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E. Coli ...Whole Food Market?

post #1 of 13
8/9/08 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
In my local Florida paper this morning I read. Whole Food Markets is recalling fresh beef sold between June 2 and August 6 because the meat is containated with E coli bacteria. The company received reports that 7 people in Massachusetts, two in Pennsylvania who purchaded meat st there stores became ill. The recalled Beef might have been sold in several other states including Florida, For more Info call 512-0878.
It seems ironic to me that the recall just was announced on meat purchased from the 2 of June to date. Most of this stuff was probably consummed already. This beef probably sold for double what other markets charged. And at Whole Foods which Guru's tell me is the pinnacle of health when it comes to food what went wrong? The problem again The FDA which should have known and released this info in June.. Folks I tell you beware as our government does very little re. food supply. If you dont look out for yourself they wont either.
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post #2 of 13
8/9/08 at 1:56pm
So the last clean inspection was June 2nd. Lovely.
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post #3 of 13
8/9/08 at 2:12pm
Apparently, Whole Foods had been (mistakenly) assured that their beef did not come from that plant.

Remember, cook ground beef to 160 F.
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post #4 of 13
8/9/08 at 3:10pm
I just picked up beef tenderloin from Whole Foods today and I knew of the recall on the ground beef.

Mistakes happen, and its not like you can tell beef had E. Coli by looking at it. If its an honest mistake, it happens, if it was due to neglect then you have a problem with the store.
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post #5 of 13
8/9/08 at 6:17pm
Last I heard the recall has spread to 21 states including MN. The meat came from a plant in Nebraska. I just loaded a quarter of locally grown grass fed beef into the freezer. It is also butchered locally by a small family shop so I know its safer. The floor in the butcher shop is spotless every time I have been in there. Best part was it was $2.87 a pound :D
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post #6 of 13
8/9/08 at 7:46pm

Steaks & larger cuts of meat are usually safe, because the bacteria would only be on the surface, and you will definitely cook the outside of the meat. Ground meat is a problem because the bacteria gets mixed throughout the meat, and if the interior of the meat doesn't get cooked to temp, the bacteria won't be killed.
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post #7 of 13
8/9/08 at 7:52pm
Properly handled meat for grinding is safe. I have asked the butcher there and he will grab some and eat it raw. They also offer "canibal meat" which is ground beef, onion, garlic, salt, pepper eaten raw on rye.
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post #8 of 13
8/9/08 at 10:11pm
What? No capers in the steak tartare? If you eat a lot of ground meat, I'll suggest you get a meat grinder and do it yourself, using fresh whole cuts of meat rather than buying stuff that was produced in some factory 18 states away.

mjb.
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post #9 of 13
8/9/08 at 10:18pm
My beef is processed 20 miles from where I live :lol: the local butcher slaughters, cuts, wraps, and delivers. I have several grinders and am looking for a electric one to spare my shoulders.
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post #10 of 13
8/10/08 at 6:33am
Thread Starter 
Everyone is missing the point, the recall was from June 2, to Aug 8. It started two monthes ago. Why so long in notifying the public, in most cases its already been consumed.
And my biggest question where is The F.D.A.? My humble opinion they are worthless an inneffective. If they didn"t put the packing plants on self inspection this may not happen.
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post #11 of 13
8/10/08 at 6:43am
This is how epidemiology works.

First you need to even know there is a problem. One person getting sick doesn't narrow it down and give you a cause. You just have a sick guy. E. Coli isn't exactly a rare bacteria so you just have a sick guy. Odds are they were most likely asking him about produce, you do recall that about tomatoes, than not tomatoes, then jalapenos etc.

So then you get another sick guy at another hospital, miles away.

Then another, then another.

Finally someone can say, 'wow thats a lot of E. Coli problems' and start to narrow it down.

It takes TIME to do so, time to narrow the cause, especially on something thats in multiple states.

Then you figure out where you THINK its coming from (see the tomato thing, they still are not 100% sure there last time I looked) but you don't know exactly when the problem started so you give a very wide safe range, just to be sure.

This isn't CSI where you have perfect evidence, and know exactly where it came from, with only one sample, all done in nice mood lighting.

As for the inspection issue, my taxes are high enough thanks, and we are pretty good at stopping foodborn illnesses these days.
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post #12 of 13
8/10/08 at 8:48am
Ed, June 2nd was the last time the plant was inspected clean. That's why. There were probably no inspections between then and the date they announced the recall.
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post #13 of 13
8/10/08 at 8:50am
I gotta agree with Doc on this. It takes time to realize that there is a problem by linking multiple reports of illness. Then the common link needs to be indentified; in this case meat. Then investigators need to determine the processor and from there what batches of meat are suspect. This information then generates the recall which usually involves a larger pool of product than actually contributed to the problem--just to cover the bases so to speak. Beyond that the investigators try to track back to the farm where the problem started. As Doc noted E. coli is very common and widespread so at some point if becomes almost futile to pinpoint the start of things.

If I recall correctly, the manure of grain fed cattle is loaded with the more noxious E. coli strain. Apparently this is not the case with grass fed cattle. Its been awhile since I looked at this information so please do your own research to confirm or dispell.

The process of moving any form of livestock from farm to table is a dirty business which provides ample opprotunity every step of the way for contamination to occur.
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