JBS Swift and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

I believe this is the second lawsuit. At least that I've seen in print. A couple of dozen people have gotten sick from the recall (see previous Jane articles below). Note, in the High Plains Ag Journal blurb pasted at the end of this post, it isn't the ground round they are eating. We've already been told that JBS Swift has announced plans to bring case meat to a grocer near you and take out all those annoying meat departments at your local supermarket.

Yum.
Greeley Tribune Sells Citizens Short
JBS Swift Sink Greeley's Goodship Lollipop
Kidney Failure--A JBS Byproduct for Greeley Citizens

Jane Note* I've amended the following paragraphs I originally posted by taking them down. After my luncheon partner clarified that Swift Communications is not related to JBS Swift I realized my assumptions here were all wrong. The Fence Post is in Windsor. The About Us link on the website is blank. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the Greeley Tribune produces much of the content as they are both parented by Swift Communication.. The assumptions were incorrect on my part that Swift Communications and JBS Swift are directly related. It will teach me to not write late at night. I've left the article up discussing the newly filed lawsuit against JBS Swift. I've also added a portion of an article, immediately following, from the Fence Post.

According to the company's prospectus, “Capitalizing on our production platform, we are now pursuing a global direct distribution strategy that will enable us to improve our ability to service current customers and allow us the opportunity to directly service new customers, primarily in the food service and retail channels. ... We intend to shift a significant part of our sales efforts into direct sales to end-user customers in order to capture this incremental margin.”

While this move may not mean anything for consumers in terms of price — grocers would still control that — it could mean a lot to JBS, which stated in its prospectus it intends to cut out the third parties to increase its profit margins. It did so earlier this year by creating a new trucking division, JBS Carriers, based in Greeley to eliminate third-party carriers.

JBS officials have been aggressive since they bought the former Swift & Co. plant two years ago this month, demanding cost efficiencies throughout its operations. It started in Greeley by returning a second shift back to the packing plant and hiring 1,100 more workers, and changes that resulted in $90 million in cost efficiencies. Last year, it acquired an Australian beef packer, Tasman, as well as Smithfield Beef Co. and Five Rivers Cattle Co., which expanded not only the company's beef packing plants, but feedlots. The company now has the capacity to process more than 28,000 head of cattle and 48,500 hogs in the United States. It's parent company, JBS SA (South America), based in Brazil, has acquired other holdings throughout the world.

It's unknown if JBS officials intend to make any changes or expansions to its Greeley plant with the additional money from the public offering. Public offerings are usually a way to raise cash quickly. The sale is still subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Suit: Boy was sickened by JBS Swift beef

Suit: Boy was sickened by JBS Swift beef

DENVER (AP)--A New Mexico boy who got sick after eating sirloin from JBS Swift Beef Co., has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against the Greeley, Colo.-based company.

JBS Swift has recalled 380,000 pounds of beef due to connections with outbreaks of E. coli.

Thirteen-year-old Alex Roerick and his mother, Hollie, of Albuquerque filed their lawsuit July 6 in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Their lawyer, Bill Marler, said July 7 that Alex developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, after eating shish kabobs made from the meat in May. Marler's firm also represents a California client who developed the illness after eating the meat.

A JBS Swift representative was not immediately available to comment.

Swift Beef for the Technical Geeks

Below I found a source of information with some additional information about E coli if you suspect you've eaten "bad cow". For those interested there is a host of information on this site about previous recalls and ongoing lawsuits on previous recalls and food supply system failures. Personally I noted how easy it is for the problem to go unreported and unrecognized which gives a lot of credibility to educating consumers on how to cook their beef to the 160 degrees required as a commenter added in to an earlier blog post. It is about protecting yourself and your family rather than just taking the pressure off JBS/Swift to do their jobs correctly.

I wonder what the tolerable industry standard rate is for E coli. Comparatively then the question becomes what magnitude of deviation JBS's business practices (and mega-production facility) are causing variance from that rate and how significantly their arguably poor business practices contribute to that variance.

