Lee Hardrig experiences extreme illness after
consuming ground beef patties
 “Hudson beef patties” were contaminated with
E. coli 157:H7

› Hudson Foods plant in Columbus, Nebraska had 35
million pounds of beef recalled when 25 million
pounds were already eaten
25% of people suffer from food poisoning each
year (CDC)
 This section compares E. coli to AIDS — people
appear healthy, but there is an outbreak in 1988
that soon evolves into an epidemic.

In the 1920s, hamburger was rarely sold and was
considered food for the poor
 White Castle food chain cooked meat in front of
customers and soon was very successful
 Ray Kroc’s McDonalds chain in 1950s seemed
convenient for children (simple, cheap, no mess)
 Lauren Beth Rudolph ate a Jack in the Box and
suffered from three heart attacks and died
December 28, 1992, at age 6

E. coli attacks the lining of the intestine
 Can lead to HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome)

› 5% of children who get it have died and those who
survive are left disabled in some way
E. coli can live in fresh water and sea water, on a
kitchen counter for days, in moist places for
weeks and can survive a freezer and heat up to
160 degrees F
 E. coli is also caused by contaminated bean
sprouts, cantaloupe, salami and raw milk

E. coli may be spread person to person
 Cows were fed dirty water and dirty food or dead
livestock (such as dead sheep or cattle) as well as dead
cats and dogs in 1997

› Practices banned by FDA because it caused Mad Cow Disease
However, FDA approves cattle to be fed dead pork and
poultry
 Hide removed by hand—spillage of dirt/manure will
contaminate meat
 One single animal can contaminate 32,000 pounds of
ground beef


“The Jungle” by Upton Sinelain exposed (in
1906) the practices used in the meat packing
industries that threatened the health of
consumers
› This led to Congress passing the Meat Inspection Act
of 1906

Under Reagon and Bush Administrations, the
USDA was installed (U.S. Department of
Agriculture )
The USDA launched the SIS-C (Streamlined
Inspection System for Cattle) to reduce the
presence of federal inspectors in
slaughterhouses
 Clinton Administration announced E. coli was
considered an illegal adulterant and had random
microbial testing take place to remove it from
the nation’s food supply

Jack in the Box uncooked hamburger meat fiasco (a
large outbreak of food poisoning)
 David M. Theno (food scientist) was appalled and
soon proposed HACCP (Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Points)

› Manager attend a food safety course, every refrigerated
delivery truck have a record-keeping thermometer, every
kitchen grill be calibrated to ensure an adequate cooking
temperature and every grill person use tongs instead of
bare hands
› Microbial testing (searching for bacteria like E. Coli)
› Making improvements to Jack in the Box




Clinton’s Administration makes efforts to implement a tough,
science-based food inspection
Meatpacking and fast food industries are major financial
supporters for Republicans. This sets back the Democratic
party’s food inspection reforms when Republicans had
majority in Congress.
The Hudson Foods outbreak in 1997 revealed the flaws with
USDA recall policy. The USDA could not order a recall, they
could only heavily suggest it to a company. Rarely did the
USDA take the extreme measure to shut down the factory.
Hamburger patties were discovered with E. coli and Hudson
Foods first made no effort to recall the spoiled meat until a
few months later, but once it was a voluntary recall, USDA
didn’t have to inform the public—which they didn’t. The
USDA got bad press as soon as the public found out about
the contaminated meat
USDA now informs public on Class I recalls
(which is a serious or potentially lethal threat)
but does not release where the contaminated
meat is located.
 After the Jack in the Box incident, the Clinton
Administration backed legislation to provide the
USDA with the authority to demand meat recall
and impose civic fines on meatpackers, but the
legislations failed to pass Congress in 1996, ‘97,
’98 and ‘99.

In 1996, Clinton announced that USDA would finally
adopt a science-based meat inspection system
 The Clinton Administration planned on initiating the
HACCP plan and submit meat to USDA for microbial
testing
 The USDA plan was slightly different

› Employees keep records which made the information not
apart of public records
 Lots of companies falsify records
› Meat packing plants would not be required to test for E. coli
USDA inspectors are now demoralized, understaffed
and pressured not to slow meat production
 USDA and meatpacking industries both advocate an
exotic technological solution to attack foodbourne
particles by using irradiation (a form of bacteria birth
control)

› American Medical Association and the World Health
Organization declared irradiated meat safe to eat
› However, consumers reluctant to eat meat that has been
exposed to radiation

Companies want labeling meat “irradiation” to be
voluntary or change it to “cold pasteurization”

1980s and 90s, USDA chose meat suppliers for its
National School Lunch Program based on lowest
price, without imposing additional food safety
requirements.
› Cheapest beef most likely to be contaminated with
pathogens and still contain pieces of spinal cord, bone
and gristle left behind and had many cases where a
student became sick from E. coli or Salmonella

Every year, US food with Salmonella cause 1.4
million illnesses and 500 deaths
Supreme Beef was the main suppler of meat for
the schools
 In 1999, the USDA finally took action and shut
down Supreme Beef
 Supreme Beef retailiated with by suing USDA,
but futher investigation revealed high quantities
of Salmonella
 USDA then set requirements for the school beef
that were similar to the requirements for the
fast food chains

People would be better off eating a carrot stick
that fell in the average American’s toilet than one
that fell in the average American’s sink
 No matter how well executed the HACCP plan
is, or how many bursts of gamma rays, the safety
of the food at fast food chains often depends on
low-paid, unskilled workforce of teenagers and
recent immigrants.
