Hamburger Hyper
As food scares go, it wasn't
even especially sickening. Fewer than 20 people fell ill, and not one died. Yet
the Hudson Foods E. coli outbreak in Colorado was all over the nation's
headlines. The danger is not that the public has been needlessly alarmed, but
rather that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the media have focused
attention on the wrong threats.
"A
wake-up call for American consumers," is how one activist described the event.
The only thing is, such outbreaks are not rare events. In fact, they are
relatively common, and have been happening at least a few times a year for more
than a decade (the further back Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
records go, the spottier they get). Only last Friday, more than 400,000 pounds
of beef were recalled from stores in Virginia, and on Monday, the Associated
Press reported another outbreak at an Iowa high school.
Nor was the Colorado E. coli incident of unusual
proportions. There have been 37 bigger ones in the last 15 years.
So why the
big national spaz over a small example of a relatively common occurrence? Well,
the USDA said this was a big deal because 1) Hudson was "reworking" past days'
meat into current production and 2) Hudson's record-keeping was so sloppy that
the contamination couldn't be traced back to the real source--one of half a
dozen slaughterhouses.
But neither of those claims is the whole truth.
Yes, Hudson was adding "rework" to its new production, but the USDA knew and
approved of the practice. Rework is even part of the prototype state-of-the-art
food-safety program that USDA-approved plants must put into effect by early
next year. And yes, problems with paperwork made it difficult to trace the
contaminated meat to its source. But that was not because the paperwork was
shoddy. Rather, it was because the reworked, old meat was being added into new
product throughout the day instead of to a single easily traceable lot at the
beginning of the day. The USDA knew of that practice, too, and two USDA
inspectors supervised its implementation at the plant every day.
But even
if everything the USDA argued was strictly true, it didn't need to recall
25-million pounds (75 days' production). Industry experts and the CDC agree it
takes a certain level of contamination to pose a threat. Even if a whole day's
production were contaminated and a small amount of leftover contaminated beef
reworked into ensuing production, within days the E. coli (which is very
slow-growing in a nonconducive environment such as chilled beef) would be so
diluted that it wouldn't pose a threat to anyone. Even leaving wide margins for
safety, at most the USDA should have recalled between 8 million and 10 million
pounds of beef.
Hudson, however, is not innocent in all this. The
hamburgers that caused the Colorado outbreak were practically designed to
prevent E. coli from cooking. When prepared as Hudson recommended, the size and
the shape of the burgers was such that the outside would have had to be burned
if the center was to be cooked.
But
whatever the USDA and Hudson might have done to contribute to the national
ruckus was topped by the media coverage. "Can This Meat Kill You?" screamed
Newsweek 's ridiculous Sept. 1 cover. The text within was no less
hysterical. E. Coli affects as many as 20,000 people in the United States each
year, Newsweek reported. The CDC's latest numbers place the totals at
one-tenth that, though it is true that they may be "somewhat underreported." In
fact, you are a hundred times more likely to die of a newly contracted
infection when you spend a night in a hospital than you are when you eat a
hamburger.
But just because the USDA flew off the handle
and the press blew the story doesn't mean there's no story here. E. coli
outbreaks are increasing and their sources are growing more and more diverse,
ranging from swimming pools to salads. But all the smoke-blowing around meat
processors is obscuring the real problem.
A serious effort to curb E.
coli would focus on the cattle rather than on the processing of their meat.
Each of their four stomachs is a breeding ground for the virulent E. coli
bacteria, which is estimated to infect between 2 percent and 4 percent of U.S.
livestock.
In fact,
ground beef isn't the fastest-growing source of E. coli. Runoff from cattle
pastures goes into lakes, where swimmers get infected. Cattle manure is used to
fertilize fields, and the produce infects those who eat it.
Cattle, however, enjoy the powerful protection in
Washington, D.C., of the nation's ranchers, who gave millions in the last
election cycle. And the ranchers are mighty resistant to any changes that could
cost them money. Still, some changes could be made quite easily. Industry
consultant R.A. LaBudde argues that testing and exclusion of infected cattle is
one possibility--we already do it for a number of cattle-borne infections like
brucellosis. Cattle could also be kept off feed for 12 or more hours before
they are slaughtered. This would make their E. coli-bearing digestive system
less likely to rupture, thus making contamination less likely. (The problem
with this idea is that it violates the 1978 Humane Slaughter Law. Cattle need
their last meal, after all.)
Technology
may soon provide some solutions. In August, Mike Doyle of the University of
Georgia applied for a patent on some nonvirulent strains of E. coli that wipe
out the nasty version when fed to cattle.
The USDA argues, however, that what is needed
is more enforcement power, and to that end, it is advancing a bill designed to
expand its authority. The bill is irrelevant, though. No company has refused to
recall meat that the USDA said needed recalling. And considering that Hudson, a
$100-million-a-year company, was dismembered in the wake of its cooperation
with the USDA, any new powers would pale compared with what the department has
already.
If the USDA is interested in
taking a hard look at the meat industry, maybe it should look for inspiration
to the battle between the Food and Drug Administration and the tobacco
companies. It is common practice to add fat back into hamburger to reach the
high levels that consumers demand--just like cigarette makers add nicotine. It
is a good bet that more people died last year from the extra fat they consumed
in their Burger King burgers than will ever die from E. coli.
