Ground Beef Recalled after Salmonella Infects Those Who Ate Meat Raw

Ground meat from Michigan is being recalled after 16 individuals became infected with Salmonella Typhimurium. It is important to point out that at least 7 of those people ate the meat raw as part of an middle eastern dish. (Perhaps there were a few others who ate it raw, but have not admitted it.)

There has been a growing trend of eating raw meat. There are even raw meat diets. On Livestrong.com (the Lance Armstrong related group), they suggest using organic as a way to supply your raw meat needs....right, like that will work.(http://www.livestrong.com/article/541420-is-it-bad-to-eat-raw-meat/).

So if a small processor sells some meat to a person, and this person makes a raw meat dish for his/her band of raw-meat-diet groupies, and all 12 of them come down with a Salmonella infection, will that processor be forced to recall that lot of meat, even though the rest of the customers who bought that same meat were smart enough to cook it?

And do you think the people who ate the raw meat will file a lawsuit? You bet they will. http://www.marlerblog.com/legal-cases/marler-clark-retained-in-raw-ground-beef-salmonella-kibbeh-cases-in-michigan/

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked to Ground Beef
CDC Release - Posted January 25, 2013 05:30 PM ET

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium-01-13/index.html

Highlights
· A total of 16 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 5 states.
The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (1), Illinois (2), Iowa (1), Michigan (9), and Wisconsin (3).
53% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

· Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicated that ground beef produced by Jouni Meats, Inc. and Gab Halal Foods are likely sources of this outbreak.
Seven of the ill persons reported eating a raw ground beef dish at the same restaurant before becoming ill. The restaurant served raw beef to customers and had acquired the raw beef from two retailers.
On January 24, 2013, JouniMeats, Inc. recalled approximately 500 pounds of ground beef products .
On January 25, 2013, Gab Halal Foods recalled approximately 550 pounds of ground beef products.

· Consumers should not eat raw or undercooked ground beef.

· CDC recommends that consumers do not eat recalled ground beef products and that they dispose of any remaining recalled product in their home or return the product to the place of purchase.
This is especially important for children under the age of 5 years, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems because these people are at a higher risk for serious illness.
Consumers should check their freezers for recalled products and not eat them.

CDC: Salmonella linked to ground beef behind 5-state outbreak
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57566378/cdc-salmonella-linked-to-ground-beef-behind-5-state-outbreak/

Salmonella food poisoning tied to ground beef produced in Michigan has sickened 16 people in five states, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No one has died, but more than half of those sickened were hospitalized. Nine of the illnesses have been in Michigan, but a few cases were scattered in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Seven people ate a raw ground beef dish called kibbeh last month at a suburban Detroit restaurant that wasn't identified. Health officials say consumers should not eat uncooked meat.

The CDC said the cases have been linked to last week's recall of more than 1,000 pounds of ground beef from two Michigan businesses, Troy-based Gab HalalFoods and Sterling Heights-based JouniMeats.

The agency recommends that consumers do not eat any of the recalled beef products and dispose of any remaining in their home, or return it to the place of purchase. Consumers should also check their freezers for the recalled products.

Within 72 hours of being infected with salmonella bacteria, people may experience diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. The illness, called salmonellosis, may last from four to seven days and most people will recover without treatment. However, children under the age of 5 years, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems may be at a higher risk for more severe illness.

About 42,000 causes of salmonellosis occur in the United States each year.