Early this month, the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in the United States (U.S.) issued a health alert for raw beef products coming from Ontario, Canada. The said products have been recalled due to possible E.coli contamination. Specifically, Whole Foods Market's beef products are subject to recall to ensure the safety of the consumers. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released early this week that the recall is intended for various veal and beef products, like the previous recalls.
What Are The Beef Brands Being Recalled?
Several grocery brands have been listed in the recalls. In Whole Food market brand products' most recent recalls, the CFIA recommends that the retailers, consumers, distributors, and various food services establishments like cafeterias, hotels, nursing homes, and hospitals, among others, to stop using or selling the recalled products.
CFIA is contacting an investigation on food safety and has determined that some products produced by Whole Food may contain E.coli. And, while Canada is the main authority for the recalls, FSIS is intensifying the initiative through its public warning. Incidentally, the CFIA alerted FSIS that some beef shipments involved in a series of recalls have been transferred to the U.S
Among the beef products being recalled for possible risk of E.coli include boneless beef brisket, boneless beef tenderloin, beef rump roast, premium sliced beef short rib, flank steak, filet mignon, beef tenderloin steak and beef bone-in-shank, among others.
What is E.coli?
Many people may know that the beef products mentioned can be harmful to one's health when consumed. However, more and more consumers do not understand what E.coli means. Known as Escherichia coli, these are bacteria found in foods, people and animal's intestines, and the environment. E.coli is a diverse and large group of bacteria. Most strains of these bacteria are harmless, but others can result in illness.
Among the illnesses, E.coli can bring diarrhea, respiratory disease, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and other diseases. The time between feeling sick and ingesting the bacteria is also known as the incubation period. This may take from 3 to 4 days from exposure to E.coli. However, it may be as short as one day, to as long as ten days. As for the symptoms, these frequently begin slowly along with mild pain in the belly or diarrhea that can get worse over several days.
Lastly, there are several risk factors for E.coli. These include age from which the young children or older adults are most likely to acquire the related illness. Also, someone who eats certain types of food other than beef is expected to get sick as a result of E.coli.