Beef & E. coli

Note to self (AGAIN!)- try harder to Eat Less Beef... originally published in the DesMoines Register today:

The USDA's undersecretary for food safety, Richard Raymond, said he thinks distillers grains are one of several factors behind the spike in recalls."There is just something different" going on, he said in an interview last week in Arlington, Va., where he was attending a special industry conference on the E. coli problem.

Healthy cattle carry E. coli bacteria in their intestines. It isn't harmful to them but it can be deadly to people, especially children and the elderly, who eat undercooked ground beef. The bacteria get into the meat when it is processed. Proper cooking destroys the germ.

The government has not released information on the number of E. coli-related illnesses in 2007.

Raymond said the government had no intention of restricting the use of distillers grains even if the E. coli link is confirmed, and would instead leave it to the industry to decide how to address the issue. One possibility, he said, is to vaccinate cattle."I'm not about to tell the cattlemen what they are going to feed their cows," he said.

No E. coli vaccine has yet been approved or use in cattle.

argh.