E. COLI IN YOUR BEEF THE LATEST FOOD NIGHTMARE

S&S Foods voluntarily recalled frozen ground beef Thursday that has been linked to 27confirmed cases of E. coli at a Boy Scout camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains.


S&S Foods of Azusa, Calif., said it is recalling 153,630 pounds of beef that may be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.

That strain has been linked by the Virginia Department of Health to the E. coli outbreak at the Goshen Scout Reservation, a popular summer destination for Washington-area Scouts for four decades.

Seventy scouts and staff have reported intestinal symptoms consistent with E. coli contamination. One camper remains hospitalized.

As a precaution, the camp has been closed.

Testing by Virginia public health officials confirmed the beef was linked to the outbreak.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the Virginia outbreak, which happened in late July, is the only one linked to the beef.

The beef was packaged at S&S's Azusa plant and sold to institutional customers throughout the U.S., Jeff Grohs, vice president of business development for S&S, said in an e-mail.

Grohs said the company is attempting to determine whether the "illnesses in Virginia are connected to our operations or have some other original source or cause."

The USDA's food safety agency rated the recall "Class I," meaning the toxin-producing E. coli strain presents a "health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."

The federal food safety agency said its investigation is looking into how the meat was contaminated.

The products subject to recall are: 30-pound boxes of "742798 MFST, 100% GROUND BEEF BULK, 80/20, 1LB. BRICK."

MORE E. COLI RELATED NEWS

A childcare facility in the Borders has closed its doors after two children were confirmed with E.coli O157.

A statement from NHS Borders said two cases of the infection had been reported to its public health department in the last week.

Both children are "doing well" and are at home under the care of their GP.

As a precautionary measure, checks are being carried out on any youngsters and staff who attended the same facility as the children in the last fortnight.

Consultant in Public Health Medicine Dr Alan Mordue asked parents to watch out for any symptoms and, if they see any, to contact their GP or NHS 24.

Voluntarily closed

"All possible sources and modes of spread are being considered," he said.

"The childcare facility has been fully cooperative.

"Their decision to voluntarily close while this issue is fully investigated and to minimise any possibility of the infection spreading has been very helpful."

Symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever to diarrhoea.

The incubation period can range from one to 14 days, but is usually three to four days, and people with E.coli O157 are usually ill for up to two weeks.