E. coli: recall of contaminated meat in the south and east of France

The Socopa company, belonging to the Bigard group, has announced the recall of a 500 kg batch of meat following its contamination by a pathogenic bacteria. Buyers of minced meat from the Auchan, Boucherie Saint-Clément and Socopa brands, with use-by dates ranging from March 28 to 31, are invited not to consume the products.

The Leclerc, Auchan, Simply, Atac, Leader Price and Aldi brands are concerned, in the southern and eastern regions of France, as well as in Corsica.

“No patient or case of food poisoning related to the affected batch has been brought to the attention of the company and the health authorities”, Socopa clarified in a press release to AFP. It was the surveillance controls put in place by the Ministry of Agriculture that revealed the contamination, which had escaped internal controls.

Responsible for bloody diarrhea

The bacteria in question, Escherichia coli serotype O26: H11, is a pathogenic strain known as enterohemorrhagic. It can cause in the week following consumption of hemorrhagic diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting, with or without fever. These symptoms can be followed by severe kidney complications, mainly in children.

This type of alert is not uncommon. Even very strict, controls cannot always identify contaminations upstream of distribution. In 2016, three batches of ground beef had to be withdrawn from sale due to poisoning by the same bacterial strain. Last September, this was the case with a batch of veal cutlets.

Cook the meat well

Found in the digestive tract of slaughter animals, bacteria E. coli can easily contaminate the surface of the meat during cutting. Ground meat, which can contain bacteria in its core, poses an increased risk.

To guard against the risk of food poisoning, it is advisable to thoroughly clean the plates and food in contact with raw meat. Those who are more careful can choose to cook the meat thoroughly, “sole way”. Taste loses, but security wins.