E. coli Legislation Meets With Resistance From Meat Industry
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York introduced legislation last week that would impose regulations on six strains of E. coli, a potentially life-threatening bacterium that is can spread by being foodborne or waterborne. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) only regulates the most widely recognized strain of the E. coli pathogen, which is E. coli O157:H7. The six other strains that are pathogenic (meaning disease-causing to humans) include:
- E. coli O26
- E coli O103
- Ecoli O111
- E. coli O121
- Ecoli O45
- E coli O145
Under Gillibrand’s legislation, meat companies would have to “test for and discard any batches containing any toxic strains of E. coli.” The bill also grants authority to the USDA to discover and regulate additional pathogenic E. coli strains in the future. Having represented victims killed or seriously injured by this dangerous bacterium, the food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen attorneys commend Gillibrand’s legislation and have long recognized the need for such regulation.
“The logic behind this bill is simple, clear, and based in fact,” said food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker. “There are strains of E. coli that can seriously injure or kill people, and yet the government agencies charged with protecting our food supply do not test for these strains. Although this legislation is too late for clients I’ve represented who have been sickened by non-O157 STECs, we need this important regulation in place.”
However, a statement from the American Meat Institute voiced the resistance from the meat industry that Gillibrand’s bill is already facing. According AMI: “We share Sen. Gillibrand’s desire to eradicate pathogenic bacteria, but we don’t believe that an act of Congress can make these bacteria disappear.”
Pritzker Olsen food safety attorneys agree with Gillibrand that these strains of Ecoli are simply too dangerous not to regulate, and we have seen these dangers firsthand. Ecoli can cause life-changing, long-term health problems including:
- hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS)
- kidney failure
- Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
- Other future medical problems that can cost time, money and emotional distress to victims for years after their illness.
