Get the E. Coli Off the Menu
January 20, 2008
from The Chicago Sun-times, November 14, 2007, pg 43, by Richard Laurnet – Special to the Sun Times
“The federal government wants us to swallow yet another load of crap. But don’t worry, it’s cooked, so it’s considered safe.
Meat contaminated with the E. coli bacteria is OK to sell if – get this – it is cooked first. The federal government has allowed American meat companies to feed the nation tainted meat with this caveat.”
“Now federal meat inspectors have disclosed a little-known fact: A U.S. Agriculture Department regulation allows processing plants to sell meat that tests positive for E. coli. The only stipulation is such meat carry a “cook only” label, a practice that allows companies to profit from millions of pounds of bad meat. The USDA defended the rule, saying commercial cooking kills the bacteria and renders it safe to eat. This type of meat is usually sold as precooked hamburger, meatloaf and taco filling.”
“Consumers may never again look at such pre-cooked “convenience” products the same way. After all, where’s the convenience in gagging, retching and diarrhea? If this loophole isn’t closed soon consumers will consider anything the government says about food safety just a load of, well, you know.”
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