Alberta’s chief medical officer has confirmed that 100 people have become infected with E. coli from consuming raw pork products, as reported by the Canadian Press. 19 of these people have been hospitalized. Pork products from grocery store V and T Meat and Food in Calgary and meat distributor Hiep Thanh Trading in Edmonton will be investigated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency over whether they contain E. coli 0157:H7. The two companies have been shut down.
“We’ve followed all the instructions to sanitize and sterilize everything,” V and T Meat and Food spokeswoman May Tai told the Canadian Press. “However, our facility is very clean and very spotless. We have nothing further to do. We are just waiting for the approval to reopen.”
E.coli can lead to serious health problems like kidney damage or failure, while affecting others less heavily. In the past, E.coli problems have been found more often in beef products. Alberta Health Services and the CFIA are further investigating the issue at hand.
