SETTING THE STAGE. News in Review November 2012 Teacher Resource Guide E. COLI HEALTH HAZARD

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1 News in Review November 2012 Teacher Resource Guide E. COLI HEALTH HAZARD SETTING THE STAGE In September 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a notice informing Canadians not to eat beef products produced at XL Foods near Edmonton, Alberta. The CFIA had been made aware that there was a problem when a beef shipment being trucked across the border into the United States was identified as contaminated by the U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service. A Massive Recall Further tests in Canada confirmed that the beef was contaminated with the E. coli bacteria, a bacteria that can make people very sick, or even die. At first, only ground beef from the plant was recalled, but then the advisory widened to include all beef products a total of over products. And even with a recall that extensive, there was no way of knowing whether all the contaminated meat had been taken out of circulation. That is because ground beef distributed by XL Foods is used in the production of other meat products like sausages, meat balls, meat loaf, and hamburgers. As well, the recall advisory would not reach unlabeled or unbranded beef products sold at independent shops. E. Coli E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, is a type of bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans. E. coli 0157:H7, the strain associated with the XL Foods meat recall, is the most dangerous to people. It produces a powerful toxin that can cause severe illness severe and bloody diarrhea, blindness, numbness in limbs and even death. It is estimated that E. coli is present in the intestines of about 50 per cent of beef cattle in Canada. During the slaughtering process, it can get into meat as it is ground into hamburger if the bacteria is not identified and properly disinfected. Meat processing plants have many safety features built into their production operations, but sometimes contaminated meat is not identified before it leaves the facility. The XL Foods plant at the heart of the massive recall is under investigation, but workers at the plant spoke publicly to declare that the plant was guilty of numerous safety violations. The workers claimed that there was a culture of intimidation within the plant that made it difficult for workers to speak up because of fears of reprisal. Workers pointed out that the water used to wash fecal matter off cows wasn t hot enough to do this satisfactorily. The company denies the allegations. Targets of E. Coli Contamination Although E. coli is most often found in meat, it can contaminate other foods as well. It can be found in apple cider, sandwich meats, raw vegetables, cheese, and water. Fruits and vegetables that grow close to the ground are particular susceptible to E. coli contamination 29

2 because they are fertilized with cattle manure. If the manure has not been properly composted, it can contain E. coli. In recent years, strawberries, spinach, and sprouts have been recalled due to E. coli contamination. Water is also prone to E. coli contamination and needs to be carefully sanitized and monitored. Water gets contaminated when human or animal fecal matter gets washed into waterways. Heavy rainstorms that flood farmer s fields can wash animal fecal matter into waterways that are part of the human water supply. Fact The worst E. coli outbreak in Canadian history happened in Walkerton, Ontario in May 2000 after the bacteria got into the town s water supply. A total of seven people died, and over others became ill. Learn more about Walkerton at Or view these past News in Review stories: Deadly Water: The Lessons of Walkerton (September 2000) The Walkerton Legacy: Ongoing Vigil (September 2001) XL Foods An investigation into the production operations at XL Foods resulted in the plant being closed on September 27, The plant resumed operations on October 29 under new management, but on November 4th, new problems were identified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. These included inadequately cleaned meat-cutting areas, insufficient sanitizing solution in the mats where employees clean their boots and improper water temperature in the sanitizer. It is hard to predict whether or not XL Foods, the second largest meat-packer in Canada, will be able to take appropriate corrective actions to ensure that contaminated meat never again leaves the plant. But the problems at XL Foods and the subsequent recall of beef products across the country the largest recall in Canada s history has left many consumers skeptical. Hopefully any lessons learned from the XL Foods recall will have an impact on meat packing facilities across the country. But this may come too late for many Canadian consumers who are tired of being worried about the food they eat, and have made the move to eating locally sourced foods from small-scale farming operations. To Consider 1. Do you, or others in your family, ever worry about the food you consume? 2. Massive factory farming and meat packing facilities are a fairly recent development. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of producing meat in large-scale facilities? 3. Would you be willing to pay more for locally produced meat, or not? Explain your answer. News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 30

3 VIDEO REVIEW Pre viewing Activities Organize yourself into small groups and respond to the following questions and activities. Be prepared to share your responses with the rest of the class. 1. Have you or anyone in your family ever become sick with food poisoning? If so, what were some of the symptoms? Do you know what caused them to be sick? 2. Do you think most cases of food poisoning come from food cooked at home, or out at restaurants? Why do you say this? 3. How can you reduce your chances of becoming sick from food cooked at home? Viewing Questions 1. How did Costco in Halifax respond when news of the ground beef recall was first announced? 2. Record at least two of the reasons that Frederick Tandy says he only buys beef produced on small local farms. News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 31

4 3. When the recall spread from ground beef to steaks packaged at XL Foods, who discovered the E. coli contamination? 4. How long did it take a recall notice to be issued by the government after the contaminated meat was first discovered? 5. How many more food inspectors does the government say are working now than when the government first came to office? 6. What were some of the symptoms experienced by five-year-old Elijah Lees when he became sick with E. coli poisoning? 7. According to Dr. Richard Arsenault of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency what was the cause of the meat contamination? 8. There is an E. coli vaccine for cows. According to the microbiologist who invented it, why isn t it being used? 9. According to this News in Review story, how quickly must meat slaughtering and packing facilities notify the Canadian Inspection Agency after they discover a problem with their meat? 10. Record at least two of the criticisms that workers from the XL Foods plant raise about the operations in Alberta. News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 32

5 Post viewing Activities 1. Review your responses to Questions 2 and 3 in the Pre-Viewing Activities section. Now that you ve watched the video do you want to change your answers, or revise them in any way? What new information did you learn from this video? 2. Do you agree with Frederick Tandy in the video when he says that locally grown beef from small farms is safer than factory produced meat? Why or why not? 3. When you hear about stories like the contaminated beef slaughtered at XL Foods, does it make you want to become a vegetarian or not? Explain your answer. News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 33

6 ACTIVITY: Surveying Current Attitudes In this News in Review story you learned about a massive recall of beef products after some contaminated beef was shipped from the XL Food plant near Edmonton, Alberta. People often change their eating and drinking habits immediately following a recall or a highly reported contamination. But as more time passes, people often resume their old habits. This is not the case for everyone, however. While studying past and present events, historians often identify tipping points in human behaviour or historical developments. A tipping point is a point where a permanent change is made when the behaviour that follows an event is different than the behaviour that preceded the event. Your task is to determine whether the XL Foods recall has been a tipping point in the way people see and consume meat. You will gather information about this by creating a survey and administering it in your school, family, or community. Completing Your Task 1. With a partner, create a short survey the contains 6 to 10 questions about people s eating habits, making sure most questions deal with meat eating. You want to make sure your questions do not have an obvious bias that influences how people respond to the questions. For example, a biased question would be: Now that we know contaminated meat is often sold in grocery stores, do you still feel comfortable eating meat? Instead, a balanced series of questions could include: How much meat do you eat in a week? and Has the amount of meat you eat in a week changed over the past six months? 2. Decide how many people you will survey, and your intended audience. Will you survey both genders or just one? Different grade levels or only one? 3. Have your teacher approve your survey questions and then administer your survey. 4. Create a data chart to record the responses to your survey. 5. Analyze your results, making sure you revisit the opening key issue: Was the XL Foods recall a tipping point in the way people see and consume meat? 6. Decide how you will communicate your results, and prepare to share your results with the class. 7. At the end of this task, reflect on this learning activity. How might you have changed your survey questions to get more concrete results? Should your sample size have been different? Would a different target audience have produced different results? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 34