Listeria Tainted Meat Death Toll Rises To 16 -
Experts Perplexed
Feb 4, 1999
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Amid a
still-rising death toll from listeria-tainted hot dogs and lunch
meat, a consumer group Thursday demanded that the U.S. Agriculture Department
require companies to test the riskiest foods for the fatal disease. Listeria,
a relatively unknown foodborne disease, has been a focus of media attention
in recent weeks with a string of outbreaks reported in U.S. delicatessen
meats, milk and other refrigerated products that do not need cooking.
At least 16 deaths have been blamed on Sara Lee Corp hot dogs and lunch
meat since August, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which
raised the death toll Wednesday. The agency is monitoring the outbreak
in 14 states. The spate of recent cases has puzzled regulators, who say
there is no obvious reason to account for the increase. One immediate step
that should be taken, according to the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, is to require listeria testing by companies of the riskiest food
products. "We need better testing of ready-to-eat foods that consumers
do not cook," said Caroline Smith De Waal, a food safety analyst with the
center. "We
are going to ask the USDA to require companies to start this testing
for hot dogs, lunch meat, cold cuts and other high-risk foods."
The USDA and the Food and Drug Administration now conduct random testing
for listeria. The USDA regulates meat and poultry, while the FDA is responsible
for other foods. Listeria typically
affects only infants, unborn babies, the elderly and others with weak
immune systems. While less common than the foodborne diseases campylobacter
or salmonella, 20 percent of those who get sick from listeria die. Since
December, Sara Lee Corp has recalled an estimated 35 million pounds of
hog dogs and luncheon meat, but expects to actually retrieve only about
15 million pounds. Hormel Foods Corp, Thorn Apple Valley and grocery store
chain Winn-Dixie recently recalled products because of suspected listeria.
Tuesday, single-serve cartons of milk sold under the Land O'Lakes brand
were also recalled. The USDA described the recent outbreaks across the
United States as "unfortunate" and said the illnesses "present an opportunity
to strengthen control efforts from farm to table."
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has scheduled a public
meeting Wednesday to take a closer look at how to prevent listeria and
ways to improve company recalls. High on the list is a review of how the
USDA randomly samples ready-to-eat products like lunch meat and industry
procedures for recalling meat suspected of contamination. The USDA said
it would also look at how
companies use "sell-by" dates on meat and poultry labels. Lester Crawford,
a former head of the FSIS, said the outbreaks were especially startling
because the Centers for Disease Control
determined in 1994 that the industry had successfully reduced listeria
contamination. The outbreak comes at a time when the Clinton administration
has launched a series of food safety measures,
including new requirements that meat plants adopt science-based safety
checkpoints. Last week, the FDA's Center for Food Safety ranked listeria
as one of its top priorities for research in 1999. Food
safety experts urged the USDA to take a look at whether companies have
extended the shelf life of their products too long, which might promote
the growth of listeria. The department also needs to closely inspect equipment
at meat plants and determine if listeria may be spreading inadvertently
through some new processes or through air contamination.
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