PIRG calls for improvements in food recall system after CDC reports yet another E. coli outbreak

Here we go again: In April, another illness outbreak was tied to contaminated food, this time sickening over 170 people in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

Here we go again: In April, another illness outbreak was tied to contaminated food, this time sickening over 170 people in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

On April 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traced the E. coli outbreak back to ground beef. Two recalls were issued nearly two weeks later, but investigators still haven’t identified all contaminated sources.

“This outbreak is an all-too-often reminder that more needs to be done to protect our food,” said Adam Garber, consumer watchdog with U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “This E. coli is life-threatening and we should be deeply troubled that we cannot fully pinpoint the source of this infected meat after more than a month of sicknesses.”

With food recalls on the rise, U.S. PIRG is calling for improvements to make it easier for the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to trace contaminated food to the source and better protect public health.

Read the press release.

Photo: WJHL News Channel reports on the lastest outbreak of E. coli, this time in ground beef. Photo Credit: WJHL News Channel

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