What’s in our food?
The seemingly ever increasing number and volume of meat recalls has made consumers aware of the risks of food borne illnesses that may be transmitted via contaminated meat. Between 2004 and 2009 466 million pounds of meat were recalled. This includes the staggering 143 million pounds in the single recall of February 2008 from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. Fifty seven percent of all meat recalled was beef and the major reasons for recall were Listeria and E. Coli contamination.
The seemingly ever increasing number and volume of meat recalls has made consumers aware of the risks of food borne illnesses that may be transmitted via contaminated meat. Between 2004 and 2009 466 million pounds of meat were recalled. This includes the staggering 143 million pounds in the single recall of February 2008 from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. Fifty seven percent of all meat recalled was beef and the major reasons for recall were Listeria and E. Coli contamination.
The onus to avoid potential risks from contaminated meat has been moved from the meat industry to the consumer. Consumers are becoming used to advice to avoid potential infection from tainted meat by cooking it thoroughly and using a meat thermometer to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees—sound advice if there is a chance of acid resistant E. Coli from feedlot production. However, far fewer consumers are aware of the scale of a different contamination and one that cannot be mitigated by good hygiene or cooking practice. The issue in question is antibiotic residue in meat and it appears that the dairy sector is the biggest offender.
