Cargill Ground Beef E. coli O26 Outbreak
A cluster of E. coli O26 illnesses in Maine and New York has been traced to ground beef produced by Cargill Meat Solutions of Pennsylvania. Cargill has issued a recall for 8,500 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with the dangerous pathogen. The meat was distributed to BJ’s Wholesale Club locations in eight states: New York, Maine, Connecticut, Virginia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maryland. To date three E. coli illnesses have been connected to the recall - two in Maine and one in New York.
E. coli O26 is one of the seven strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that is extremely dangerous to humans. The most prevalent strain of shiga-toxin producing E. coli is O157:H7, which is classified as an ‘adulterant’ by USDA, meaning that it is tested for, and if its presence is detected, the food is held and/or recalled. The other six strains - O26, O45, O111, O121, O145, and O103 also cause severe illnesses, but have not yet been accepted as adulterants despite great efforts by the food safety community.
Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark, has been very active in this issue. He funded a study of the prevalence of the additional six strains of E. coli, and then filed a petition with the USDA for their acceptance as adulterants. The petition is still pending.