To Your Health

• Food Safety

Three people’s falling seek in Cleveland area has prompted a major ground beef recall by Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley of Illinois. The amount of ground meat that is included in this beef recall reaches to 96,000 pounds.

According to Cleveland Leader the three people became sick from E. Coli in the Cleveland, Ohio area. USDA has issued the beef recall. However, we could not find the recall information at USDA’s website.

The health department of Ohio has first noticed and reported illnesses linked to a potentially deadly E. coli on May 13. According to CNN illnesses have also been reported in Pennsylvania and Illinois. This in turn led to this current beef recall by Valley Meats LLC.

Beef recall reminds of ground beef consumption safety rules

Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Immediately clean spills. Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods. Consumers should only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160° F.

Color of the meat is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7. The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature. Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase or one hour if temperatures exceed 90° F. Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking.

Current beef recall products include the following brands.

• 3S Brand Products

• Grillmaster Brand Products

• J & B Brand Products

• Thick ‘N Savory Brand Products

• Ultimate Brand Product

• Products with No Specified Name Brand

Additionally, each product that is included in this ground beef recall bears the establishment number "EST. 5712" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The (2-1), (3-1), (4-1), (5-1) and (6-1) markings refer to the number of portions per one-pound. These ground beef products were produced on March 10, 2009, and were distributed to various consignees nationwide.

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHOTLINE or visit
www.fsis.usda.gov

Some baby foods contain as much sugar and saturated fats as chocolate cookies or cheeseburgers.

A survey of more than 100 foods for babies and toddlers found examples that were 29 percent sugar, and others that contained trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease.

The Children’s Food Campaign, part of food and farming campaign group Sustain, examined the nutritional content of 107 baby and toddler foods. Only half the products were low in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

So, what about organic baby food — is it your safest choice?

Maybe not…

The rate of mercury contamination in tuna and other Pacific fish has increased 30 percent since 1990. The increase is a direct result of China’s rapid industrialization, and the mercury content is expected to increase another 50 percent by 2050 if China continues to build more coal-fired power plants.

The data comes from a new study by the U.S. Geologic Survey.

About 40 percent of all U.S. exposure to mercury comes from eating contaminated tuna from the Pacific. Roughly 75 percent of all human exposure to mercury in general comes from eating fish. Mercury poisoning early in life, even in very small amounts, can lead to permanent developmental effects.

Mercury becomes toxic when it is converted by bacteria into a form called methylmercury. Scientists have long known how this conversion takes place in freshwater lakes, reservoirs and rivers, but this study is the first to document how that conversion takes place in the ocean. It shows that methylmercury is produced in mid-depth ocean waters by bacteria decomposing settling algae.