18 now sick from Salmonella linked to kibbeh in Michigan

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Douglas Powell

CDC reports a total of 18 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 5 states.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (1), Iowa (1), Illinois (2), Michigan (9), and Wisconsin (5). Two new cases have been reported from Wisconsin since the last update.

50% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

Among persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates range from December 9, 2012 to January 7, 2013. Ill persons range in age from 2 years to 87 years, with a median age of 47 years. Fifty percent of ill persons are female.

Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicated that ground beef produced by Jouni Meats, Inc. and Gab Halal Foods are likely sources of this outbreak.

Seven of the ill persons reported eating a raw ground beef dish at the same restaurant before becoming ill. The restaurant served raw beef to customers and had acquired the raw beef from two retailers.

On January 24, 2013, Jouni Meats, Inc. recalled approximately 500 pounds of ground beef products.

On January 25, 2013, Gab Halal Foods recalled approximately 550 pounds of ground beef products.

Consumers should not eat raw or undercooked ground beef.

Cook ground beef hamburgers and beef mixtures such as meat loaf to 160°F internal temperature using a food thermometer.

NPR, fail: raw beef kibbeh blamed in Salmonella outbreak; is steak tartare next?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Twenty years after the Jack-in-the-Box outbreak raised the risks of E. coli O157:H7 and undercooked beef to the national stage, and the best state-sponsored jazz can do is ask, “is steak tartare next?”

According to National Public Radio (NPR), despite the current outbreak of Salmonella linked to kibbeh, “raw meat seem to be making a bit of a comeback in the food world, thanks to renewed interest in raw food in general and the raw meat aficionados building off the paleo diet trend, so could steak tartare be next? …

“While many cultures keep traditions involving raw meat, it also seems to be moving more into the mainstream. Is it the manly appeal?

“According to this article from the blog Honest Cooking, steak tartare is ‘raw food for the masculine eater.’ And there is the perception that it’s safer and even healthier to eat meat that’s underdone.”

NPR is relying on food porn rather than food safety.

I don’t care what adults choose to indulge in, but if you’re driving your kids to school and torturing them by listening to NPR, please, keep your poor understanding of microbiology away from your kids.

Multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to ground beef

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Kibbeh, steak tartare, whatever the Japanese call their version: it’s all raw hamburger so there’s a risk.

I’m not here to preach – after two months in the southern U.S. there’s more than enough preachers to go around – but will say there’s a risk with raw anything, so take your chances.

Mystics who proclaim they can predict what kind of raw meat will contain dangerous bugs are no better than preachers. Faith has a role, so does data.

What started as a meal of kibbeh at a Michigan restaurant has led microbiological sleuths to determine there are now at least 16 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium in 5 states.

On January 24, 2013, Jouni Meats, Inc. recalled approximately 500 pounds of ground beef products.

On January 25, 2013, Gab Halal Foods recalled approximately 550 pounds of ground beef products.

Based on epidemiologic and traceback investigations, 7 case-patients with the same outbreak strain have been identified in Ariz. and Mich. with illness onset dates ranging from December 9, 2012, to December 13, 2012. The 7 case-patients consumed raw beef kibbeh on December 7, 2012, and December 8, 2012. It is not known at this time if this outbreak strain has any drug resistance; results are pending.

Did Windsor, Ontario health types get it right?

Food poisoning hard to prove – and complaint records hard to get

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The Ottawa E. coli case that prompted the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit to bar restaurants from serving raw kibbeh may not have been caused by the ground beef dish after all.

Eric Leclair, head of the health information co-ordination unit at Ottawa Public Health, told Claire Brownell of the Windsor Star that while a child became ill with the potentially life-threatening type of E. coli after eating the home-prepared dish last February, there’s no way to know for sure whether the food was the source of the illness.

“There’s no confirmation, per se. The actual food itself was prepared in someone’s home. It wasn’t bought as kibbeh, it was just bought as meat,” he said. “There was no real solid connection between them.”

