Episodes like this make me glad that the current administration is stuffed with incompetent cronies.

Wonderful, I just *had* to read this as I was eating my steak for lunch, in Illinois. Good thing I'm a well-done kind of girl

Steak wouldn't be affected, even cooked rare. The e coli contaminates the surface of the meat only, and is killed when the steak meats flame or a hot pan.

This doesn't apply to Hamburgers, which are made from ground meat. The surface may get mixed into the center durring the grinding proccess.

So, Rare steak = Good
Rare Burgers = Risky

/It's called RED meat, not BROWN meat ;-)

...and yet another reason to avoid beef like the plague it is... Of course, chicken's not much safer, and fish is contaminated. And pigs are raised in those nasty sewer farms.

Ugh. Maybe it's time to go vegetarian...

Oh, boy... I thought my double cheeseburger from McD's tasted funny today... If I have to get another paper extension I am going to be sending them a really nasty letter....

@lizzybee: As long as you avoid vegetables like green onions, spinach, lettuce, etc. etc. etc.

Everyone in the top 15 levels of the FDA should be fired.

Spinach recall
Beef recall
More beef recall
etc etc etc
Not to mention Mad Cow

There's never been this many recalls in the history of this country.

@catnapped: Touche, but you also forgot about wheat ;-)

Airetarian sounds better and better, doesn't it? But, of course, for the smog...

Incidents like this make me happy I get all my beef from China.

.....Maybe it's time to go back to drinking out of the well and the creek, to build up some E-coli tolerance. I'm still eating my rare steaks and roast beef. And bagged spinach. Even if I have to veggie, I still have to have my spinach! I'd rather be dead than give up my spinach...

e-coli outbreaks in veggies are usually traced back to ranches.

I love it how the USDA is reactive rather than proactive meaning, they late tainted food go to stores. But in order to keep on getting those huge budgets from the government thry have to make it look like their actually doing something. Wouldn't it be great if the government were proactive and took care of situations before they became major problems, oh thats right we live in America, meaning that will never happen.

@lizzybee: It's Breathairian (however you speel it).

@lizzybee: Sorry to say, that probably won't save you either with all those migrants pooping in the fields while they are picking your strawberries and lettuce. Think about it. I'm moving a lot more towards locally grown produce and local Amish-produced, drug-free grass-fed beef myself. Also you can spray your veggies with hydrogen peroxide before using, if you insist on DelMonte or whatever.

@IRSistherootofallevil: Don't be so sure. If you were a stinking behemoth of a draconian government and you wanted even MORE power and authority, how would you get it? By either creating a crisis, or allowing one to occur! Then you just raise your fat, grubby hand and propose a solution. Shazam!! Now you have your "Food Czar".

It's a good thing they caught it so soon. I am sure most of that 115,000 pounds of beef is still unconsumed nearly two months after it was prepared for consumers.

FOOD = POISON

@quantum-shaman: Isn't that the plot in Heroes?

@IRSistherootofallevil: You'd think all the recalls would be big news. Apparently the fact that eating just about anything will kill you just isn't sensationalist enough.

@quantum-shaman: migrants pooping in the fields

Seriously, is there any evidence that this actually happens? I really, really dislike the assumption that people who originate from other cultures are significantly less sanitary than us "civilized" folks.

.....Would a migrant (or any worker, for that matter) take a dump in the field? Sure. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go!

.....Would he/she THEN harvest poo-covered greens? Don't think so.

.....Some Asian cultures have fertilized with human waste for centuries, and it hasn't exactly hurt their population totals...

@AcidReign: Using composted human waste is not really fundamentally different than using composted cow waste (manure). What I worry about is the implication that people are just squatting over the lettuce, and then using a handful of spinach leaves to wipe.

Remember folks, always beat your meat at 90 degrees.

@tph: It has absolutely nothing to do with "other cultures"... it has to do with the simple fact that these people are being hired at the cheapest rates available and treated accordingly. Do you really think they have even porta-potties available? Much less toilet paper? Sani-wipes? I think not. As they say in the old couuntry "nature calls".

@AcidReign: Oh, is there a conscientious farmer on hand to pick up the migrant poo? I don't think so. It washes into the soil like any other poo, but unfortunately it can taint your shiny vegetables before the E-coli actually disappears. How do you think E-coli (a natural denizen of colons everywhere) makes it onto fresh veggies in the first place?

@Rectilinear Propagation: "FOOD = POISION"?? Could be! Remember the "twinkie defense"?