A Little Cargill History of E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria Outbreaks

Cargill Ground Beef 2018 – 17 Ill, 1 Death – E. coli O26

On Aug. 16, 2018, FSIS was notified of an investigation of E. coli O26 illnesses. FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state public health and agriculture partners determined that raw ground beef was the probable source of the reported illnesses. The epidemiological investigation identified 17 illnesses and one death with illness onset dates ranging from July 5 to July 25, 2018.  On August 30^thPublix Super Markets Inc., a Lakeland, Fla., retail grocery store chain recalled an undetermined amount of ground beef products made from chuck that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O26.  On September 19^th, Cargill Meat Solutions, a Fort Morgan, Colorado establishment, recalled approximately 132,606 pounds of ground beef products made from the chuck portion of the carcass that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O26,

A bit of History:

Cargill Ground Beef 2012 – 40 Ill – Salmonella

On July 22, 2012 Cargill Meat Solutions announced a recall of 29,339 pounds of fresh ground beef products due to possible contamination with Salmonella Enteritidis. Using epidemiologic and traceback data public health investigators in 8 states (MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VA, VT, and WV) and the CDC linked 40 patients diagnosed with S. Enteritidis to consumption of Cargill ground beef sold at Hannaford grocery stores in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Among 40 persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates ranged from June 6, 2012 to July 9, 2012. Eleven patients were hospitalized. The Vermont Department of Health isolated the outbreak strain in leftover product.

Cargill Meat Solutions Ground Turkey 2011 – 181 Ill – Salmonella

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service(FSIS) issued a public health alert, on July 29, due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella Heidelberg that associated with the use and the consumption of ground turkey. The alert was initiated after continuous medical reports, ongoing investigations and testing conducted by various departments of health across the nation determined an association between consumption of ground turkey products and illness. On August 3, Cargill Meat Solutions issued a recall of ground turkey products. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “P-963” inside the USDA mark of inspection. On August 4, the Centers for Disease Control published their first outbreak summary. The Salmonella Heidelberg was multi-drug resistant, resistant to ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and gentamycin. The CDC began their investigation on May 23, after recognizing an “unusual clustering” of Salmonella Heidelberg cases. About the same time, routine surveillance by a federal food monitoring system found the same strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in ground turkey in stores. On July 29, the initial outbreak strain and a second, closely related, strain of Salmonella Heidelberg was isolated from a sample of leftover unlabeled frozen ground turkey from the home of an outbreak case in Ohio. Since February 27, 2011, a total of 23 ill persons were reported to Pulse Net with this second, closely related, strain. Eighty-four ill persons were infected with the initial strain. The consumer product sample originated from the Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation establishment in Springdale, Arkansas. On September 11, Cargill Meat Solutions recalled an additional, approximately 185,000 pounds, of ground turkey contaminated with an identical strain of Salmonella Heidelberg that had led to the earlier recall on August 3. As of September 27, no illnesses had been linked to the additionally recalled, ground turkey products.

Cargill Meat Solutions/BJ’s Wholesale Club Ground Beef 2010 – 3 Ill – E. coli O26

A recall of ground beef was issued on August 28 when three people developed illnesses caused by rare strain of E. coli O26 after they had eaten the product. The ground beef produced by Cargill Meat Solutions, of Pennsylvania and was distributed to BJ’s Wholesale Clubs in New York, Maine, Connecticut, Virginia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maryland.

Beef Packers, Inc., Cargill, Ground Beef 2009 – 2 Ill – Salmonella

In December, Beef Packers, Inc., owned by Cargill, recalled over 20,000 pounds of ground beef contaminated with a drug-resistant strain of Salmonella Newport. The company issued an earlier recall in August 2009, due to contamination of ground beef with the same strain of Salmonella Newport. This contaminated ground beef was produced in September and was distributed to Safeway grocery stores in Arizona and New Mexico. The Arizona Department of Health linked two illnesses to the ground beef.

Beef Packers, Inc., Cargill, Ground Beef 2009 – 68 Ill – Salmonella

A Beef Packers, Inc. plant in California owned by Cargill, distributed approximately 830,000 pounds of ground beef that was likely contaminated with Salmonella Newport. The beef was shipped to distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Utah where it was repackaged into consumer-sized packages and sold under different retail brand names. The contaminated beef contained a strain of Salmonella resistant to several commonly used antibiotics (called MDR-AmpC resistance). Sixty-eight outbreak associated cases were reported by 15 states. Most of the ill in Colorado had purchased the ground beef at Safeway grocery stores.

Cargill Ground Beef Sold at Sam’s Club Stores 2007 – 46 Ill – E. coli O157:H7

A multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 began in August and led to the eventual recall of 845,000 pounds of Cargill ground beef. Forty-six cases were reported by 15 states. Interviews with the case-patients found a common exposure of Cargill hamburger.

Emmpak/Cargill Ground Beef 2002 – 57 Ill – E. coli O157:H7

Wisconsin epidemiologists noted a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 cases. The health department interviewed case-patients and found a common exposure. All victims had eaten ground beef from Emmpak, a meat producer. The same strain of E.coli O157:H7 was isolated from the ground beef. The case investigation resulted in a 2.8-million-pound recall of Emmpak meat and resulted in related illnesses in at least six states. The responsible Emmpak plant was closed for inadequate sampling and testing procedures.

Cargill Deli Turkey 2000  – 29 Ill – Listeria

A case-control study implicated sliced, processed, turkey deli meat in a multistate (11 state) outbreak. A traceback investigation identified a single processing plant in Texas as the likely source of the outbreak. The company recalled 16 million pounds of processed meat. The same plant had been implicated in a Listeria contamination involving the same strain of Listeria more than a decade previously.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.