B.C. meat plant covers up positive E. coli test

Plant apologizes for failure but says whistle blower a 'disgruntled' ex worker

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CBC News

Pitt Meadows Meats is a meat processing plant located in Pitt Meadows, a city east of Vancouver. (Curt Petrovich/CBC)

 British Columbia's largest meat processing plants covered up lab results that showed a sample of its product was contaminated with the deadly E. coli O157 strain, CBC News has learned.

The coverup came to light when Daniel Land, who oversaw the plant's quality assurance, contacted CBC News, saying officials at Pitt Meadows Meats Ltd., told him to keep quiet about the positive test result obtained on Sept. 9.

Daniel Land says the Pitt Meadows plant manager ignored a positive test for E. coli. (CBC)

"[The plant manager] said this does not leave the room … and I don't want nobody talking about this," said Land. "He crumpled [the test finding] up and threw it into my garbage can."

Plant officials, however, say they didn't report the test results because they suspected the whistleblower was trying to sabotage the plant and questioned his general sampling procedures. Officials also say later tests were negative for E. coli, suggesting the public was never in danger.

"Under normal circumstances, the CFIA would have been informed immediately," the plant said in a written statement. "But due to the suspect sample handling, the decision was made to handle this issue in house. If the second test result would have been positive, the CFIA would have been notified immediately."

Regulations require federally licenced plants to report positive findings of E. coli O157 strain to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

CFIA inspection manager Joseph Beres called the plant's coverup a serious breach of regulations, but said no evidence of E. coli was found on subsequent tests of the plant's products.

Land said a second test verified the preliminary findings of E. coli and he told a federal inspector at the site. "She cried because she says, 'They're covering it up?' And I says, 'Yes.' And she said, 'Same old story,'" said Land.

Beres said the agency is investigating allegations a federal inspector overlooked a positive E. coli result.

Month before public notified

Land didn't pursue the matter further until the company fired him on Oct. 12. About two weeks later, on Oct. 29, Land contacted the CFIA with his allegations.

Pitt Meadows Meats reopened in early December after a month-long closure. (Curt Petrovich/CBC)

But it was a week after the federal agency was first notified — and a month after the plant's positive E. coli test — that the public was warned about the potential danger.

On Nov. 7, CFIA issued a recall, warning consumers that Pitt Meadows' beef and lamb products may be contaminated with E. coli and should not be consumed. All the products were halal, meaning the animals were slaughtered in accordance with Islamic tradition, and distributed in the Metro Vancouver area.

No illnesses have been reported as a result of the meat products.

Pitt Meadows officials call Land a "disgruntled former employee" who they suspect of tampering with products and having "unsanitary practices" during sample taking. Land said he wouldn't know how to tamper to ensure a positive E. coli result on tested meat.

Following the E. coli tests, plant officials said they internally recalled the products and destroyed 61 cases, but acknowledge they should've alerted the federal agency.

"I went along with the decision at that time to not go to CFIA," said Brian Bilkes, business manager for Pitt Meadows. "But we should have gone to the CFIA."

Bilkes apologized to customers and businesses harmed by the recall for not alerting federal officials sooner.

"However, we believed and continue to believe that our former employee was not following procedure with our test sample and that our food products are safe," said Bilkes.

CFIA closed the plant for a month of inspections and testing, reopening it on Dec. 6. Before it reopened, Pitt Meadows officials say they took over 900 samples of meat products, both fresh and frozen. All test results came back negative.

Following an internal company investigation, a number of employees were disciplined, including some who were fired, the company said, but wouldn't reveal specifics. The plant manager is still employed, said Bilkes.

Bob Kingston, president of the Agriculture Union-PSAC representing government food inspectors, said he's not shocked by Land's allegations and believes similar problems happen more than people realize.

"They have covered the tracks so well that it's impossible now to determine the damage, and from a cynical perspective you could say that was their intent," said Kingston.

Small business hurt by recall

The recall has also hurt businesses who sold the Pitt Meadows meat products. Six Vancouver and Pitt Meadows businesses were named in the recall.

The owner of Yaas Bazaar, a Persian store and restaurant on that list, said the recall seriously hurt their business, with sales dropping about 20 per cent.

Brian Bilkes said the plant is now provincially regulated. (CBC)

"I feel someone could do something about it and prevent it and they didn't," said Mehrnaz Oveisi, who has since stopped purchasing products from the plant.

Pitt Meadows, once the only federally regulated plant in the province, is now licenced by the province. Bilkes said the changeover was a business decision made because federal licencing incurs higher costs that are unnecessary because the company wasn't exporting. One of the positions eliminated in the changeover is the job Land used to do.

