E. coli in burger sparks meat industry controversy

no expense should be spared if it is sold and consumed by the public when they expect to buy safe meat....they are the ones who sell it they need to make sure it is safe... ask them WOULD YOU BUY IT FOR YOUR OWN FAMILY ???? if not it is not safe !!!!!!!!!!!!

My Son is 23 and 7 years ago he survived E Coli/HUS. 2 years ago he was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease and was placed on dialysis. which stemmed from the infection. He received a Kidney in July and now has to take 14 pills in the morning and 8 in the evening.

I feel for these parents because you do everything is perfect and this still happens.

FYi
When my son was 6 or 7 years old (in 1969 o 1970) he ate a hamburger at Jack in the Box (in Houston, Texas). He was hospitalized and almost died. he had been infected with a bacteria called 'shegela'. It was a horrible experience. -
Nicole Treves

I notice no mention of the increase of contamination of e coli being associated with centralized processing. In the 70s and 80s case where rare. You Had a local butcher not a central processing plant where contamination can be distributed to mass quantities of meat. Ground beef was made on a daily basis not vacuum packaged. The Meat cutter used trimmings from steak and was trained in food handling. Today there are no real meat cutters just stockers.

What we should eat is 'written' in our face= mouth!
Our teeth tell the story, make the demand for vegetables!
If we were made to eat meat we would have the teeth of dogs, wolves, etc.!- and would also have a much shorter digestive system.
Based alone on latter, we also have our dire colon problems.

I want to know if you buy a piece of chuck steak and have the grocer grind it for you would you be as exposed to e-coli? One of my favorite things is a hamburger. I never eat pre-ground and packaged meat. Larry ask the right questions!!!!!

Nicole, that bacteria was 'Shigella', and my husband says that it is very closely related to the E. coli O157/H7 strain that has been causing these specific foodborne infections.

I think a massive education campaign to get consumers to thoroughly cook ground beef could go a long way to cutting down on the numbers of these E. coli O157/H7 infections. As part of this, perhaps the meat producers could distribute free meat thermometers for everyone (since hamburger meat cooked to a specific temperature can kill this E. coli strain)?

According to classical Biochemistry text book, majority of plant proten source lacks three vital amino acids (threonin, arginin, proline; so far I can remember). We need to supplement our diet with measured amount of animal protein. In fact many herbivorous animals take some form of animal proteins (like insects and smaller animals). That’s how our evolution took place and our diet was selected.
Moreover, we now do not enough physical activities to digest the amount of oil (fat) and carb we will consume if we like to meet our protein requirements by plant protein source. E.g if we eat the richest protein source form plant , Soybean, we will get about 33% protein but we also will have about 35% oil and equally good amount of carb.
I think, most of the animals who mainly live on plant diet run a lot, burn energy more than carnivore (higher in food chain).

I was raised on a lacto ovo vegetarian diet. (eats eggs, drinks milk, no fish or meat)
My 102 yr old mom converted to this practice at approx 30 yrs age.
Prior to that she tells me she was a "meat & potato" person.
She has described a history of illness until after changing.
I'm inclined to agree with Dr Campbell. (Beans combined with rice, or with wheat will provide all of the amino acids (protein) cantained in red meat.)

Death’s from e-coli and other food-born illnesses is tragic, but the real tragedy and the literally millions of people who die each year from heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other illness cause by any meat consumption. Eating meat is not safe regardless of the amount. These people really need to read Dr. Campbell’s research.

Whoever the industry spokesman was who said that hamburger is made from the trim off the best cuts should not be a spokesman for anything. I grew up in the meat packing industry. Both of our family businesses involved meat packing and commercial meat supply. I have made commercial, high quality ground beef for MacDonald's and I know what we grade of meat we ground. We did NOT use the tenderloin as he suggested. Even the lowest grade carcasses [canner and cutter] had the tenderloin extracted to sell as steak. I really fear for those who trust the quality of our meat supply in this country.

Innovation in testing for pathogens has seen amazing advances in speed, accuracty and cost; and tests are essential for both government and the private sector to assure that safety plans are being followed. Stronger government standards for pathogen control and stronger fines and other penalties are essential to provide STRONG economic incentives for firms to provide safer food!

A reasonable amount of meat, including ground meats, is part of a healthy diet.

While E-coli is appears naturally in animals and is easily transfered to the meat we eat, it is virtually eliminated by proper cooking and handling.

I tried to call in, but didn't get through. I wanted to know WHO FUNDS NANCY RODRIGUEZ'S RESEARCH??? Well, I researched it myself and here is what I found:
Dr. Rodriguez has an active research program that has been extramurally funded by agencies including USDA, NIH, the American Heart Association, the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Egg Nutrition Center.

