The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has warned about a possible salmonella contamination of ground beef sold at Safeway food stores.
The FSIS public health alert issued on 20th December, follows a multi-state investigation by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the California Department of Public Health, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of outbreaks of 38 cases of salmonellosis or infection by Salmonella, in Arizona (16 cases), California (18 cases), Idaho (1 case) and Nevada (3 cases).
Public health officials carried out a case controlled epidemiological investigation of the different outbreaks after finding the bacteria had the same genetic fingerprint. The pattern was spotted in the PulseNet database that is kept by the CDC. The database is a way of pooling lab results on a national scale to help identify large scale outbreaks.
The contamination is thought to have occurred in beef that was ground and sold at Safeway supermarkets between 19th September and 5th November 2007, in the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico.
Despite an exhaustive investigation, FSIS said it was not able to identify specific establishments and track down lot and product codes, which would have led to a specific product recall, so it decided to issue a general alert instead. The federal agency said there is no reason to believe the products are still on sale.
Consumers who bought fresh ground beef products from Safeway supermarkets between 19th September and 5th November and put them in the freezer should throw them away.
This outbreak involves a relatively rare strain of the bacteria called Salmonella Newport which is resistant to many commonly prescribed drugs and causes the same symptoms as other strains of Salmonella including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever within 8 to 72 hours.
Because this strain of Salmonella is multi-drug resistant, it could increase the risk of treatment failure in some people, who may need to go to hospital.
Salmonellosis is usually disagreeable rather than dangerous. It can be life-threatening however to those with weakened immune systems such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.
To reduce your chance of getting a foodborne illness, you should always take care when handling and preparing raw meat. Here is a reminder:
- Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry.
- Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water.
- Clean up spills straight away.
- Keep raw meat out of contact with other food that will not be cooked.
- Don’t let raw meat drip onto other food in the refrigerator; keep it in a leak proof container.
- Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry, egg products and cooked foods.
- Cook raw meat to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Centigrade).
- Raw poultry should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Centigrade).
- Get a food thermometer so you can measure internal temperature correctly.
- Put raw and cooked meat and poultry in the refrigerator within two hours of being bought or cooked, or within 1 hour on hot days.
Click here for more information on Safe Food Handling (Partnership for Food Safety Education).
Source: FSIS news release.
Written by: Catharine Paddock