A little more research on the subject and the depth and complexity of the argument begins to unfold and to my untrained brain it looks like a fuzzy and poor regulatory environment (given Mr. Munsell's, below, take on things) gives an umbrella of cover for JBS to argue it isn't their fault... exactly. Wiggle room in other words. However the wash bath on the meat wasn't completed according to the Denver Post article. The question I don't know the answer to is whether or not this process is legally required or not. I do know that in my opinion highly ethical companies strategically avoid "wiggle-room" breaches as it damages their brand in the long run and potential long term ROI for stakeholders. Ethics in a corporate environment aren't much good if the standard produced is lower than the law. Ethics serve to create a standard greater than what the law demands inside a company. Here today--gone tomorrow attitudes are very risky for the employee and the consumer.

Well one thing for sure, the attorneys involved will be making money and feeding our economy even if 8.5 million other people are out of work.

*Please note however both links are to commercial service sites. (Okay, in fewer words) It is the home of attorneys looking for business. They have an interest in supplying facts but they also have a commercial interest in choosing which facts to supply. In the professional world one would hope that professionalism reigns supreme--but then that is the Good Ship Lollipop version of reality--so understand the potential for bias while reading is my advice. As I have said several times before I know attorneys that exude integrity in their professionalism and then again I have met a few ambulance chasers in my life before too. People are people. Good and bad.

And I promise to go back onto other issues soon. Really.

A portion of Mr. Munsell's comment on Marler Blog as posted.

"John Munsell - June 28, 2009 8:39 AM

FSIS and JBS-Swift are way off base not only on this expansion of the recall, as well as on the initial, smaller recall. The initial recall was for Bottom Butt Ball Tips, which is an intact cut of meat (not ground up......YET). According to today's agency press release, "The recalled products include intact cuts of beef, such as primals, sub-primals, or boxed beef typically used for steakd and roasts rather than ground beef". End quote. These recalls are unjustified, opposed to sacred HACCP protocol, contrary to previous agency position statements on intact beef cuts, and blurrs the determination of which meat plant or plants are responsible for the presence of the E.coli. In the past, FSIS has acciduously concluded that intact cuts of meat (which are being recalled in this scenario) which are surface contaminated with E.coli are NOT considered to be adulterated. The agency's rationale for this official position statement is that intact cuts of meat are NOT intended to be ground up. The entire industry has always produced substantial trim emanating from the further processing of these intact cuts, and made ground beef from the trimmings. Can you imagine buying a half of beef, only to be told by the meat plant that you won't get any burger from it, because the intact cut of beef (the beef carcass) has been determined by FSIS that it was not intended for grinding! Furthermore, many plants purchase intact 2-piece boneless chucks and grind the entire intact cuts into burger. FSIS is not alone in its historical stance that intact cuts are NOT intended for grinding, because many large slaughter establishments include this statement on their invoices on which they ship boxed beef intact cuts into commerce: "NOT INTENDED FOR GRINDING". Therefore, realizing that both FSIS and their closest ally (the big packers) have historically and consistently stated that intact beef cuts are "Not Intended for Grinding", then all the establishments which purchased the meat involved in this recall which have ground any of the meat should be held liable for all sicknesses in the various states referred to in this expanded recall notice. If you think I am incorrect, please notice that in the past, FSIS has always held the downline destination further processing plants fully responsible to (a) purify incoming meat which has been previously contaminated with invisible pathogens, and (b) pressure its source slaughter providers to implement corrective actions to prevent future recurrences of producing contaminated meat. These small downstream further processing plants totally lack the power to force their source suppliers to clean up their act. And, with ever-decreasing numbers of source slaughter providers from which to purchase their meat, these small downline plants keep their mouths shut, realizing they will likely be blackballed by their source slaughter providers if they are stupid enough to attempt to demand their suppliers clean up their act."

_________________________________

Are You Part of an E. coli Outbreak? How to Find Out if You Have E. coli O157:H7 | Ecoli Lawyer

3) This is important: Non-specific supportive therapy, including hydration, is important. Antibiotics should not be used to treat this infection. There is no evidence that treatment with antibiotics is helpful, and taking antibiotics may increase the risk of HUS. Antidiarrheal agents like Imodium® may also increase that risk. Thus, if you receive antibiotics, it may cause you harm and make it impossible to detect the E. coli O157:H7.

4) If you have left over food that you suspect made you sick, do not throw it out or return it for a refund. Lab testing of the product may confirm the presence of E. coli O157:H7. Thus, if your stool is not tested or if the test is negative, it still may be possible to link your symptoms to the outbreak if the product tests positive for E. coli O157:H7. Therefore, seal the unused food in a plastic bag, mark the bag so it is not used or consumed accidentally, and continue to store it in your refrigerator until it is tested.

