Dutch Veal E. coli Contamination: MRW Food Brokers Found to Have Imported Veal from the Netherlands that is Contaminated with a Rare Strain of E. Coli
The U.S.D.A.’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has put the public on notice of Dutch Veal E. coli Contamination – according to the FSIS, the veal products are contaminated with a non-O157 strain of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). While STEC strain O157 is by far the most common E. coli to cause food borne illness in the U.S. and globally, and it is routinely tested for in stool cultures, the rare O103 strain is just as dangerous. Unfortunately, it is not likely to show up in a traditional stool culture. As such, people who have consumed imported Dutch veal should look for the signs and symptoms of STEC, which is most commonly associated with large amounts of bloody diarrhea.
According to the FSIS, at least 424 lbs. of Dutch of raw veal products are contaminated.
If uncertain about the etiology of the veal you have purchased or consumed, check with the grocer or butcher. The presence of veal from the Netherlands has greatly increased since October of 2016 when USDA granted Dutch meat producers unfettered access to U.S. markets after the FSIS determined their food safety system to be on par with that in the U.S. This is the first time that Dutch veal has been imported to the U.S. since the “Mad Cow” scare in the 1990s.
In 2017 it is estimated that nearly half of the 48 million lbs. of veal sold in the U.S. this year will be form the Netherlands.
The product subject to the warning was butchered and processed at “Establishment 9EG, EKRO B.V” between March 8th and 13th. The raw veal products were imported by MRW Food Brokers Inc. in Owings Mills, MD. FSIS has issued an alert and a hold on all such product while the investigation is pending. The alert and hold apply to the following products:
- “Boneless Veal Cap” in boxes bearing code Londbos05597422/lot code 0001.
- “Boneless Veal BHS” in boxes bearing code of Londbos05597426/lot code 0005.
- “Boneless Veal Inside” in boxes bearing code of Londbos05597439/lot code 0006.
- “Boned In Veal Rack Chop” in boxes bearing code of SELEDEL05593535/lot code 0012.
According to the FSIS, the product was widely disseminated to restaurants and grocery stores in Florida and Massachusetts. It’s not a two-way street for U.S. veal, which is blocked from the European Union because of a ban on hormones, which American producers see as bogus because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits hormones in veal production. Dutch veal production is six times larger than the U.S.