"We really function the same as before," said Bilkes. "The only difference is we don't have one designated body performing those duties. But it's been spread out to a number of different individuals."

CFIA's Enforcement and Investigations Services division is probing the case and expects to conclude its investigation within a year.

With files from CBC's Curt Petrovich

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Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2011/01/19/contaminated-meat-halal-plant-pitt-meadows.html?ref=rss#ixzz1BWOrB463

Detox

What is a detox?

Our bodies have a natural in-built detox system (made up of the digestive tract, the urinary system and the liver) that helps to process all the chemicals modern life throws at it. These chemicals are called 'toxins' - they are basically poisons that have harmful effects on your body. It's not just alcohol and tobacco that are loaded with toxins; pesticides and food additives,caffeine and pollution all play their part, too. Think about all the toxins we are constantly pumping into our bodies and it's pretty obvious that the detox system could do with a helping hand. Symptoms that it is functioning badly include: tiredness, dark circles under the eyes, dull skin and bad digestion.

There's no golden rule about what diet to follow or for how long, but the general theory is to temporarily (no more than one month) alter your diet in order to strengthen the organs and release stored toxins. This will involve cutting out alcohol and caffeine, two of the biggest culprits, as well as preparing your meals from natural foods free of additives, preservatives, saturated fats and sugar. If you can't go without meat, at least avoid red meat, and consider steering clear of dairy and wheat for maximum benefits.

Detoxification or deprivation?

Eliminating lots of different foods all at once is a pretty drastic change, so it has to be done carefully in order to be safe. Your body still needs food groups such as protein, fat and calcium  to function properly, so snack on lots of nuts and seeds, and include protein-rich foods like tofu, lentils and pulses and calcium-rich foods like green leafy vegetables in your daily meals.

There are endless detox plans you can follow, so chose carefully. Some will advocate complete fasting or juice-only days, but beware of the health implications and never start such an extreme plan without consulting your doctor or a qualified nutritionist. Remember that your organs will benefit from any kind of rest, so you can always go for an in-between option where you replace your biggest vices with healthier alternatives.

Detox tips

• Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake a few days before you start;
• Buy a detox book or pick out some tasty recipes to cook so you don't get stuck for ideas;
• Go shopping in advance - with the right foods at hand you shouldn't go hungry;
• Tell all your friends and family what you are doing in advance. If they know how serious you are they are less likely to try and force feed you a pint/bar of chocolate/Sunday roast when you next see them;
• Clear the detox period in your diary of any pubs, clubs, restaurants and parties. See it as an opportunity to do all those things you never get round to, such as visiting museums and galleries - then you can feel doubly smug at the end when you're not only healthier, but more cultured, too;
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration;
• Take milk thistle to optimise these benefits; it contains silymarin, which protects the liver from damage;
• If you are a heavy smoker or take drugs regularly, it will be a huge shock to the system to give up at the same time as detoxing. Take one step at a time - giving up your particular vice will be a detox in itself.

Benefits

• Boosts energy levels and reduces cravings by cutting out the foods that are hard to digest and metabolise and normally cause your blood sugar levels to rise and fall dramatically, resulting in hunger pangs and tiredness;
• Healthier skin;
• Improves symptoms of heartburn, constipation and gas and treats digestive disorders;
• Boosts the immune system.

Side effects

• Many people experience headaches at the beginning of a detox as their body is coming to terms with the dramatic reduction of its daily poisons. That is why it's worth cutting down your main vices slowly before you start;
• Your energy may dip before it rises, so it's worth starting the programme on a weekend to let your body adjust.

Who shouldn't detox?

If you have any history of cancer, kidney, liver, heart disease or any other disease, are pregnant or under 16, do not contemplate detoxing without talking to your doctor.  

Good food vs bad

www.behealthconscious.org

Most of us know the obvious when it comes to good and bad foods, but do we really know how many calories were putting in our mouths?

It isn't always easy to make the best food choices, particularly if you lead a busy life. Fast food can keep you going, but often lacks the essential nutrients needed for a healthy diet. It can also be loaded with excessive amounts of fat, sugar and salt.

Cooking for convenience

Many people regularly find themselves cooking for one and it often seems simpler - not to mention cheaper - to pick up a ready meal or takeaway than cook a meal from scratch. But it's not always simple to work out what we're getting from these foods. While most ready meals purchased in supermarkets will contain nutritional information, much of the food purchased from restaurants won't.

