Restaurant Steak E coli Outbreak Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington
A multi-state restaurant steak E. coli outbreak has been associated with steaks distributed in restaurants nationwide made by National Steak and Poultry of Owasso, Oklahoma.
The company on Thursday recalled 248,000 pounds of steak products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a virulent pathogen that can lead to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) ,
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The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced in a news release that it has been investigating the problem with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state health officials, and has determined there is an association between blade-tenderized, non-intact steaks and a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington.
FSIS said National Steak and Poultry packaged the recalled steaks on October 12, 13, 14 and 21 and shipped them to restaurants nationwide. The news release did not identify the restaurants, nor did it say how many people have been infected with the outbreak strain of HUS E. coli from steak.
Anyone with signs of illness should immediately see a physician. For answers to legal questions, call national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 or by completing our online contact and information form on the side of this web page. We have been investigating this outbreak for more than a week and already have been contacted by at least one potential victim.
Our law firm is involved in practically all major outbreaks of foodborne illness and we have recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients, including patients who have contracted E. coli O157:H7 from eating mechanically tenderized steak served by national restaurant chains.
In these cases, victims have special rights under the law because it is illegal to sell non-intact cuts of beef -- those that have been pierced with blade tenderizers or injected with flavoring such as brine -- if the meat is contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Studies have shown the processes can drive surface E. coli that is normally killed in the grilling process into the center of the cut, where it can survive if the steak is served rare or medium rare (under 140 degrees Fahrenheit).
For a complete view of the National Steak and Poultry recall list, click here.
