CDC Says Illnesses from Tainted Beef Could Rise

Thu Jul 25, 4:26 PM ET

By Paul Simao

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Health officials on Thursday said a recent outbreak of illnesses linked to human consumption of contaminated ground beef could widen despite a massive recall of the suspect meat.

Twenty-eight people in seven states have fallen ill in the past six weeks after eating ConAgra Foods Inc. ground beef products that were contaminated with a virulent strain of the potentially fatal Escherichia coli bacteria.

E. coli, typically acquired through contaminated food or water, causes bloody diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. In severe cases, usually involving the elderly and young children, it can lead to anemia, kidney failure and death.

Five of the victims in the current outbreak have been hospitalized with a life-threatening kidney condition.

Although ConAgra pulled nearly 19 million pounds of beef products from the market, the second largest ground beef recall in U.S. history, CDC officials said some contaminated meat could still be circulating among consumers.

"Ground beef can obviously be frozen for a long time and it is possible that cases could occur on the order of months out," said Dr. Paul Mead, a foodborne diseases expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( news - web sites).

The CDC noted that some consumers might not realize they were storing contaminated meat because ConAgra's products are sold to wholesalers who then grind, repackage and distribute the meat under different labels.

Earlier this month, the Atlanta-based agency matched the E. coli O157:H7 strain found in 18 of the victims in Colorado to a batch of the recalled ConAgra ground beef products.

In addition to the cases in Colorado, illnesses linked to ConAgra beef have been confirmed in South Dakota, California, Iowa, Michigan, Wyoming and Washington. Most victims reported eating ground beef purchased at local grocery outlets.

Last month, Omaha, Nebraska-based ConAgra issued an initial recall of more than 350,000 pounds of ground beef, one day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( news - web sites) confirmed that its inspectors had detected E. coli during routine testing.

The recall was later expanded to include an additional 18.6 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef and trimmings.

Ground beef is made from trim, carcass remnants left over after prime cuts such as steaks and roasts are removed during slaughterhouse processing. Trim is often kept in 1,000- to 2,000- pound lots.

Jim Herlihy, a spokesman for the company's ConAgra Beef Co. unit, conceded that it had not been testing all its beef trimmings before the recent E. coli outbreak.

"When we first learned of the initial positive (E. coli test) we immediately began testing any beef trimming going into ground beef, and on July 11 we began testing all beef trimmings being shipped to our customers," said Herlihy, who added that the company was confident that all its products were now safe.

Herlihy said ConAgra was continuing to consult with the USDA and was working with a molecular biologist to review the company's procedures.

The CDC said the outbreak highlighted the need for consumers to thaw ground beef in a refrigerator rather than at room temperature and cook the meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees (71 degrees Celsius).

Washing hands, utensils and surfaces that have come into contact with raw or undercooked meat with soap and hot water also can cut down on the risk of bacterial cross-contamination, the CDC said.