Recently, National Steak and Poultry recalled 248,000 lbs. of beef because it was suspected to be the culprit in an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that has sickened dozens of people across the country. This beef recall has once again stirred up questions about the safety of beef and the effectiveness of current safety protocols that are in place to keep food free of dangerous foodborne pathogens.
The most recent outbreak wasn’t related to traditional ‘ground’ beef, which shares a close relationship with E. coli O157:H7, so much so, that E. coli O157:H7 is often referred to as the ‘hamburger disease’. The beef in the National Steak and Poultry outbreak was attributed to mechanically tenderized beef products.
Mechanical tenderization is a butchering method that is used to soften tougher 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.
According to USDA investigators, it appears contaminated beef was ‘co-mingled’ with other products that were destined for the tenderizing machines. When the cross contaminated beef was hammered it left E. coli O157:H7 bacteria behind on the tenderizing apparatus. Subsequent cuts that were processed on the tenderization machines were then contaminated, some cuts with the E. coli O157:H7 hammered deep into the beef cuts center.
If E. coli O157:H7 is on the surface of a typical steak, the bacteria are killed when the outside of the steak is grilled. When a tenderized steak has its center contaminated with a foodborne pathogen, a lower cooking internal temperature poses a greater risk than a regular steak. When as few as ten E. coli O157 bacteria are needed to cause illness, the billions that may come hidden in your steak are a genuine threat.
While tenderized steaks do not share as significant an E. coli O157:H7 relationship as does ground beef, the outbreak is still of concern. Since 2000, the National Steak and Poultry outbreak is at least the fourth outbreak associated with mechanically tenderized beef in the U.S.
Even though the mechanical tenderization process poses a unique foodborne illness cross contamination threat, the safety protocols for mechanically tenderized beef are not as stringent as they are for ground beef. It is a situation that concerned U.S. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack back in June of 2009 when he was quoted “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.”
The beef industry does not look forward to any new testing protocols that would add more warning labels and expenses to beef processing. But when we are dealing with a bacterium like E. coli O157:H7, shortcuts and cost cutting measures are simply unacceptable. E. coli O157:H7 poisoning is a vicious foodborne illness that can be intense and life threatening.
E. coli O157:H7 poisoning can lead to the serious illness, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a blood disease that is caused by toxins produced by E. coli O157:H7. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) victims suffer from blood clotting issues that lead to kidney failure and for an unfortunate few, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) proves to be fatal. Children are at the highest risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), in fact, it is the leading cause of acute kidney failure for children in the U.S.
E. coli O157:H7 is found in cow feces and cow feces does not belong in our food supply. Until measures are in place that can assure consumers that E. coli O157:H7 isn’t a part of their beef purchase, it is important to do everything possible to keep this terrible pathogen out of our food.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2010