A Which? investigation into takeaway dishes found that a standard Indian meal can contain more saturated fat and a Chinese meal more sugar than a person should eat in a whole day. The consumer body purchased 10 portions of chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan from independent Indian delivery outlets and found that on average, the meal contained 1338 calories and 55.8 grams of fat. That's a pretty big slice of the recommended daily calorie intake of 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men.

Making healthy choices

There is some good news on the horizon, however, as the Food Standards Agency has introduced a pilot programme to encourage restaurants and takeaway providers to provide nutritional information and a host of outlets, including Pizza Hut, Burger King, Pret A Manger and The Real Greek, have already signed up. Unfortunately, your local Chinese takeaway or chippie is unlikely to follow suit.

Even where facts and figures are absent, simple steps can be taken to make takeaway food healthier, says Azmina Govindji, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association and author of several healthy eating publications. "If you do opt for a kebab, try a chicken one instead of a doner, which are full of salt and fat," she advises. "Ask them to put less meat and a bit more salad on it for you. If you are going for a takeaway three times a week, try having it once a week without the chips."

The BDA recommends following a diet based on the eatwell plate, but Azmina is quick to point out it isn't as complicated to follow as it may look. "Get into the habit of adding vegetables or a side salad to a ready meal," she says. "Open a can of chickpeas and throw them into a soup you've bought, or have a tin of sweetcorn on the side of a shepherd's pie. Canned veg also count towards your five a day."

The good news is you can find out the number of calories in almost everything online these days. The bad news is that you'll have to get off that computer to start burning them off.

Takeaway temptation

It's easy to get into bad habits, especially when you're away from home for the first time. Emma Williams, 23, gained about two stones in her first year at university. "Everyone goes to uni with the best of intentions, but when you're buying food you don't think about health, you think about the price," she says. "We ate a lot of pasta and ready meals because they were cheap, and not a lot of fruit and vegetables because they were much more expensive."

Emma lived in halls on campus and also relied heavily on takeaways. "I fell into the convenience food trap because they littered our halls with brochures," she says. "You also tend to go out drinking a lot more when you start university and alcohol was another of the reasons I gained weight."

Liquid diet

Glenys Jones, nutritionist at the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research centre, says liquid calories are often overlooked, even by the calorie conscious. "If you go to a fast food joint some of their milkshakes have 800 or 900 calories," she says. "A lot of the time people are just completely unaware as they think of calories in food and they don't always think of calories in liquid."

Given that a pint of beer contains about 200 calories and a small glass of wine about 120, it's easy to see how a night out can have a serious impact on your waistline.

Counting the calories

But just how much does it matter if you overconsume now and again? Roughly speaking, to gain one pound you'd have to overeat by 3500 calories, and likewise to lose a pound you'd have to save 3500 calories. This sounds like a lot, but if you ate an extra 500 calories per day, you'd gain a pound every week.

According to Glenys, modern lifestyles make it easy to put away more than we should. "Our portion sizes have grown and we can't get any more inactive than we are now, we can even order our shopping online so you don't even have to go out."

Some people are more active than others and determining one's daily calorie needs is not an exact science. However, if you're finding your trousers getting tighter, it's probably a sign you're either eating too much, or simply choosing the wrong kinds of food. The good news is you can find out the number of calories in almost everything online these days. The bad news is that you'll have to get off that computer to start burning them off.

Written by Joanne Christie

Lose weight, stay active: Six small changes can help keep off pounds

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By ConsumerReportsHealth.org

Trying to reverse the 1-to-2-pounds-a-year weight gain that is the fate of the average middle-aged American? Overwhelmed at the thought of changing your lifestyle enough to reach a healthful weight?

Illustration by Tracy Walker

Fortunately, there is an alternative approach to the drastic diet and exercise revisions that Americans find so difficult to embark on and sustain. The idea is to start with smaller, easier changes that will, at the very least, halt the weight-creep and give encouraging results.

"We find that people who make small changes will often lose a few pounds," said James O. Hill, Ph.D., director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado at Denver. "Those who start with small changes often end up able to make more and bigger changes and lose more weight."

Here are a half-dozen small changes you can make right now:

More from ConsumerReportsHealth.org: Healthy eating quiz Best ellipticals to buy Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers or sponsors on Yahoo!

1. Stop drinking calories

In the late 1970s the average American consumed about 70 calories a day in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages. By 2000 we were guzzling an average of 190 calories. Numerous studies have left little doubt about the connection between increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and the soaring rates of weight gain and obesity that occurred during that same time period.

"When we consume energy in beverage form, we don't get the same fullness as when we consume solids," said Richard D. Mattes, Ph.D., professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University. "Those calories tend to add to the diet rather than displacing another energy source."