In fact, it’s almost impossible to verify the source of any food-borne illness with certainty. Six people reported food poisoning to the Windsor health unit between April 1 and June 30, 2012, but inspectors ruled the complaints unsubstantiated after investigating the establishments that served the food, according to information obtained by The Star through an access to information request.

That information was not easy to obtain. In early July, after the health unit imposed restrictions on the sale of raw kibbeh, The Star asked Medical Officer of Health Allen Heimann and health inspection department manager Mike Tudor for records of complaints about food-borne illness in the second quarter of 2012 and filed a freedom of information request after they declined to provide them, citing privacy reasons.

Almost five months later, after The Star appealed the health unit’s decision to deny the records, the organization revealed a few pieces of information about the complaints during a mediation session co-ordinated by the Ontario information and privacy commissioner. Four were about handwashing and four were from restaurant customers who said they found something unsanitary in their food, in addition to the six complaints from people who believe they became sick after eating tainted food.

Dana Young, a lawyer representing the health unit, said she was reluctant to provide details about the complaints — such as what unsanitary objects people said they found in their food — because they might identify the restaurant or the person making the complaint. Young and a group of high-ranking WECHU staff members agreed to compile a chart with generic information about the complaints, which was completed and in the mail on Friday, according to the mediator.

Health unit CEO Gary Kirk said he was concerned about releasing inaccurate information to the public. Unless a person who gets sick from tainted food keeps both a sample of the food and a stool sample for testing, it’s impossible to know for sure whether that food caused the illness.

“If we were to name the establishment where these complaints were lodged, we might mistakenly impugn someone’s reputation, because the follow-up didn’t indicate where there was a problem,” he said. ”That’s at the heart of our concern.”

Yet that’s exactly the type of unsubstantiated complaint held up by the health unit in support of banning an entire traditional dish from restaurants. When asked why the WECHU believes that particular complaint warranted such drastic action, but considers similar complaints in Windsor too unreliable to release to the public, Tudor, the health inspection department manager, said kibbeh was on the health unit’s radar anyway.

Kibbeh kontroversy: is raw hamburger banned in Ontario or not? And how should the rules be enforced

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Douglas Powell

A month after an Ontario health unit decided to enforce a ban on kibbeh – a Lebanese dish made from raw hamburger – one restaurant says it will serve the dish processed instead of ground, sidestepping regulations.

Mazaar restaurant co-owner Imad Najjar told the Windsor Star, "I’m going to serve it until a food processor or a mincer is called a grinder."

Dr. Allen Heimann, Windsor-Essex County chief medical officer, responded, "If meat is sliced thinly while raw, like ceviche, which is Italian, it is not in violation of the regulations. But if it is raw ground meat, then that’s something entirely different."

The latest statements cap weeks of uncertainty, bungling and bad food safety advice.

It began in late June when Windsor-Essex County Health Unit inspectors began forcing Lebanese restaurants to pull product after a report of contaminated raw kibbeh in Ottawa late last year.

Provincial regulations require ground meat cooked to an internal temperature of at least 71 C for at least 15 seconds.

Medical officer Heimann then went on the record to state, “regardless of the popularity of a product, public safety must be my priority.

“Raw kibbeh and steak tartare are raw ground meat dishes that do not conform to section 33(7) paragraph 3 of Ontario Regulation 562, of The Food Premises Regulation.

“This section of the regulation states that all parts of ground meat (other than ground meat containing poultry) must be cooked to reach an internal temperature of at least 71 C for at least 15 seconds. Ground meat containing poultry must be cooked to at least 74 C for at least 15 seconds.

“On July 10, a teleconference was held to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and several other health units, including Ottawa, Toronto and London.

“All of the participating health units confirmed they do not allow the serving of raw ground meat in restaurants. The teleconference group further agreed to continue to review this issue in accordance with the Food Premises Regulation.”

And then things got really confusing.

An Ottawa resident wrote, “The regulation Heimann keeps quoting, that ground meat should be cooked to 71 C, deals with store-bought ground meat that was never intended and should not be used for raw consumption. Kibbeh, tartare and carpaccio do not fall into this category, as any foodie (or 15 seconds on Google) could tell you.”

Raw is raw.

