You may have noticed that according to the USDA FSIS, the Valley Meats ground beef products recently recalled due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination all bear inside the USDA mark of inspection establishment number “5712.” A search of FSIS archived documents reveals that this is not Establishment 5712’s first case of E. coli O157:H7 trouble.
In October 2007, J&B Meats recalled 173,554 pounds of frozen ground beef products due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination, “based on a preliminary analysis of epidemiological data” after an investigation was prompted by an illness reported to the FSIS Consumer Complaint Monitoring System (CCMS).
In August 2003, J&B Meats recalled 76,000 pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef products due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination, after tests performed by the Wisconsin Department of Health on meat samples returned positive results for E. coli O157:H. This investigation was triggered by an E. coli O157:H7 illness in Wisconsin.
In June 2002, J&B Meats recalled 63,000 pounds of ground beef products due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The FSIS alert does not specify what prompted this particular recall.
This kind of repetition implies that the source of the problem has not been dealt with. Four major recalls from the same ground beef processor within seven years are not likely coincidental. Are we witnessing yet another case of grave, persistent neglect, similar to that of the Peanut Corporation of America and its Salmonella outbreak?
E. coli O157:H7 is not a bacterium to be played around with. It is an extremely dangerous strain of E. coli that can present symptoms of bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, dehydration, fever, fatigue, and nausea. E. coli O157:H7 can lead to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a disease that sometimes results in kidney failure and eventual death. Whatever the ongoing problem is at Establishment 5712, it needs to be eliminated before it claims more lives.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2010