Fruit juice is not a replacement for soda. It might have a few vitamins and minerals, but it's just as damaging to your waistline. "If you drink 300 calories of apple cider, you'll feel less full than if you ate 300 calories of apples," Mattes said. And you'd have a lot to eat: You'd get to chew about three 3-inch apples for 300 calories.

What about replacing your favorite full-sugar drink with an artificially sweetened version? The evidence is mixed. Some studies suggest that though diet sodas don't add calories, they still activate your sweet tooth. But other studies show no such effect. "It's very difficult for my patients to stop drinking soda," said Caroline Apovian, M.D., director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center. "I always tell them to switch to diet soda."

As for milk, Mattes thinks it fools our internal calorie-counting mechanism the same way soft drinks do. Other experts doubt that, but they all agree that milk provides some useful nutrients in exchange for its calories. Similarly, the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption might justify the calorie penalty, but that form of liquid calories is unlikely to make you feel full.

2. Eat more protein

Remember when experts thought the high-protein, low-carb Atkins diet didn't work and was dangerous? It's been more than seven years since the first studies started overturning that idea. Low-carb, high-protein diets have proved surprisingly effective, especially in the short term. And it turns out that people who eat a higher proportion of their calories from protein end up consuming fewer calories overall.

"There's currently a fair amount of evidence that protein is a more satiating nutrient than others, at least in a solid food," Mattes said.

But don't expect miracles from that approach. "It's really difficult to manipulate your protein intake markedly while eating normal foods," Mattes said.

In a major clinical trial that looked at high-protein diets, published Feb. 26, 2009, in The New England Journal of Medicine, participants didn't get their protein intake to the target level of 25 percent of total calories. But they did increase it from a baseline of 18 percent to about 21 percent.

The bottom line is that it can't hurt to substitute a bit more lean protein for some of the fat and starches in your diet.

3. Eat more fiber

Fiber is the good guy of food. It may help protect against colon cancer and heart disease, and it is your weight-control friend. It slows digestion, helping you to feel fuller longer, and displaces other caloric foods. Best of all, it comes in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are loaded with beneficial vitamins and minerals.

But as with protein, don't set your expectations too high, Mattes cautioned.

"Most of the studies showing beneficial effects are based on very large intakes that just aren't realistic for the general population," he said. "The typical American consumes 10 to 14 grams a day. The recommendation is for 25 or more grams, which is a huge departure from one's customary intake."

You might not make it to that goal, but you can boost your fiber-rich vegetable intake fairly painlessly, said Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University.

"Grow the amount of vegetables on your plate and shrink everything else," Rolls said. "Toss them in oil and roast them in the oven. Add your favorite veggies to sandwiches, pizza toppings, stews, wherever you can."

4. Lead yourself not into temptation

Can't eat just one Dorito or chocolate kiss? That is no accident, as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, M.D., documented in his book, "The End of Overeating" (Rodale, 2009). The food industry works hard to create high-calorie foods with the most addictive possible combination of intense flavor and "mouthfeel."

"A century ago, to consume 400 calories, you had to go buy the meat, vegetables, and rice, and come home and cook it," Apovian said. "Now you can consume the same amount of calories just by downing a bag of Cheetos."

You obviously can't avoid encountering those foods in your daily life and probably eating them on occasion. But never have them at home, Apovian advised.

5. Add 2,000 steps a day

That's 20 to 25 minutes of walking, covers about a mile, and will burn about 100 calories a day—enough, Hill said, to prevent gradual weight gain in most people.

"It doesn't matter how you get there," Hill said. "It can be all at once or spread out. Once you do get there, do more."

Some of Hill's suggestions for sneaking in extra steps: When you step outside to get your mail, walk around the block before going back inside; do some errands on foot; at work, park at the far end of the office lot and use a distant rest room.

6. Cut your screen time

"When we're sitting, we are burning almost as few calories as we do when we're sleeping," said Marc T. Hamilton, Ph.D., a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. "Sitting too much is hazardous to your health in a different way than exercising too little."

Hamilton is a researcher in the new field of inactivity physiology, the study of what happens when we're, well, just sitting there. Research shows that the more you sit, the higher your risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. That seems to be true even for people who get the prescribed 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

"Standing upright washing dishes, getting dressed, or filing papers isn't exercise by anybody's standard," Hamilton said. "Yet these activities double your metabolic rate compared to sitting. If you can find 6 or 7 more hours a week to spend standing instead of sitting, you've done something good for yourself."

