Where's the Beef?
Sorry, I just couldn’t resist. The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a public health alert for about 14,800 pounds of missing ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli. Reuters reports:
I see, it’s all so clear now, E. coli, the classic love-hate relationship.
The alert came after a trailer containing the ground beef was reported stolen by Texas American Food Service Corporation, the USDA said in a statement.You know, over the past couple of years E. coli has gotten a lot of press. It’s about time we learn more about it, especially since it apparently runs wild in our food supply. Here are some highlights—or should I say lowlights—from Wikipedia. Take a look:
The firm, based in Fort Worth, Texas, does business as American Fresh Foods. A company spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Symptoms of E. coli 0157:H7 illness, the strain associated with the alert, include potentially severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and dehydration. Children, the elderly and people with poor immune systems are most vulnerable.
Escherichia coli (pronounced E. coli), is a bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for costly product recalls…In keeping with today’s science lesson, here are a couple pictures of the E. coli bacteria. Enjoy, well, not really. Just have a look:
…E. coli normally colonizes an infant's GI tract within 40 hours of birth, arriving with food or water or the individuals handling the child. In the bowel, it adheres to the mucus of the large intestine. Wild-type E. coli has no growth factor requirements; it can synthesize all the components of its cell from glucose. It is the primary facultative organism of the human GI tract. As long as these bacteria do not acquire genetic elements encoding for virulence factors, they remain benign commensals…
…Certain strains of E. coli, such as O157:H7, O121 and O104:H21, are toxigenic (some produce a toxin very similar to that seen in dysentery). They can cause food poisoning usually associated with eating unwashed vegetables and contaminated meat (contaminated during or shortly after slaughter or during storage or display). O157:H7 is further notorious for causing serious, even life threatening complications like Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). The usual countermeasure is cooking suspect meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 °C), or is "well done"; the alternative of careful inspection of slaughtering and butchering methods (to make sure that the animal's colon is removed and not punctured) has apparently not been systematically tried. This particular strain is linked to the 2006 United States E. coli outbreak of fresh spinach.
I see, it’s all so clear now, E. coli, the classic love-hate relationship.