NO KIDDING!!! I would have never guessed. It is unconsionable that this was not divulged before the debate! Dr. Campbell's research was funding by NIH, Oxford U, Cornell and the American Cancer Society...long before special interests were allowed to fund up to 49 percent of research studies. You need to clarify her position.

The beef industry should be ashamed of themselves. What are they afraid that we'll find out if they open their doors for people to see how they really operate? They siphon money from Americans to subsize their businesses and then they produce cheaply raised, unhealthy, hormone ridden, antibiotic laced, infected and diseased raised animals- and they market it as 'healthy'. Unbelieveable!

E. coli naturally occurs in the environment. It is impossible to eliminate it completely.

The meat production industry does everything it can to produce a safe product. More responsibility falls on consumers to handle and prepare the food you make safe for you and your family.

Do you know the proper temperature to which ground beef or any other types of meat, should be cooked to, to kill pathogenic bacteria. IF you don't, you probably aren't cooking it long enough. Ground meets should be cooked to at least 155 to 160 degrees F. How many of us actually use a thermometer when we cook. If you want to guarantee a safe product, take it into your own hands. Learn how food should get stored in your refrigerator to prevent cross contamination, know how to cook chicken to the proper temp, make sure your meats are the last thing you get at the grocery store and the first thing you put away at home. Before you demand more from the production industry, make sure you are doing everything you can to protect yourself and your family from organisms that are in the environment, if you like it or not.

Does anyone realize that humans carry E-coli naturally in their own intestinal tract as well? We can even contaminate ourselves with our own poor hygiene habits and poor food handling habits. What happened to personal responsibility? Yes, of course we need to constantly better our food supply in this country and we should always strive for higher standards, but safe food handling, good hygiene and being responsible for the foods we eat in our daily life (no matter where we consume it) is on our shoulders. The particular strain of E-coli that is occasionally found in ground beef can be killed with proper cooking it to 160 degrees Fehrenheit. An instant-read meat thermometer cost very little. A small investment to ensure your food is cooked to the proper internal temperature.

Cooking, handling and storage is very important.

Sorry to hear the sad stories experienced by the people above.

Thank you for bringing this story to light.

I think your program missed another important point - the environmental impact of eating beef. Cattle produce large amounts of waste both into the groundwater and the atmosphere. As consumption of meat increases, so does the impact on our planet.

If everyone person on the planet were to eat a single hamburger a day, it would produce more greenhouse gases (methane) than all of the cars on the planet combined.

Eating beef is very dangerous to our health for many reasons.

I have a comment on last nights show re animal protein vs plant derived proteins and the impact on ones over health.

I am a hospitality executive and have served my whole professional career in Food Service. What no one seemed to discuss last night was the diets of the indigenous people of North America who hardly were more foragers than hunters. Look and the Nort American Indians on the West Coast and the Inuit Peoples of the north yet they have very balanced amino systems with diets heavily weighted in protein and fat.

One question that begs to be answered is how many centurions have been put on the history books who have lived to be a 100 on a pure vegetarian diet? None that I know of, I could be wrong but if there are they are far outweighted by those of us who enjoy red meat, fish, poultry. As Chef Bodin said it is all about moderation and a balanced life style.

Thanks

Is anyone in the cattle and meat industry aware that a Canadian biotech company Bioniche Life Sciences has developed a vaccine that has been proven extremely effective in the shedding of the e-coli bacteria in the intestines of cattle?
Econiche has passed its trials and is now fully approved for sale in Canada. It has received conditional approval in the U.S. but so far, the FDA is dragging its feet on giving full approval for sale in the U.S.
It would seem to me that since this vaccine has been proven safe and effective that there should be legislation for mandatory use by cattle producers and the meat industry.
Anyone interested can read the details by googling Bioniche Life Sciences or Bioniche.com. The name of the product is Econiche.

According to the Center for Science out of Washington DC, The Top 5 Riskiest Foods Regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are:
1. Leafy Greens
2. Eggs
3. Tuna
4. Oysters
5. Potatos

Watch out for the natural estorgens in soybeans. More and more research show this can contribute to breast cancer.

Nancy D'Alessandro. Good point. That is exactly what I thought, that Nancy Rodriquez had to have been backed by the Meat and Dairy industry, because she just was not making sense on how much she was pushing to include meat in the diet.

I have been to the factory farms and have friends who have investigated the slaughterhouses. No meat is safe. There is a great book out, Slaughterhouses, which has testimony after testimony of the workers in these facilities saying they would not eat the meat ever again after working there.

