Iowa Teenager's Death Linked to E. coli Was Preventable
The death of a teenager from Monroe, Iowa has been linked to E. coli. Although the source of the E. coli that killed her may never be found, what we do know is that her death was preventable. It was preventable because E. coli spreads via feces, and this spread of contaminated feces is preventable.
In the last few months about 28 million pounds of ground beef products have been recalled, most of it prompted by E. coli infections in people who ate the products. There has also been a recall of almost 5 million Jeno’s and Totino’s pizzas by General Mills. Slaughterhouses are letting manure get onto beef carcass scraps that are sent to be processed. Processing plants don’t do enough testing for E. coli and use grinding procedures that allow hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of pounds of ground beef to be contaminated. Even the threat of lawsuits is not enough to make the beef industry clean up its act. Although the USDA-FSIS is taking some actions, it is too little too late.
There have also been nationwide E. coli outbreaks linked to fresh spinach and lettuce. The contamination of produce with E. coli is also preventable. Again, it is feces—usually cow manure—that is the source of the E. coli contamination. Cow manure gets into irrigation water, is tracked into a field, or finds its way to a field during a flood. More testing needs to be done at every point from field to fork, and farmers should not plant fields close to cattle ranches or in flood zones (yes, this happens).
The E. coli problem has to be seriously addressed by federal and state governments and the food industries that are cutting corners to make more of a profit. We have contacted our federal legislators and encourage others to do the same.
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Fred Pritzker is one of the leading food safety lawyers in the United States. He represent victims of E. coli outbreaks and the families of victims who have died. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form.
