Government Standards Allow Previously Contaminated Meat, If Properly Cooked, Onto Your Plate
By DAN CHILDS ABC News Medical Unit Nov. 4, 2009
Imagine a ton of freshly ground beef. The company in charge of processing this meat finds out during a routine test that it is contaminated with E. coli. They record the test results, which are read by a government inspector, who acknowledges that the meat is indeed tainted.
Tainted ground beef has killed at least one and sickened more than two dozen.
You might think that this beef would be headed straight for the garbage bin. But in many cases, this meat is instead cooked, prepared and packaged as a pre-cooked hamburger patty that you pick up from the grocery store. And it's all completely legal.
The issue of cooking and reselling formerly tainted beef comes to light as another E. coli scare has now spread to 11 states, although the meat in this new case was fresh ground beef, not pre-cooked meat that had been repackaged.
Health officials say at least 11 states now have reported illness from a batch of E. coli tainted fresh ground beef released to market nearly two months ago.
With the ongoing repackaging practice from previously contaminated meat and the new E. coli scare, it's understandable that some consumers may be more than a bit wary of the meat that hits their plates.
But while the wave of illness could indicate a need for greater efforts to catch bad beef before it gets to consumers, many may not be aware that thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture regulation, at least some of the meat they eat may have tested positive for E. coli contamination at one time – and been sold to them anyway after processing.
ABC News Senior Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser discussed this issue with ABC News' Chris Cuomo on Monday's "Good Morning America . Besser noted that even if E. coli contamination is confirmed in a particular batch of meat, "[the company] can cook that meat and sell it in another product."
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