1 million pounds of ground beef recalled

[Robbien]

Source: MSNBC

MODESTO, Calif. — A meat processor recalled about 1 million pounds of ground beef products Friday after seven people were sickened by E. coli contamination.

Valley Meat Co., of Modesto, sold the potentially contaminated beef patties and ground beef in California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The beef was processed from Oct. 2, 2009, to Jan. 12, 2010. Most of the products were sold frozen and the company was working to remove them from grocery store shelves.

. . .

All of the recalled products have the establishment number "EST. 8268" inside the label's USDA mark of inspection. Valley Meat said consumers should discard possibly affected meat or return it to stores for a refund.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38594306/ns/health-food_safety/

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Eight months. It took them eight months to recall.

[kestrel91316]

1. And it's 3.5 months' worth of production. FILTHY plant and bad procedures, it seems.

[SoCalNative]

2. Because, contrary to popular belief

recalls are all voluntary and the USDA has no authority to make processors, manufacturers, etc., recall any product.

[Warpy]

3. Still, people are eating commercially ground beef

after recall on top of recall. A patty of that recalled stuff can have as many as a thousand carcasses in it. All it takes is one contaminated carcass to contaminate the whole batch of burger.

The best way to do it is to get a whole piece of chuck. Ask the market for extra fat. Then take it home, wash it, and grind it up. You can use a food processor or a couple of knives and a cutting board if you don't have a meat grinder.

If you must use commercially ground beef for some reason, use it in recipes where you cook it to death. Salmonella, E.coli and other intestinal bugs are killed at 160 F held for a few minutes. Bifstek tartare is off the menu, as is that rare hamburger oozing bloody juice.

[Duer 157099]

6. So when you say "wash it" do you mean just rinse with water?

When I want to make med rare hamburgers, I do as you suggest and grind my own, but I always think about "what about the surface" because even when I have a rare steak, the surface is always seared.

I never knew how to resolve it unless I cut away all the surface meat and cooked it. But you mention washing it, which I (strangely) never considered. But to kill bacteria, you need warm water and soap, but won't that mess up the meat?

[Warpy]

12. Water and friction is what you need

to dislodge surface bugs, which is the only possible contamination in a solid hunk of meat. Soap doesn't do anything but allow grease to form a colloid solution with water and is unnecessary and counterproductive unless you're doing the dishes afterward.

Searing at high temperature also kills surface contamination with fecal bugs but it seems a bit strange to cut seared meat away. It's the best part, IMO, the Maillard reaction giving it the optimum in flavor.

[Duer 157099]

13. I meant cut the surface away before grinding

and use the cut away portions for grilling.

[Warpy]

14. Water and friction will dislodge the bugs

and send them down the drain.

[Duer 157099]

15. That is good to know! I recently ground up some nice beef

but I was still a bit nervous about eating it med rare because I didn't wash the surface of the meat first.

Next time! :thumbsup:

[Paper Roses]

4. Took long enough.

How are some of us to know if the product we have is part of a recall when we get it or thereafter?

My grocery store manager told me that meats are bought in bulk and divided into consumer package sizes. We have no way of knowing where the product came from originally.

There have been many product recalls that I have wondered about. Bottom line? I kept them. No identification. Worse, I subdivide things into 1 person portions. No way in heck to trace the chicken and hamburg I buy.

I hope you are all on the USDA mailing list. There are tons of things recalled that never reach the press.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/index.asp

[ThomThom]

5. That is the real heart of the problem

Some neighborhood grocers are gone put out of business by the chains. We had people we know handling,cutting and packaging our meats. They cared about their customers and took care of them. Now we get what ever crap some unknown company wants to sell. That meat has gone out and the recall is meaningless this far after the fact. We need more inspectors with some power to crack down.

That name sounds familiar, didn't they have a huge recall a couple years ago?

[daggahead]

7. That's a lot of dead cows. n/t

[Ian David]

10. It COULD all be from just one REALLY big cow.

[valerief]

8. Good thing the meat industry regulates itself. Wouldn't want govt regulating it.

That would be Big Govt. and we know that's bad. Why? Um, just because.

:sarcasm:

[Ian David]

9. The free market should decide how much e. Coli people are willing to eat. n/t

[SteveM]

11. Stick with ground venison. Kill & process your own deer...

That way you are in charge of the "chain of custody." Hunting is an alternative for some in this day of questionable foods.