A local medical doctor wrote that he’s never seen a case of E. coli from kibbeh, and that, “if you really wanted to prevent this infection in our community, perhaps Big Brother should ban travel to Mexico.”

It didn’t take long for a raw milk proponent to jump in and argue freedom of choice should apply to all foods.

Maybe. But don’t serve it to kids. The Ontario government needs to come clean on what the rules are and how they should be enforced without leaving local inspectors as the arbiters for bureaucratic indecision.

Do Ontario bureaucrats think it’s OK to serve raw hamburger to children?

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The other thing about food bans is enforcement.

It’s a simple question: does the Ontario government think it’s OK to serve raw hamburger to little kids?

Apparently it does.

The Windsor Star (that’s in Ontario, Canada) reports that “in June 2006, inspectors from the local health unit poured bleach on egg salad sandwiches made by volunteers at the annual Art in the Park festival. They deemed the action necessary to protect public safety.

“The fact that the inspectors saw the sandwiches – sold to help raise funds for Willistead Manor – as a health threat sparked widespread community outrage. It even prompted a sharp rebuke from then-health minister George Smitherman who called the action "asinine."

Except the local folks were doing their job.

“Now the health unit has decided to set its sights on kibbeh – a traditional Lebanese dish of raw ground meat – and ordered restaurants to take the popular food off their menus.”

“It’s understandable why local restaurateurs feel blindsided by the health unit’s decision. As Ministry of Health and Long-term Care spokesperson Zita Astravas told The Star, the province hasn’t banned the preparation of raw kibbeh anywhere.

“And why would it? Kibbeh remains a highly popular dish with customers of all backgrounds.

“In fact, there’s been no documented problem with kibbeh in any restaurant here, or anywhere else in Ontario for that matter.”

There are lots of problems with raw anything. Seek and ye shall find. This is probably more about how terrible surveillance is in Ontario.

But watch bureaucracy in action – and have some sympathy and tea for front-line inspectors who carry out enforcement at the whim of dithering bosses.

“Dr. Allen Heimann, Windsor-Essex County chief medical officer, confirmed the Ottawa incident prompted local action. Heimann said that Ontario regulations stipulate beef must be cooked to an internal temperature of 71 C for 15 seconds before public consumption.

“However, Rishma Govani, Toronto Public Health spokesperson, said that regulation refers specifically to serving cooked meat, and that’s something Toronto’s health unit takes into account when reviewing traditionally prepared ethnic foods.”

There’s science, there’s culture and there’s outbreaks. I wouldn’t advise anyone eat raw hamburger. Bureaucrats need to be clear about the rules – but that’s how to survive in bureaucracy; a bureaucrat survives by vagueness.

Raw hamburger Kibbeh banned in Windsor Lebanese restaurants

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Kibbeh – a Lebanese dish made from raw hamburger – is off the menus in Windsor, Ontario (that’s in Canada).

Windsor-Essex County Health Unit inspectors are forcing Lebanese restaurants to pull product after a report of contaminated raw kibbeh in Ottawa late last year has health inspectors taking a tougher stand. Restaurant owners say the sudden crackdown is costing them sales and upsetting longtime customers.

"No warning, no heads up, nothing. They just told us you can’t sell it anymore," said Mohamad Nizam, who’s owned and operated Al-Sabeel restaurant at 1129 Wyandotte St. E., for seven years. "They didn’t send us any letters."

Nizam and other restaurant owners expressed pride in their raw kibbeh, which they say is popular with customers of all backgrounds.

Many came specifically for his recipe, which he makes with fresh ground beef and a special recipe of seasonings, Nizam said. Raw kibbeh can also be made with fresh ground lamb and ingredients such as bulgur wheat.

Provincial regulations require ground meat cooked to an internal temperature of at least 71 C for at least 15 seconds.

Tudor said raw fish can be served for sushi because freezing is required at some point to eliminate parasites associated with fish.

Abbas and Tannous at El-Mayor say they’ve never experienced food safety issues with raw kibbeh.

"A lot of customers have Lebanese background and they have been raised on raw meat," Tannous said.

And a lot of people get sick from raw meat.

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