Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 11/2/2005

**GAIN Report Number:** FR5077

FR5077

**France**

**Sanitary/Phytosanitary/Food Safety**

**E.Coli O157 Contamination Causes Huge Recall of Frozen Beef Patties**

**2005**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Elizabeth B. Berry

U.S. Embassy

**Prepared by:**

Xavier Audran

**Report Highlights:****A food poisoning incident, which caused the
hospitalization of 26 people, mainly children, in southwest France was
traced to the contamination of frozen beef patties by bacteria E.Coli
O157.H7. Three lots (or 300,000 patties - 30 metric tons) were found
contaminated, all coming from one SOVIBA slaughterhouse in western
France. All lots are being recalled and since some patties were exported
to the European Union, the French Ministry of Agriculture has notified
the European Commission of this contamination. Annually, 110 to 120
reported cases of E.Coli contamination send people to hospital in
France, with less than one death per year.**

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Paris \[FR1\]

\[FR\]

Food poisoning which caused the hospitalization of 26 people, mainly
children, in southwest France was traced to frozen beef patties
contaminated with E. Coli. The first alert came on October 25 when
doctors notified the French Sanitary Surveillance Institute (Institut
National de Veille Sanitaire - INVS, similar to the CDC in the United
States) of unusual levels of hemolytic uremic syndromes among children
in southwest France. The first cases were diagnosed on October 5. The
poisoning was traced to the beef patties on October 30. As of early
November, six children were still in intensive care in Toulouse with
full blood cleaning and intensive dialysis.

Biological analysis made by the National French Veterinarian Service of
Lyon found that the patties contained significant amounts of E.Coli
O157.H7 bacteria. All the products were sold by the hypermarket retailer
Leclerc under its own brand "ChanteGrill" . Three lots, or about 300,000
patties (30 metric tons) were contaminated. They all came from the same
slaughterhouse, SOVIBA, near Angers in western France. Since some of the
lots were exported to other European countries, the French Ministry of
Agriculture officially notified the European Union of this
contamination.

Using credit card information as well as consumers records, the retailer
Leclerc is calling all its customers to recall the contaminated lots. A
hotline number has also been installed. It is expected that 80 to 90
percent of the products sold will be recalled.

According to a study published in 2004, the INVS reports 110 to 120
cases of E.Coli contamination in food products every year, causing one
death per year on average. According to the INVS, between 228 and 691
deaths per year are caused in France by food poisoning:

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ###### Source         | *Hospitalizations*    | *Deaths*              |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Salmonella            | 5,691 to 10,202       | 92 to 535             |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Campylobacter         | 2,598 to 3516         | 13 to 18              |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Listeria              | 30                    | 78                    |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| E. Coli               | 110 to 220            | 0 to 1                |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Hepatitis A           | 52 to 77              | 2                     |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Toxoplasmosis         | 426                   | 35                    |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **Total**             | **10,188 to 17,771**  | **228 to 691**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

The complete report (in French) from INVS on food poisoning in France
can be downloaded at this address :
<http://www.invs.sante.fr/publications/2004/inf_origine_alimentaire/inf_origine_alimentaire.pdf>