E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef prompted a Tennessee recall announced by USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). The Snapp’s Ferry Packing Company of Afton, Tenn., recalled 410 pounds of hamburger in connection with an outbreak of 13 confirmed illnesses in Knox County. The contaminated meat went to three restaurants in the Knoxville area and “all of the foodborne illness cases are believed to be associated with consumption of ground beef from this packing facility,” the Knox County Health Department said. The county investigated this outbreak along with the Tennessee Department of Health and FSIS.
Under federal food safety laws, ground beef is considered categorically adulterated if it contains any amount of E. coli O157:H7. This pathogen can be lethal or cause life-long health deficits in people who are infected by it. It can quickly cause renal failure and can infect a person’s central nervous system, causing paralysis. For these reasons, it is the responsibility of meat packers, restaurants and retail food outlets to keep tainted ground beef out of the food chain.
Studies have shown lasting hypertension in people who were infected by toxic E. coli and some patients develop kidney problems later in life from vascular damage caused by E. coli bugs.
Tennessee E. coli Investigation
All of the product of concern that Knox County Health Department is aware of in Knox County has since been removed from commerce and Tennessee health officials said they believe the risk for further illness related to ground beef from Snapp’s Ferry Packing Company has been mitigated. According to FSIS, the problem in Knoxville was discovered on Jan. 19, 2016, when a positive result for E. coli O157:H7 from FSIS testing was traced back to Snapp’s Ferry as a result of an illness investigation. The local health department later told Food Poisoning Bulletin that 12 other illnesses in the area were part of the same outbreak. The Snapp’s Ferry E. coli Recall covered 410 pounds of ground beef packaged in five-pound bags.