We need to adopt the standards of the UK and Japan and test all the meat that is to be consumed by the public. I laughed at the Meat Industry rep who said they test 15,000 cows for ecoli. When the US slaughters 10 billion animals a year!

Also the Meat spokesman summed it up. They have factory farms to supply the lowest, cheapest form of food for the public. Cheap = cutting costs = danger for the public.

Do yourself a favor...include a friend or family member! STOP eating meat and dairy for 30 days. See how you feel. That is all....
We as humans can live a long, happy and healthy life by eating a raw vegan diet. Google raw food and see what you find. You can thank me later....

Hi! I'm an animal science student at Texas A&M and am currently in a class about food bacteriology. Why I am writing in is to tell you that you can obtain e. coli from basically anything, so for those of you saying only eat vegetables and so forth need to back up. It generally comes down to this its in fecal matter that you generally fertilize many crops with. I understand that this is a really sad and there are many very unfortunate cases of it but we are supposed to eat meat. By no means am I trying to convert anyone but in Genesis in the Bible it says to eat meat, just don't eat humans. Foodborne illnesses are out there, its a risk you take with having other people make your food, even your mother can cause you to have a food borne disease. I am a huge supporter of agriculture, obviously with my major and all, but handle your food the right way. Eat a home more. Realize that its your fault if you eat out and get sick. Be careful and sanitize. Thanks and gig em'.

Nancy D'Alessandro makes a great point above. Nancy Rodriguez's research is funded by, among other animal food producers, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

It seems to me that most of us choose our diet based on emotional issues. Then we rationalize our decision by picking things that support that decision.

We can make foods saver by more thorough testing even when the incidences do not necessarily support that requirement on a scientific basis. Who has the right to decide what one illness or death is worth? Irradiation seems to be a viable tool and those who do not like that have alternatives with organic products for which they must pay.

We do a good job of tracking our food sources, but that needs to be improved and foods need to be labeled better as to source and processing. The USDA and FDA need to be taken to task for not doing their job better.

I 100% understand the fact that our bodies are omnivorous. I will not deny that. Though I would have to say that the process in which we obtain MOST of our food in the US, especially meats and dairy has been severely altered and exploited to a point where most people have lost their grasp of what food really is. If we were meant to eat a pound or two of meat daily our bodies would be designed to obtain this meat without tools as well as eat and digest this meat without irradiating, cooking or otherwise. We do have a natural ecology in our bodies that can take care of small amounts e. coli from plant or animal should we be wise enough to maintain it.
When we crave meat, do we actually think of running across a field and killing an animal, or do we think of a pre-prepared meal with the meat of your choice hunted, dressed, preserved and prepared by someone other than yourself? Or is it a big assembly line that is squirting the meat with a high volume delivery system into a patty-press? I'll take my chances with the lettuce in my garden...or even more horrible SPROUTS that I've grown myself!
We are being told from many sources every day that the "food" we need in order to survive comes from this company or that company when very few of us would actually be able to survive if all of these "companies" were to cease and desist. I will eat some local fish or meat I catch myself or that was caught by a friend. Sparingly and with the full knowledge of what I'm doing for myself and whatever we plan to leave left for our kids. We need to be taught how to eat, not what to eat. Research food, plants, animals and anatomy not K-Fed, Sonic, Nike and Apple. Thank you.

Who cares who funds Nancy Rodriguez's research...if you have ever read it you would know it's completely transparent and peer reviewed...It has to be due to such high scrutiny because of this reason.

I also agree that it should have been made known that Nancy Rodriquez has major ties with the beef and dairy industries. These industries have a lot to gain from people eating animal products...and they have a lot to lose if they don't.

What does T. Colin Campbell have to gain from more people eating a whole food plant based diet? He said so himself- he started his research determined to prove the American meat eating diet was superior to all others...and when he found this to be wrong, he couldn't hide it.

Instead of worrying about E.Coli in our beef...we really should be worrying about what that beef is really doing to our health (contaminated or not). Thanks to T. Colin Campbell and his unbias, scientifically researched information...it's great to get the word out!

Good point...we should worry about what beef and meat offers to our health. We live in a country that is over fed yet under nourished...and yet we want to blame others for our downfalls. For your information, as many as 19 percent of adult men and 31 percent of adult women have dietary protein intakes of all sources that are below the current Recommended Dietary Allowance and young males and females ages 12-19 are fall even further below the current RDA along with other important nutrients. By simply adding a small 3-ounce portion of lean high quality protein each day, we can easily combat nutrient deficiencies without adding unnecessary calories to the already calorie burdened society. Balancing nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy products and protein, along with exercise, takes education and diligence...there's no magic to it.