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Recalled Meat May Have Reached Texas Grocers

Posted on: Friday, 26 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 26--About 900,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties recalled earlier this week included product that may have reached H.E.B. and Wal-Mart stores in the Rio Grande Valley.

The patties, produced at Flanders Provision Co. in Waycross, Ga., from Feb. 21 to March 10, were voluntarily recalled nationwide because the meat might be contaminated with a harmful strain of E. coli, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

H.E.B. officials are urging customers to return Flanders products for a full refund. Wal-Mart is also allowing refunds.

"Boxes have definitely been distributed to all H.E.B.s throughout the state," said store spokeswoman Christy Guth.

The strain of bacteria under scrutiny -- E. coli O157:H7 -- is potentially deadly and can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, senior citizens and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to the food-borne illness.

The problem was discovered during a USDA food safety assessment that was triggered by an epidemiological investigation after a man became sick with E. coli and said he had eaten a Flanders product, said Food Safety and Inspection Service spokesman Steven Cohen.

There have been no illnesses or deaths definitively linked to the meat, he said. There are other ways to get E. coli than from eating contaminated beef.

"There's no proof that that was the source," Cohen said. "No positive link to the product."

The recall is a Class I, which means there is a probability the meat could cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.

The food safety service is following up on how the meat became contaminated. Flanders could have received the raw material containing the bacteria from another plant.

"We're trying to isolate the supplier," Cohen said.

Most likely, the majority of boxes involved in the recall aren't contaminated, Cohen said, but he urged people to return the recalled Flanders products or others they aren't sure about to be on the safe side.

All the meat should already be off store shelves, he said.

"We want people to be cautious," he said. "If somebody has some of this in their freezer, take it back to the store for a refund."

Flanders notified H.E.B of the recall on Tuesday, and the product was immediately removed from store shelves, said H.E.B.'s Guth. The Georgia firm is required to notify its customers of the recall, and the USDA audits the process to make sure all are notified.

Five-pound boxes of Flanders frozen ground beef patties -- UPC Code 02032300516 -- with production codes 05052, 05053, 05055, 05060, 05061, 05062, 05066 and 05069 are included in the recall. There are 29 H.E.B. stores in the Valley. The five-pound boxes are the only Flanders products H.E.B. carries, she said.

Wal-Mart stores removed and destroyed Flanders meat as soon as they were notified by the Georgia firm, spokeswoman Karen Burk said. Customers can return meat that has been recalled or that they are not sure about for full refunds.

Globe Supermarket, at 915 S. 10th St. does not stock Flanders meat.

But as a precaution, Gary Curtis, the vice president of the company that owns the supermarket and affiliated stores in the Valley, sent out a message that if by any chance some the stores had some of the meat to pull it off the shelves. None of stores have any at this point, he said.

Flanders vice-president Steve Stipe did not return phone messages seeking comment.

E. coli O157:H7 is one of hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Although most strains are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Most infections come from eating undercooked ground beef.

Infection by this strain often causes severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps; sometimes the infection causes non-bloody diarrhea or no symptoms. Usually, little or no fever is present, and the illness lasts five to 10 days.

About 2 percent to 7 percent of infections lead to a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome -- particularly in children under 5, seniors and those with weakened immune systems -- in which red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail.

In the United States, the syndrome is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children, and most cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome are caused by the E. coli strain.

The bacteria will be killed if meat is cooked properly.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

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WMT,

Source: The Monitor (McAllen, Texas)

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