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Packer Sues Church Over E-Coli?

Mike

Well-known member
Meat plant sues Longville church over E. coli
A woman died and 17 people fell ill after eating at a Longville, Minn., church potluck in 2006.

By Matt McKinney, Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2007 – 10:53 PM


In a twist on the typical food safety lawsuit, a meat plant is suing a church after a deadly E. coli outbreak, pinning blame for the contagion on the church kitchen.
The Nebraska Beef Ltd. slaughterhouse alleged to be the source of ground beef that killed one and sickened 17 in Longville, Minn., last year has sued Salem Lutheran Church.

The lawsuit alleges that volunteer cooks at the church's monthly potluck were negligent as they prepared meatballs out of ground beef purchased at a local grocery store.

"If you went to eat at McDonald's and they didn't process the food right, why would you be less mad if you went to a church smorgasbord," said Gary J. Gordon, the Minneapolis lawyer representing the Omaha slaughterhouse. "Everybody that's providing food to the public has to adhere to a certain standard of reasonable care."

The church supper was immediately suspect in the contagion that spread fear and sickness through rural Longville on July 19, 2006. Nearly all of the people who fell ill had eaten at the potluck, including Carolyn Hawkinson, 73, who died a month and a day later.

Health investigators soon narrowed their focus to meatballs contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, determining the meat had come from one of two slaughterhouses that had supplied a local grocery store with beef.

Now the company says the outbreak was the church's fault. No one at the church had any comment Tuesday.

"This was the first big case that we had seen in years," said Bill Marler, an attorney based in Seattle who has handled numerous E. coli cases nationwide. He filed three lawsuits earlier this month alleging that Nebraska Beef, along with distributor Interstate Meat Services and Longville supermarket Tabaka's Supervalu should be held responsible for Hawkinson's death and the illnesses of two others.

Nebraska Beef never cited?

A curious aspect of the legal case is that there is no public record available that cites Nebraska Beef as the source of the contamination. A USDA investigation shortly afterward apparently found the source of the outbreak but would not name it, according to a report from the state Department of Health.

That's the standard policy, according to a spokeswoman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service: A plant responsible for an outbreak is not named.

When asked why, the spokeswoman, Amanda Eamich, said: "It just is not."

If there had been a recall or if the agency found violations of food safety rules, the plant's name would become public, she added.

"It's our goal to get the source of contamination, to determine the source and make sure the appropriate measures are taken," Eamich said.

Marler, the attorney representing Hawkinson and other victims of the Longville outbreak, said he linked the company to the outbreak through his own investigation.

Reversing a trend

A federal inspector at the Nebraska Beef plant found E. coli O157:H7 bacteria and took a genetic fingerprint of it, sending that information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which maintains a database of all E. coli samples, according to Marler.

State health officials, meanwhile, took genetic samples of the E. coli found in Minnesota victims and sent those to the CDC as well, leading to a match with the Nebraska plant, according to Marler.

"The reality is they cannot hide from the genetic fingerprint that was found at their plant," said Marler. He said he plans to subpoena the USDA to release the genetic fingerprint tying Nebraska Beef to the Longville outbreak.

State epidemiologist Kirk Smith said he also believes that Nebraska Beef was the source, wondering why they would file a lawsuit blaming the church if they weren't.

"If they're not involved in this, why do they care?" he asked.

He released a report on the outbreak that concluded the tainted meat had come from one of two plants, identified only as "Plant A" and "Plant B," adding in the report that the USDA would not share with the State Department of Health the name of the plant that supplied the tainted meat. He said Tuesday that Plant A was Nebraska Beef.

Nebraska Beef Ltd. fought off an attempt by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to shut down the plant in 2003. The government argued that serious violations of food safety rules warranted a temporary closure. The company won a reprieve in court by arguing that it could not survive financially if it were temporarily closed.

The Longville case was the first outbreak in a series of high-profile E. coli cases in beef nationwide that reversed a trend of fewer cases each year, puzzling researchers.

"There's a setback here somewhere, and we don't know why," Smith said.

The CDC recommends cooking beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to kill the E. coli bacteria.

Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329


Matt McKinney • [email protected]
 

Tex

Well-known member
Is this the future of beef processors? Blame the consumers for the bad meat and not allow it to be traced back to the source---THEM?

The USDA needs to be held accountable. NCBA needs to admit that blaming the consumers for their misdeeds is a CROCK! They need to be extricated from the USDA!
 

PORKER

Well-known member
He released a report on the outbreak that concluded the tainted meat had come from one of two plants, identified only as "Plant A" and "Plant B," adding in the report that the USDA would not share with the State Department of Health the name of the plant that supplied the tainted meat. He said Tuesday that Plant A was Nebraska Beef.

When Food safety is at risk, prison should be an option not fines.
 

Tex

Well-known member
PORKER said:
He released a report on the outbreak that concluded the tainted meat had come from one of two plants, identified only as "Plant A" and "Plant B," adding in the report that the USDA would not share with the State Department of Health the name of the plant that supplied the tainted meat. He said Tuesday that Plant A was Nebraska Beef.

When Food safety is at risk, prison should be an option not fines.

I think that if jail time was a real option, the people participating in frauds would not be as willing to do so. It is one thing to make money for someone with no accountability. If you could be held accountable personally, you are not likely to commit the fraud.

Health inspections are posted in restaurants for the public to see. Why is the USDA not being transparent here? Is it to protect the ones they should be regulating? Who supports policies like this and are they getting any money or other compensation from the industry?
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
PORKER said:
He released a report on the outbreak that concluded the tainted meat had come from one of two plants, identified only as "Plant A" and "Plant B," adding in the report that the USDA would not share with the State Department of Health the name of the plant that supplied the tainted meat. He said Tuesday that Plant A was Nebraska Beef.

When Food safety is at risk, prison should be an option not fines.

What would China do???? :eek: :shock: :shock:
 
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