News Update

News Update
Nov. 5, 2007

Pennsylvania Firm Recalls Ground Beef Due to Possible E. coli O157:H7

Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., a Wyalusing, Pa., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,084,384 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Nov. 3.

Each package or label bears the establishment number “Est. 9400” inside the USDA mark of inspection. As the use/freeze-by dates for products subject to this recall have expired, consumers are urged to look in their freezers for these products and return them or discard them if found.

In addition, there are various weights and varieties of ground beef, ground chuck and ground sirloin products that were distributed for further processing and repackaging and will not bear the recalling firm’s establishment number on the package.

The ground beef products subject to recall were produced between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

The problem was discovered by FSIS through a follow-up investigation and sampling after a positive E. coli O157:H7 test at another federal establishment. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a physician. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. A list of products included in the recall can be found at www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Recall_051-2007_Release.pdf.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact the company toll-free hotline at 877-455-1034.

— Release courtesy of USDA.

FSIS Announces Increased Testing and Re-inspection of Canadian Meat

USDA’s FSIS has instituted additional import requirements for meat and poultry products from Canada.

Effective Nov. 5, FSIS will increase testing for salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 and will require that shipments be held until testing is complete and products are confirmed negative for these pathogens. In addition, Canadian meat and poultry products will receive increased levels of re-inspection by the FSIS to confirm they are eligible to enter commerce when presented at the U.S. border.

FSIS has also initiated an audit of the Canadian food safety system that will focus on Ranchers Beef Ltd., the Canadian plant previously identified as the likely source of the multi-state outbreak of E. coli infections linked to the Topps Meat Co., and on other similar establishments. The audit and the stepped up actions at the border are being conducted because of concerns about testing practices at Ranchers Beef Ltd. that were discovered as part of the ongoing investigation.

FSIS will review preliminary findings of the audit to determine whether there is a need to continue the additional interim requirements.

FSIS Administrator Alfred Almanza and an additional senior FSIS food safety official met Nov. 2 with their counterparts at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to inform them of the increased testing and re-inspection requirements.

— Adapted from an FSIS statement.

Screwworm Detected in Massachusetts Dog Imported from Singapore

A report from USDA’s Animal Plant Heath Inspection Service (APHIS) noted that Nov. 1 Old World Screwworm infestation was confirmed in a 9-month-old canine (Labrador retriever) located in Norwell, Mass.

According to the situation summary, the canine arrived by air in Boston from Singapore via a one-day stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Upon arriving in the U.S., the owner noticed a wound near the base of the tail and took the dog to a private veterinary clinic in South Weymouth, Mass.

The attending private practice veterinarian excised and collected the larvae from the wound. The sample was forwarded Oct. 30 to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL), where the larvae were identified as not full-grown (in the second to early third instar stage), indicating that the maggots were several days from exiting the wound as viable larvae.

Because Massachusetts is considered too far north for the long-term survival of this tropical insect, the risk of introduction of screwworm from this incident is currently identified by APHIS as negligible to very low. However, APHIS and Massachusetts Animal Health officials will take appropriate actions to fully investigate and respond to this incident.

In a worst-case scenario, the risk period in which one might expect to find clinical manifestations of a screwworm strike is estimated (from the biology of the Old World Screwworm) to begin around Nov. 13 and continue no later that Dec. 6, with projected weather conditions.

As part of its action plan, APHIS is working with state officials to locate and quarantine the dog for further observation and treatment. The agency is also fostering awareness among public health and veterinary practitioners in the affected area via distribution of a fact sheet and information releases by various means. In addition, APHIS and state animal health officials will call or visit veterinary practitioners in Massachusetts; the chronology, itinerary and movement history of the canine will be further investigated and documented; and the owner’s vehicle, any transport crates, homes, yards and veterinary clinics will be inspected, cleaned and treated with a pesticide if determined necessary.

USDA will report its finding to the World Health Organization (OIE) as appropriate and the veterinary service (VS) will see that countries where the dog originated and passed through on the way to the United States are notified.

— Adapted from a USDA situation summary.

— compiled by Linda Robbins, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc. (API)