study, beef products mechanically tenderized
> or injected with marinade before purchasing can carry approximately 3
> to 4 percent of the surface bacteria to the inside of the beef
> product, meaning that there is a greater risk to consumers from _E.
> coli_.
>
> Since 2000, there have been 4 _E. coli_ outbreaks associated with
> non-intact beef steaks (Canada, Michigan, Colorado and Minnesota) and
> 2 outbreaks involving beef roasts. As a result, the FSIS published a
> notice in the May 26 Federal Register titled "HACCP Plan Reassessment
> for Mechanically Tenderized Beef Products." In this notice, FSIS
> asked each plant operator that mechanically tenderizes meat products
> to specifically consider in the annual reassessment of their HACCP
> plan the significance of these recent outbreaks as a hazard that is
> reasonably likely to occur.
>
> The FSIS also recommended these processors implement purchase
> specifications requiring the incoming product to be treated to reduce
> or eliminate _E. coli_ to an undetectable level or apply an approved
> antimicrobial to the meat. The FSIS noted it is considering requiring
> raw, mechanically tenderized beef products to be labeled showing it
> has undergone mechanical tenderization. In light of this newly
> identified risk to consumers' health, the Dairy and Food Protection
> Branch (Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental
> and Natural Resources) recommends the following changes to the
> handling of non-intact meat products:
>
> 1. All beef not labeled as intact and without buyer specifications to
> show that it is intact must be assumed to be a non-intact beef
> product based on the standard meat processing industry practices of
> pinning, tenderizing or injecting these products. This also includes
> comminuted beef steak (chopped, flaked, ground, minced, restructured
> or reformulated).
>
> 2. Cook non-intact beef products to a temperature of 155 degrees F as
> measured by a properly calibrated food thermometer as required by the
> FDA Food Code.
>
> 3. If you currently tenderize beef steaks or other beef products in
> your restaurant kitchen, please stop this practice.
>
> 4. Educate your staff about the identified risks of mechanically
> tenderized (non-intact) beef products.
>
> 5. When possible, notify consumers about the risk of getting _E.
> coli_ from mechanically tenderized (nonintact) beef steaks and roasts.
>
> The NACMCF research also showed that blade-tenderized steaks present
> no greater risk than intact steaks if oven-broiled to an internal
> temperature of 140 degrees F or above as measured by a food
> thermometer. In September 2002, the NCAMCF also found there was
> insufficient data to support the need for a labeling requirement to
> distinguish between intact and non-intact beef. Since it is often
> impossible to visually tell in all cases whether a steak or roast has
> been mechanically tenderized or injected, it is recommended that
> these products be cooked to an internal temperature of 155 degrees F.
> Protect your customers by following the above guidelines until a
> labeling requirement or microbial treatment of non-intact beef
> products, or both, are required. - Mod.LL]
>
> [see also:
> E. coli O157 - USA (08): ground beef 20091103.3794
> E. coli O157 - USA (07): refrigerated cookie dough 20090710.2473
> E. coli O157 - USA (06): beef, recall, RFI 20090702.2389
> E. coli O157 - USA (05): refrigerated cookie dough, CDC 20090701.2381
> E. coli O157 - USA (04): refrigerated cookie dough 20090630.2371
> E. coli O157 - USA (03): beef, recall 20090629.2354
> E. coli O157 - USA (02): refrigerated cookie dough 20090623.2291
> E. coli O157 - USA: refrigerated cookie dough 20090619.2259
> 2008
> ---
> E. coli O157 - USA (09): (WA), susp. 20081021.3336
> E. coli O157 - USA (08): (CA), cooked beef 20081007.3181
> E. coli O157, university students - USA (06): California lettuce 20081015.3266
> E. coli O157, university students - USA: (MI) 20080922.2987
> E. coli O157 - USA (07): (MA) alert 20080811.2475
> E. coli O157 - USA: (OH, MI), unknown source 20080624.1947
> E. coli O157, lettuce - USA: (WA) 20080606.1807
> E. coli O157, restaurant - USA: (HI) 20080228.0811
> 2007
> ---
> E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate) (09) 20071126.3823
> E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate) (08): Canada 20071029.3511
> E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate) (04): 2nd manufacturer
> 20071007.3304
> E. coli O157, ground beef - USA (multistate) (03): CDC report 20071003.3272
> 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]
> 2003
> ----
> E. coli O157, frozen steaks - USA (Midwest): recall 20030701.1617]
> .................................ll/ejp/lm
>
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