Meat + Poultry - August 2007 - 44

FOODBORNE ILLNESS

affect nearby produce crops and potentially cause problems there. "We
don't understand them very well at this
point," he admits.
On the E. coli front, things have recently gotten worse. This past month,
FSIS decided to increase the number
of raw ground beef product samples
for E. coli O157:H7 that it was taking.
The agency decided to do this because of the increased numbers of E.
coli O157:H7 positive samples found
the month before. FSIS is increasing
sampling in order to find out whether
there have been any major changes in
the prevalence of this pathogen in raw
ground beef.
Back in June, United Food Group
expanded its E. coli recall of its ground
beef to include 5.7 million pounds of
product. At least 14 cases of infection
by the pathogen in five different states
have been linked to the pathogen in the
recall. Tyson Fresh Meats recalled 40,000
pounds of ground beef from Wal-Mart
stores in 12 states after testing at one
of its plants indicated there was E. coli
O157:H7 contamination in the meat.
FSIS' Goldman says despite taking an
additional 575 samples for E. coli O157:
H7 testing last month, the agency hasn't
yet found the reason for increased incidence of the pathogen. FSIS may extend the testing another month or even
more. "There are more positives than
in past years, but that could be due to
the fact that O157:H7 often spikes or
reaches a peak during the hot summer
months," Goldman notes.
Food safety experts say it will be
challenging to determine whether recent increases in foodborne illness can
be blamed on meat and poultry products or non-meat and produce foods.
"Because of the number of recalls
we've had this summer, it feels like
there's been a big increase in E. coli
O157:H7. But it may not be that it all,
it may be just a spike in the numbers,"
says Dr. Douglas Powell, associate
professor and scientific director of the
International Food Safety Network at
Kansas State Univ. "But to also look at
the bright side, at the same time, these
50

MEAT&POULTRY

August 2007

"We can't draw
cause-and-effect
conclusions from
the (CDC) data,
concerning whether
the increase in the
amount of foodborne
illness is due to meat
and poultry or to nonmeat food products,
such as produce."
recalls have prevented more people
from getting sick. The numbers of sick
people have been five, 10, 18 people,
not hundreds," he notes.
Powell points out there are several
problems in trying to "place the blame"
on foodborne illness problems, including the increased incidence of E. coli
O157:H7. "There is no database kept
on food sources for pathogens. But
if you look at food source numbers,
fresh produce seems to top the list.
But that may be due to the fact that
there is no kill step in fresh produce
production. It's fresh. And people are
eating more of it," he says.
What about Listeria? "Well, it's up a
bit. It's a very worrisome pathogen, in
that it can cause fatalities, and it can introduce stillbirths in pregnant women.
But in the case of Listeria, the increase
can be attributed to growing consumer
demand for ready-to-eat meat products,
and those are the kind of products
where this pathogen is found."

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Powell notes changing population
demographics also are responsible for
more foodborne illness. "Our population is more and more immune-suppressed. There are a lot more aging
people, people with AIDS, people
who are receiving chemotherapy. That
makes consumers more vulnerable to
these pathogens." Goldman agrees,
pointing out that many therapeutic
agents used in cancer treatments, for
example, suppress patients' immune
systems, making it harder for them to
resist the pathogens.
Powell also believes the public's increasing preference for natural foods, as
opposed to processed food, is tied to
higher pathogen levels. "Our population
is caught up in the craze for anything
'natural.' These pathogens are 'natural'
too. But what I really mean is the craze
away from processing in our food, toward raw milk, raw food, minimally
processed food. That raises the hazard
of increased numbers of pathogens that
have to be dealt with," Powell says.
According to Goldman, experts presented an elicitation on the relative risk
of meat and poultry products at FSIS'
most recent meeting on risk-based
inspection. The experts noted poultry products overall were ranked as
representing the highest potential risk
of illness to both healthy consumers
and those who are more vulnerable to
foodborne illnesses. "I haven't looked
over all the information yet, but when
you realize that Salmonella and Campylobacter are the most common foodborne illnesses in the United States,
and both are found more in poultry
than meat, it's not too surprising," he
says. "Also, even though E. coli O157:
H7 is more serious than Salmonella,
many more foodborne illness deaths
take place as a result of Salmonella
than from E. coli."
Bernard Shire is M&P's Washington correspondent
and a food safety consultant and writer for Shire &
Associates in Lancaster, Pa. He has also worked as
an editor and reporter for several daily newspapers.
We would like to hear from you - to comment on
this story or to request reprints, contact us by
e-mail at: meatpoultry@sosland.com.

http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Meat + Poultry - August 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - August 2007