The Denver Post and the JBS Wash

Well this could be a clue why there hasn't been any ongoing press repair kits being tossed out to reporters by JBS.  What is poignant though is that it is not about a ground hamburger problem (read the comments ongoing in a previous post).  It is about internal practices if I am making correct assumptions about where that wash process occurs.  I wonder what JBS stockholders are thinking now...  "Do we have enough contingency funds?"  I don't think insurance is going to want to cover this oversight.  I could be wrong.  Any one else have ideas?


Addendum: There is more discussion in the original article on how the E. coli could have gotten into the system. Although I do not understand the potential reasoning between "the machine was broken and it didn't get done" and it is the consumer's job to cook the meat to 160 degrees plus it is the USDA's role to expand their testing? Huh? Why isn't the company's feet being baked over the coals? They left out a safety step. I'm either missing a concept here or someone has slept with someone in the chain of power (that's a metaphor by the way not a serious accusation we all know journalists don't really get those kind of offers except in the movies. They don't make enough money).
N.M. teen sues Swift over E. coli - The Denver Post

The first of what might be several lawsuits by people sickened by E. coli-tainted beef was filed Monday in Denver federal court against the Greeley slaughterhouse that produced the meat and later recalled it.

The suit by 13-year-old Alex Roerick of Albuquerque alleges that he was sickened and hospitalized after eating meat that had been produced at the JBS Swift & Co. packing plant in late April.

The youth suffered flulike symptoms shortly after eating shish kebab at his grandmother's house May 10. Doctors later determined he had hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication from ingesting E. coli 0157:H7, which derives from cattle feces.

Roerick's family ate the same meat, but he had more than the others, said his attorney, William Marler.

Of concern is that Roerick was sicked by whole muscle meat, not ground beef, as is typically the case with E. coli.

"It just shows how virulent the bacteria is," Marler said. "This is more than just a hamburger problem."

Swift refused to comment on the suit but said contamination might have come from the absence of an organic acid wash the meat is supposed to get before packaging, spokesman Chandler Keys said.

"We found that on April 21, pieces of meat mainly used for sirloin steaks were diverted from the spray because it was under repair," Keys said.

Kidney Failure--a JBS Byproduct for Greeley Citizens

It shouldn't have to come to people dying or losing their life savings for management to be held responsible. The voters of this country, of this community, should need to be smacked in the face with a decaying hunk of meat before understanding that the "good old boys" have hijacked the Good Ship Lollipop for their own bottom lines. Misfeasance and malfeasance are two different things but both can lead to a very unpleasant criminal trial. I suspect that nothing however could be as unpleasant as facing kidney failure. Premeditated murder by a gun or murder by corporate negligence is the same thing in my book even if the law may not agree with me. I don't care if upper management pressures middle management from their lofty white carpeted offices and throws profit and loss statements in their faces and threatens to fire them. Quit. Just quit. It isn't worth it. Integrity and a backbone aren't bad things to step into the coffin of poverty holding onto. JBS management needs to be held accountable for their bad practices and questionable history in a criminal court if negligent. No political white-washing. Hopefully the related records are not going through a shredder at this very moment. I wonder how chipper their public relations person will feel when they look in the mirror in the morning. Or the professor that called this a minor bump.

Egad something is rotten in Denmark. Have we given birth to the bastardisation of ethics fathered by Greed? Please let this be an isolated incident.

12 hospitalised in connection with E. coli in beef | Greeley Tribune

WASHINGTON — At least 12 people, two of them suffering kidney failure, have been hospitalised in connection with a possible E. coli outbreak in beef suspected of having sickened people in nine states, federal health officials said Wednesday.

The victims may have become ill after eating beef produced by JBS of Greeley, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The number of people reported ill so far is 23.

Another addendum from the Tribune article

As part of the recall, The Kroger Co. said earlier this week that it is recalling packages of meat with “sell by” dates of April 27 to June 1 in the Cincinnati-Dayton region that includes northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana; and in western Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois and eastern Missouri. The company said the suspect beef was sold under its store brands in more than a dozen states.

Soopers and City Market is Kroger. Now we have a label to potentially boycott. I'm bummed. I like the fact Soopers employs senior clerks. Maybe they will find another supplier for their label and upgrade to an organic beef line and give shopper's a better choice and better price than Safeway.