"ecoli" news and stories

About 35,000 pounds of ground beef has been recalled by a Southern California meat distributor for potential E. coli contamination, the Associated Press reported.

The affected beef was produced by the South Gate Meat Co. between June 7 and 21. It was shipped to Los Angeles area restaurants, the AP reported.

A person who answered the South Gate Meat telephone told the AP the company was meeting with the USDA and unavailable for comment.

More about the recall after the jump.

WinCo Foods, a food seller operating in six Western states, has issued a recall on ground beef sold in all of its 70 stores, which are located in California, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Utah. This is an expansion of an earlier recall that affected only its Modesto, CA, stores, according to the Modesto Bee.

The original recall was announced on April 10. "Two samples of ground beef purchased at the Modesto store tested positive for E. coli O157:H7," wrote Brian Ramsay for the Bee, and consequently all tray-packed ground beef sold from April 3 through April 9 was recalled from the stores.

More on the recall after the jump.

Fried chicken. Photo: thebittenword.com, Flickr

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• The end of Gourmet magazine after almost 70 years, and those mourning its demise.
• The dangers of E. Coli and pre-ground beef, and the story of Stephanie Smith.
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• Cooking with Dexter finally learns the artificial flavor of the fast food beneath the golden arches.
• Rogacki is "a temple devoted" to Berlin deli fare, in West Berlin, Germany.
• Restaurant: After 10 years, Brooklyn's Saul has only gotten better, Queens' Engeline is a rare slice of Filipino fare and the Lower East Side's Ten Bells mixes wine and charcuterie.
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• New York's openings and closings and food calendar.

Orange beets from Encino. Photo: dichohecho, Flickr

• With about 30 vendors, the Encino farmers' market is the place to be.
• Forget the pizza and fast food: Occidental College junior Saul Sutcher whips up gourmet fare at his own on-campus "Café Norris."
• West Hollywood's RH has a revamped menu and brings gourmet style to the Hyatt.
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• Linda Rivera's health battle after digging into some raw Nestle Toll House cookie dough back in May.
• On teaching tykes to love healthy eating with good food and fun.
• Chicken Charlie and his overwhelming addiction to deep-frying anything and everything -- s'mores, frog's legs, pickles, cupcakes, you name it.
• Burbank's Zaatar Factory serves solid Lebanese fare and savory baking.
• Recipes: Norris Hall Duck Ragu, Pan-Fried Fish Fillet with Rouille.

In light of the E. coli and botulism problems over the past few months that have been linked to California growers, there has been a proposal that new standards should be implemented to ensure that consumers will feel safe and comfortable buying California produce. Most growers have already increased the amount of oversight that their produce recieives, but the new plan involves the creaton of a "seal of approval" for all leafy vegetables. The standards for the seal have not yet been determined, but growers and lawmakers plan to iron out the details later this spring. Issues being considered are how to more effectively test irrigation water and how to keep livestock, primarily cattle, away from cropland.

In spite of the fact that there is no actual plan in place yet, the idea of a "seal of approval" is already being met with opposition, with critics saying that "the industry's proposal relies too heavily on policing itself." This could be a strong argument in other industries, but when it comes to food safety, no one wants to make sure consumers are protected more than the growers whose livelihoods depend on consumer satisfaction with, and confidence in, their products.

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