Sitting in front of a computer or television is one of the least active things most of us do. Research has shown that the more screen time we indulge in, the fatter we tend to be. And when we cut down our screen time, we tend to stand up and move around. A November 2010 Consumer Reports survey of 1,234 Americans found that those who spend 5 or more hours sitting during a typical weekday log less time in everyday activity.

So look for chances to stand up and move around in the course of your day. And see whether you can cut back your daily screen time.

Safe, effective long-term weight-loss pill remains elusive

The Food and Drug Administration turned down two applications for new anti-obesity drugs in recent months, in part because of safety concerns.

But on Dec. 7, 2010, an FDA advisory committee recommended approval of a new weight-loss drug. Called Contrave, it is a combination of two older medications: naltrexone, used to treat alcohol and drug addiction, and bupropion, an antidepressant. In a 56-week clinical trial, obese patients on Contrave lost an average of 5 to 6 percent of their starting weight, compared with a little more than 1 percent for patients on placebo. A significant number reported side effects from Contrave, including nausea, constipation, and dizziness. A final FDA decision on Contrave was expected in January 2011.

With the October 2010 removal of Meridia (sibutramine) from the market because of the risk of major cardiovascular side effects, there's only one prescription weight-loss medication currently approved for long-term use in the U.S. It's Xenical (orlistat), which blocks your body from absorbing 30 percent of the fat you ingest. Also available in a lower over-the-counter dose under the Alli brand name, Xenical has never achieved the widespread popularity once expected.

That might be because of intestinal side effects, caused by the undigested fat, that could result in oily spotting. And in clinical trials of orlistat, severely overweight patients on a reduced-calorie diet lost only about 7 pounds more after a year of treatment than subjects who took placebos.

Copyright © 2007-2011 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission.

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Cleaning Your Tap Water of Toxins Has Toxic Consequences

by A.K. Streeter, Portland, Oregon  

FOOD & HEALTH www.behealthconscious.org

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Photo courtesy mrhayata via flickr and Creative Commons license.
This recent NPR story headline, "Chlorine Substitutes in Water May Have Risks," is pretty low-key, considering that the message it delivers is fairly alarming. Since the 1970s, water managers have realized that their all-time favorite disinfectant, chlorine (you know, the stuff that comes in those iconic Chlorox jugs) has some serious down sides, mainly in the form of carcinogenic byproducts.
NPR's story says those carcinogenic byproducts "didn't pose a big risk." But the Environmental Protection Agency wanted water departments to do better in their disinfecting efforts. Unfortunately, their favorite replacement is turning out to pose possibly more serious health risks than the plain old chlorine. www.behealthconscious.org

This stuff may be 'better' than chloramines now in vogue. Photo courtesy conradvollevia flickr.
That would be chloramines, which this Water Research Foundation web site describes like this:

"Chloramines are composed of three chemicals formed when chlorine and ammonia-nitrogen are combined in water: monochloramine (NH2Cl), dichloramine (NHCl2), and trichloramine, or nitrogen trichloride (NCl3)."

Water officials liked chloramines for water disinfection because they were found to not have the same carcinogenic byproducts as chlorine. And, as some critics have noted, chloramines were a fairly cost-effective way for water districts to comply with stiffening EPA regulations.
But as the NPR story goes on to say, chloramines have their own problems, and they may be worse than chlorine's woes.
David Sedlak, civil and envrionmental engineer from the University of California at Berkeley, says that while chloramines do not produce the carcinogenic byproducts of chlorine, they produce their own, called nitrosamines.

"Nitrosamines are the compounds that people warned you about when they told you you shouldn't be eating those nitrite-cured hot dogs," Sedlak said to NPR. "They're about a thousand times more carcinogenic than the disinfection byproducts that we'd been worried about with regular old chlorine."

In addition, the NPR article describes the experience of the District of Columbia in going to chloramine disinfecting - the region discovered a vast increase in tap water's lead content, thought to come with chloramines' reactions to the district's many lead pipes.
Most people don't want to know much more about their tap water than that it tastes okay and is safe, free of dangerous contaminants such as cryptosporidium and e-coli. But it turns out that our reliance on chemicals to do that job and our lack as a society of a precautionary principle leaves us open to lots of negative unintended consequences when it comes to keeping drinking water clean.
Sedlak published some of his findings on chlorine and chloramines in this week'sScience.
More about water at TreeHugger:
Potty Trained Pigs Cut Wastewater 80%
Hexavalent Chromium, Erin Brockovich Chemical, Found in 31 of 35 U.S. Cities' Tap Water
Which Is Healthier, Tap Water or Bottled Water  www.behealthconscious.org

Buzz up!