Pressure is building in Canada to force the meat industry to
label mechanically-tenderized meats.
After Edmonton consumers of XL-produced beef that was
mechanically tenderized were felled by food poisoning, Health Canada said it’s
talking to retailers about labeling.
The science is clear that mechanically-tenderizing meats increases the risk of food poisoning, so it seems obvious that consumers ought to be made fully aware of the increased risk so they can be more cautious to cook the meat thoroughly.
There has been a long-term push by a few concerned people in
the United States for labeling regulations there, but this is the first
indication from Health Canada that it is actively considering the proposal.
CBC Marketplace featured research by Rick Holley at the
University of Manitoba, showing how needles pushed into steaks and roasts to
tenderize them before sale also push harmful bacteria from the meat surface to
the interior.
Harmful bacteria on the surface are likely to be easily
killed by normal cooking or barbecuing, but people who prefer “rare” or
“medium” steaks and roasts are likely to be eating active bacteria.
There are 16 confirmed cases of people poisoned by E. coli
0157:H7 in beef from XL Foods Inc. of Brooks, Alta.
The company has been forced to recall the largest volume of
beef in Canadian history and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency shut down the
plant for a month so a thorough search for factors that led to the
contamination and a cleanup of facilities and procedures.
Management of the plant has changed from the Nilsson family
to JBS USA, a Brazilian company that now owns a significant percentage of the
beef-processing business in the United States. JBS has an option to buy the XL
business, which is the big plant at Brooks, two in the United States and a
feedlot near Brooks, for $100 million.
Of the 16 people sickened, a number ate
mechanically-tenderized steak marketed by a Costco store in Edmonton. None of
the sickened people have died. Lawyers from several provinces are organizing a
class-action lawsuit.
